Unboxing, first impressions, and updates! Condura No Frost Inverter Refrigerator CNF-201i

Heya! Here's an unboxing and first impressions review of our new ref, Condura CNF 201i No Frost Inverter Refrigerator.

We were very excited about this purchase because it's our first inverter ref and finally, we can say goodbye to the dreadful chore that's called defrosting!

This was not actually our first choice for an inverter ref, I was eyeing the LG GR-B202SQBB because it's the only one I could find online with dimensions that fit our kitchen perfectly. Unfortunately it was out of stock when we looked at Anson's so we sought help from the guys there to find me a 2 door inverter ref that's less than 58cm in depth. Et voila, we found a perfect match with Condura.

It didn't take long for us to decide on getting this particular model. Usually I'd look for online reviews first before jumping on a big purchase, but for one, the size is perfect, and most importantly - we were desperate to get rid of our old ref. So yeah, it took a week for it to get delivered but holey moley was it worth the wait.

Luckily we were able to sell our ref to a neighbor who agreed to take it on the day our new ref arrives. Had a bit of a problem securing a gate pass for them, I didn't know we even needed a gate pass just to move an appliance from one unit to another?! Urgh, condo rules.

Anyway...

What I like about it...

• No frost inverter, yeah that's a given
• Twist ice maker
• Spacious freezer
• 12 slot egg tray
• It looks sleek and pretty
• Size is just right for our home
• Height is just right to allow a microwave on top
• I don't have to worry about emptying the drain pan, if my assumption is right (also, I asked around), the drain pan automatically empties itself when it reaches a certain level. There's a metal sticking to it that heats up when the water reaches a certain point.
  
  

What I don't like, so far...

Ice maker's kinda hard to navigate because you have to tip it over a bit in order for it to snap in place on top of the ice box. And that angle causes water to drip on the bucket. Basta yon haha. Hassle. Anyway, what I do now is just place the ice tray on a different surface, not on top of the bucket so it doesn't spill. Okay naman haha.

UPDATE AFTER 1 YEAR! IT'S SEPTEMBER 2021 NOW

Energy consumption...

I actually made this blog post to collect updates on our energy consumption. To be honest I'm not really expecting our bill to lower significantly. After all, we got a bigger ref, inverter lang naman naiba. I also don't know what to compare exactly because we're replacing an old ref not adding a new one so it's hard to gauge the difference. So yeah. We'll see in a few months since kaka-deliver lang samin last August 22! :)

Okay! It's been a year with our Condura ref! Here's an update...

Our 1 year average with our old ref is 332.5kw/h per month.

On the other hand, our 1 year average with our new ref is 394.5kw/h per month.

That's quite a difference right? An average of 62 kw/hr is added to our monthly consumption, which is an additional 372 pesos/mo (for a rate of 6/kwh). Note that this only applies to us, the computation will be different case to case. Imagine if this is your first ref, obviously tataas talaga kuryente nyo hehe.

I've also highlighted the min and max consumption of the two years, which shows how they're not in the same range. Expected naman kasi nag-upgrade talaga kami.

Yes, tumaas talaga kuryente namin. Ngayon ko lang talaga narealize, I was wrong to compare our electricity bill before because the rate/kwh in our condo changes everytime, so I think the table above is a fairer comparison.

But of course, there are other factors to this. Mostly having to do with our wfh setup which gets upgraded all the time. One time I only have a laptop, now I have multiple monitors, ocassional test machines, add to that the many times we have to stock up food for 2 weeks because our gov't couldn't get their heads straight. As you know, packing the ref too much works up the compressor harder, eating more electricity.

But anyway...

Finally

Do I recommend it? YES

Am I happy with it? YES

Could I have bought something else? NO, I'm very happy with this purchase.In fact, it even landed me a digital ad with Condura itself akalain nyo yun hahaha

Watch here: https://youtu.be/cyvN6ofKjiM
Chika here: https://www.theblahger.com/2021/02/oh-shoot.html

Could I have bought something bigger? NO, because this is the perfect-sized ref for our small condo. YES I would love to get something bigger in the future when space isn't a problem anymore, I know there's a taller version of this, but right now we're using the top surface for our microwave and it's perfect

What else do you need to know? YES. Char haha overall my experience with the ref is positive still and it's been a year without any problems. I can't speak for everyone of course but as usual, do your own diligence parin when it comes to buying big appliances like this. Check out my Youtube review for the comments section because sari-sari din yung issues dun that I never encountered so I guess that's worth looking at. :)

Ang tyaga mo naman mag-record ng consumption? YES haha it's part of my kaartehan. I input our utility bills to a Google sheet and graph our consumption kasi wala lang isn't it nice to look at organized data haha

Ayun lang po! Hope this helps, thanks for reading! :)

[Unboxing + Review] Xiaomi Mijia Humidifier 4L Capacity MJJSQ02LX

I waited over a month before writing this post so I could review it completely. In three words, the Xiaomi Mijia 4L Humidifier is such an ACE! Affordable, convenient, and effective! Ohaaaa hahahaha! This is model MJJSQ02LX.

