Leon & Jenna Reno Experience

[alfredt 27]

How much was the additional 4 yrs warranty extension for the 2 Starmex fancoils?

is the extended warranty just for fancoils or the whole system ? how much is it ?

[tessina 9]

How much was the additional 4 yrs warranty extension for the 2 Starmex fancoils?

[sotongyun 1]

Hi everyone, nice informative blog here

Quite worried buying air con from gain city as I heard fr my fren that GC ppl called them to say the compressor they brought are out of stock and have to upgrade and ended up paying 2k more for the intended sales ...

leonjennawong, please do update me on your air con purchase once u hands on them .. TIA!

[leonjennawong 53]

...... Continued.

GAIN CITY ELECTRONICS FAIR @ SINGAPORE EXPO - PART 2

Impulse Purchase #4) Rinnai Cooking Hob, RB-3Si (Dimensions W870 x D510MM) CFO wanted a stainless steel finish because she heard of a few horror stories involving glass shattering. I did not 'win this battle' to get a tempered glass finish hob... hehehe... Regardless of that, I do think that the stainless steel finish is compatible with our newly-purchased fridge...

Still on the same Impulse Purchase #4, this cooking hob comes with the infamous Inner Flame technology!!! Apparently it focuses the heat better onto the crockery, thus saves time & cooking gas. Supposed to be easier to clean the burners too. But do beware, I have read somewhere before on RenoTalk of some reviews saying that this Inner Flame takes some getting used to because the stronger heat makes it easier for you to end up with burnt food. Heh heh heh, I hope CFO can adapt to it fast, if not I will really dread my impending-guinea-pig-food-tasting role...

A close-up picture of the Rinnai Inner Flame burner. The flame emerges from the stainless steel rim on the inside of the burner.

Impulse Purchase #5) Rinnai Fume Hood, RH-992CT @ special price of $1401 (inclusive of the cooking hob) (specifications can be seen in the photo below but omg, a WHOPPING 1000m3/hr suction power... YEAH.) Pretty looking fume hood with the tempered glass brims... Oh btw we consulted helpful #CalvinTan on-the-spot with WhatsApp photos on the design compatibility too! Approved by him...

Impulse Purchase #6 & 7) Rinnai Instantaneous Electric Heater Rain Shower @ $299 & Rinnai Normal Instantaneous Electric Heater @ $129...

Rinnai Instantaneous Electric Heater Rain Shower for my Master Toilet:

Rinnai Normal Instantaneous Electric Heater for my Common Toilet:

And... That's all...

OMG... We spent a total of approximately $4800 (air-con) + $2600 (other accessories as mentioned); Which means I am $7400 poorer after 20th April 2014... Wa lao, truely a huge lobang in my pocket right now, and as CFO says...

It's now time to eat grass!

Ho ho ho! Good night everybody!

Edited April 24, 2014 by leonjennawong

[leonjennawong 53]

Before I start my post properly, I must say that it is wonderfully nice to see people exchanging constructive views on the #Kompactop vs Quartz conundrum right here on my T-Blog... Hahaha.. I feel slightly vindicated on my decision to start my own T-Blog because I had initially also intended for this to be a source of information for new home owners... So cheers to @dandelion1986, @PTopaz, @myzticalz, @alfredt, @and888 and @EthanDad! Here goes....

Good evening people! I want to announce that...

I AM COLLECTING MY KEYS TO MY BTO ON 28th APRIL @ 2.10PM!

Supposed to be on 3rd May, but CFO is so clever.. She called HDB to enquire if there is an earlier slot & citing upcoming wedding preparations & schedule clashes... and voila! The rest is history... Don't tell people that leonjennawong teach you one okie?

ANYWAY. How did your weekend go? As for me, my weekend was staggeringly humbling because I burnt a FREAKING HUGE LOBANG in my pocket.

The protagonist and topic for today:

GAIN CITY ELECTRONICS FAIR @ SINGAPORE EXPO - PART 1

CFO & I marched down to Singapore Expo on 20th April 2014, looking to buy our first-ever air con set... Which is really not so simple. We did some homework and a lot of discussions on the type of air con specifications that we want (I won the 'battle' to put air con in our living hall! Woohoo! ) and finally decided on:

Mitsubishi Starmex inverter system-4 with 10k BTU slave FCU (Fan Coil Unit) & 24k BTU main FCU & 28k BTU Compressor Unit

Advice for new home owners:

- Decide which rooms you want air-con. CFO & I decided to get air-con for all 3 bedrooms & the living hall; which is why we got the System-4. The "4" symbolises the number of Fan Coil Units (the blower) in the air-con system.

