Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
T
he instantaneous gas water heater’s However, the cost of LPG has nearly doubled in
initial popularity was much helped by the last 3-4 years and consumers may not find it as
the fact that the liquefied petroleum economical to operate a gas water heater. This has
gas (LPG) cylinder distributed for meant that sales have stabilized considerably. Yet,
domestic consumption was supplied consumers can hope to use one cylinder for the entire
on subsidized rates. Due to cheaper import costs, winter season of about four months.
convenience of use and less maintenance, most of
the electric water heater (geyser) manufacturers How it works?
jumped into the fray and their pan-India distribution The heating system of the GWH is based on a simple
network readily aided the sales of GWHs. technology. The burning of LPG, ignited through an
6 • CONSUMER VOICE
GAS WATER HEATER
CONSUMER VOICE • 7
COMPARATIVE TEST
Water soundness
Key Findings In the key safety test, the water circuit of the appliance
• Kenstar and Crompton Greaves emerged on shall not leak or show any permanent distortion
the top, followed by Marc and Venus. during or after the test, when tested at a hydrostatic
• Thermoking failed in the key performance pressure of 4kgf/cm2. The water circuit shall be kept
tests including thermal efficiency and gas under pressure for five minutes.
consumption. • No leakage or distortion was observed in any
• All brands have declared the hot water output brand. All of them passed this test.
rate @5-6 litre/minute, but practically they
were giving up to 3 litres per minute. Hence, Combustion
the consumer needs to be aware about all the When tested as per IS: 15558, on no account the
declaration including the hot water output carbon monoxide/carbon dioxide ratio of exhaust
based on the recommended guidelines. gases (while operating at any consumption at which
• In some of the latest models, there is a burner is stable at gas inlet pressure from 25gf/cm2 to
provision for dual gas operation mode, 35gf/cm2) shall exceed 0.02.
wherein by tuning the screw-operated • All the brands passed in this test.
control, both LPG and CNG operation can
be used alternately. Gas consumption
• Racold gives a two-year guarantee, Bajaj The quantity of gas consumed in an hour of use to
and Kenstar a 2-year warranty, and all the operate the GWH was measured while the input gas
remaining brands only a 1-year warranty. and input water was kept at full selection level. With
the taps fully opened and the burners at maximum
consumption, the appliance shall give within ±8% of
(ii) 82 per cent for water heaters with a nominal the manufacturer’s recommended gas consumption in
heat input not exceeding 10kW gram per hour or heat input in kcal/h at 30gf/cm2 gas
inlet pressure, when tested as per 20.4 of IS: 5116 at
Brand Thermal Efficiency %. STP (by using air and converting to LPG).
Minimum Requirement Results Note: The observations have been taken with LPG.
Arise 82 82.44 • Gas consumption in Thermoking (588.73/947
Bajaj 84 84.68 g/h) and Racold (861.16/1033.2 g/h) was,
respectively, 37.83 per cent and 16.65 per cent
Esson 82 82.69
lower than what they had declared. Both the
Fabiano 84 84.98 brands failed to meet the requirement.
Kenstar 82 82.36
Khaitan 84 84.40 Ignition and flame travel
Marc 82 82.09 In this test, there should be easy and safe access for
Racold 84 84.85 lighting the pilot burner by a matchstick and it should
be easy to see that the burner is lit from the pilot.
Thermoking 84 78.08 Where the burner is lighted by automatic ignition, it
Venus 84 86.73 should not be possible for gas to be admitted to the
Crompton 82 82.89 main burner without being smoothly ignited.
Greaves • All the brands passed this test.
8 • CONSUMER VOICE
GAS WATER HEATER
CONSUMER VOICE • 9
COMPARATIVE TEST
Flame visibility
All appliances should be designed so that ignition,
correct burner performance and length of the pilot
flames, if any, can always be easily seen.
• All brands except Crompton Greaves fulfilled
the requirement. Flame was not clearly
observed in Crompton Greaves.
Net weight
Total weight indicates the robustness of the appliance.
Higher total weight has been considered as better for
robustness as well as durability of the appliance.