- The general advice I have been getting is to get minimum 9k BTU for your rooms & 18k BTU for your living hall. Also, you don't have to decide whether you want energy-saving inverter technology or not anymore, because all models that can be sold in Singapore already come with inverter technology because they have to meet a regulatory requirement for a certain amount of energy efficiency.

- As for the brand, it really differs from salesman to salesman.. I went for Mitsubishi Starmex because more home-consumers are buying this brand (heard from the different salesmen we talked to) and probably less likely to have spare part shortage issue in case it spoils.

The entire air-con system costs $3969 nett initially but... Along came the upgrades......

Upgrade #1) Upgraded insulation layer from 3/8-inch to 1/2-inch; (very important for home owners who are looking to run their copper piping in their false ceilings, because you wouldn't want condensation to start staining/destroying your beautiful false ceiling)

Upgrade #2) Upgraded the copper pipes from G23 to G22 (gauge 22); (read somewhere that the copper pipe upgrade will help to prevent leakage of the refrigerant gas)

Upgrade #3) Upgraded the warranty to 5-years for the FCUs, to match the compressor warranty period (usually it's only 1-year warranty for the FCUs and 5-year warranty for the compressor, but I have heard of complains of the FCUs giving problems just after the 1-year period.. So just went ahead with the upgrade)

Picture of the copper pipes & insulation for reference

Behold the beautiful monster. Looks quite cool. Get it get it?

Final damage for air-con is $4758. OUCH.

And now let's move on... With our minds fuelled by adrenaline & excitement & clouded by the delicious fumes from the nearby food expo, CFO & I made a few (ok la ok la, we made a lot) decisions on the spot in the expo hall and bought the following:

Impulse Purchase #1) LG Washer WFT1161DD @ $779 (top loading, inverter direct-drive technology, full stainless steel drum & filtering function) Oh! We got a free microwave with this purchase too!

Impulse Purchase #2) LG Fridge GRM562GSH~STS VCM @ $779 (Nett capacity at 416L, dimensions W755 x D717 x H1777MM) Oh! Oh! We got ANOTHER free microwave with this purchase. The stainless steel finish will go nicely with our new kitchen theme...

Impulse Purchase #3) Rinnai built-in oven @ $820 (Made in Italy, forgot the dimensions & capacity, comes with self-clean function, with top & bottom heating elements & circulating fan for even heat distribution)

To be continued......

Edited April 24, 2014 by leonjennawong

[dandelion1976 5]

Lowest quote I got for kompacplus was $85 per foot run. I have spoken to the supplier and they don't offer any discount to direct buyers (RRP at about $120 per foot run) so as to protect their key customer - IDs and Contractors. My current ID quoted me less than $100 per foot run.

Edited April 22, 2014 by dandelion1976

[James N Joean 8]

Myzticalz: there is no need for the kitchen top to be thick to serve it's intended purpose mah... Juz go for whichever chioer, cheaper and robust

[myzticalz 14]

wah.. my contractor quote me 160/ft for iquartz

can ask to lower, usual quotes is 110/120 for iquartz I saw.

PTopaz, thought iquartz may be better cause it's thicker but most likely, will ask for sample of both and go home to do testing.

[alfredt 27]

wah.. my contractor quote me 160/ft for iquartz

[and888 1]

Kompactop at 120/ft is already the price for iquartz...

considering caserstone and silestone may be ard 180++, it does not stretch budget too much if ur tabletop is not extended to great lengths.

[James N Joean 8]

if its same price and chioer, why go for quartz instead?

i've seen the videos of how they burn the kompactop.... its quite robust...

[myzticalz 14]

Yup, PTopaz, is same price as quartz, me going for quartz in that case. Maybe cause now more 'atas' and chio looking so pricier?

[James N Joean 8]

Yah..i meant pfr... paiseh... what's NW?

[EthanDad 2]

Kompacplus is out in the market for over 2 years already? Btw should be per feet ba. NW is going for $100/ft

[James N Joean 8]

wow...they were going at 80psf 2 years ago...inflation or 贪得无厌？