EU energy label printed on Fabiano brand
• Crompton Greaves is heaviest followed by
Kenstar. The lightest was Arise.
Connections Summary
For connection and screws, metric threads shall Instant water heaters provide hot water for bathing,
be used. Gas inlet connection should permit rigid washing and cleaning almost instantly (1 minute–3
connections. minutes), as compared to storage water heaters that take
• Connections of water heaters were verified more than half an hour for heating of rated capacity water.
and were found to be complying with the Since such appliances are seldom replaced, the durability,
requirements. robustness and safety are key factors to consider.
10 • CONSUMER VOICE
GAS WATER HEATER
Operating Cost of LPG vs Electric Instant Water Heaters to Heat 18 Litres of Water Daily (1 Bucket)
LPG Electricity
Required gas/electricity 0.0876kg 1.11 unit
Average cost of gas/electricity Rs 42 per kg Rs 6.00 per unit
Daily expense 0.0876*42 = Rs 3.68 1.11*6.00 = Rs 6.66
Monthly expense 3.68*30 = Rs 110.4 6.66*30 = Rs 199.8
CONSUMER VOICE • 11
Comparative Performance Ratings of Gas Water Heaters
Brand & Model Weightage Kenstar Crompton Marc Venus Bajaj Arise **Racold **Fabiano **Esson Khaitan Thermoking
Test (%) Greaves
Parameters
Guarantee /warranty, year 2 year 1 year 1 year 1 year 2 year 1 year 2 year *1 year 1 year 1 year *1 year
Retail price/MRP, Rs 2978/5290 3600/4750 2756/3690 3467/5000 3066/5290 2489/4131 3778/6089 2356 2534 3555/5110 2534
(1) PERFORMANCE TESTS (63) (53.45) (54.09) (54.47) (54.84) (54.07) (55.5) (52.61) (54.61) (53.32) (53.1) (46.49)
12 • CONSUMER VOICE
Thermal efficiency 20 14.27 14.66 14.06 16.73 14.68 14.33 14.85 14.98 14.51 14.4 10.4
COMPARATIVE TEST
Water soundness 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Combustion 6 5.45 5.75 5.70 5.60 5.45 5.90 5.35 6.00 5.35 5.45 5.25
Gas consumption (gm/hr) 10 8.65 8.6 9.17 7.43 8.38 9.71 6.37 8.55 8.38 7.69 5.28
Ignition flame travel & stability 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Noise control 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Time for temperature rise 8 6.08 6.08 6.54 6.08 6.56 6.56 7.04 6.08 6.08 6.56 6.56
(2) SAFETY TESTS (14) (12.6) (12.4) (12.5) (12.2) (12.7) (12.5) (12.0) (12.8) (12.5) (12.3) (12.1)
Flashback 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Resistance to draught 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Fire hazard and limiting 8 6.6 6.4 6.5 6.2 6.7 6.5 6.0 6.8 6.5 6.3 6.1
temperature
(3) GENERAL & PHYSICAL (23) (22.64) (22.18) (20.97) (20.89) (20.55) (18.45) (21.61) (18.13) (18.9) (17.64) (16.79)
TESTS
Body material & connections 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Flame visibility 2 2 1.5 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Net weight 5 4.64 4.68 3.97 3.99 4.05 3.45 4.11 3.93 3.90 3.94 3.99
Aesthetics design & finish 5 5 5 4 4.4 4 3 4.5 4 4 3 3
Packing 2 2 2 2 2 1.5 1.0 2 1.5 1.5 1.5 0.8
Marking & instruction manuals 5 5 5 5 4.5 5 5 5 2.7 3.5 3.2 3.0
Overall score (%) 100 88.69 88.67 87.94 87.93 87.32 86.45 86.22 85.54 84.72 83.04 75.38
89 89 88 88 87 86 86 86 85 83 75
Rounded off
Rating: >90: Very good *****, 71–90: Good****, 51–70: Fair ***, 31–50: Poor **, <30 – Very Poor
*Warranty confirmed by dealer. Brand Racold has given two years guarantee
**ISI-marked