Video review

Apart from this lengthy blahber you may also watch my Youtube review here:

 

Backstory

I got this product for health reasons. The air in our room becomes super dry with the AC on every night when we sleep. It has resulted in me waking up with sniffles and dry throat almost everyday. There were nights I had to sleep with a face mask on just so my throat wouldn't get super dehydrated in the morning. That's when I decided to invest in a humidifier. To relieve the dryness in the room, in my throat, in my life. Charot. I thought a small diffuser would help, but our current EO diffuser only works for 3hours max so it still doesn't do the job completely. Plus, it can only hold 150ml of water HAHAHA so wa-epek. It just makes the room smell nice.

Research

I have no idea about humidifiers but generally I just want something with a bigger water tank that could run for more than 8 hours, and can diffuse aromatics too. I looked around online and found that Xiaomi has the biggest variety of humidifiers out there.

There's a gazillion brands under Xiaomi I have no idea what to pick, there's SmartMi, Deerma, Mijia, all of them looking great and priced affordably too. So I used the The Three Great Shopee Filters in narrowing down my choices:

✔️ Price
✔️ Location
✔️ Ratings

The Deerma FXXX line turned out on top of the list. High star ratings, priced below ₱2k, big water tank, ultrasonic feature, smart capability, and loooks reaaaally pretty.

But one thing turned me off. The water inlet is AT THE BOTTOM of the tank. Which means you have to turn the fuselage upside down to put water in, then breathe in and muster some strength to set the 5kg water tank upright. For a weakling like me, that process sounds too troublesome and accident prone. In fact, the moment I saw where the water inlet is, so many unfortunate things ran in my head. My face flowing with frustrated tears, a broken humidifier, and my husband trying to calm me down. Oh yeah, a flooded kitchen too.

So I had to let it go and look for alternatives. And that's how I found this baby...

Xiaomi Mijia 4L Humidifier MJJSQ02LX

It's super basic, can carry 4 liters of water, runs up to 36 hours, and the best part? Water is added directly from the top making it so convenient, and with a spacious mouth like this I don't have to worry about dying spilling or having to carry it somewhere safe to refill water.

Note that it's not suitable for essential oils, it's not a smart humidifier, you can't link and control it using the Mi Home app. Below you'll see what happened when I tried using essential oils with it.

Unboxing

You may refer to my Youtube video for the unboxing but basically the package comes with the unit and a Chinese manual. That's it.

What I liked (aka all of its features haha)

Like mentioned, some of its key features include:

✔ 4L capacity
✔ Upper head injection

✔ Up to 36 hours of continuous humidification and it's not loud at all. You'll barely hear it and if you do, it sounds like raindrops.

But apart from those, it also boasts of the following:

✔ Adjustable fog settings (low, mid, high)

Low, mid, high respectively

It humidifies at a rate of 280ml/hour and has up to 99% bacteriostatic effect. Even at the low setting, the strength of the mist is strong enough for a small room.

✔ Low level indicator

Which automatically powers off when water level is low and when the water tank gets detached from the dock.

✔ Size is just right

A bit bigger than a kitchen towel, just the right size for a bedside table or even the floor.

✔ Comes with a 220V type A power plug (2 flat plugs)

Which is normal here in the Philippines so no need to use an adapter.

✔ Easy to clean
✔ Simple knob switch control
✔ Looks sleek and is made of hard and durable matte finished plastic
✔ Super affordable

What I don't like 

✖ No English manual

✖ Not suitable for pure essential oils

See troubleshooting items. The seller mentioned I can use water-based aromas, but I have yet to find official literature confirming that it's indeed okay to use with EO's, specially that, unlike the Deerma line, it doesn't have that yellow tray at the base specifically for EOs. Maybe I can find this info from the manual, then again it's Chinese, so if you can help me translate or just give me a clue if it says anything about using essential oils... that would be awesome!

✖ Ok, not advisable for aromatics at all

Since you can only use water-based essential oils, you have to keep adding and adding because the smell doesn't last long and eventually it starts smelling funny when it's only the residual aroma left to atomize. Also, it's a hassle to lift the water tank just to add the oil so I'd rather not bother with it. Aromas clog the system easily too so you have to clean more frequently. I like to diffuse scents pa naman when I'm sleeping but I find that the product works better with just pure water.

Troubleshooting

In the one and a half months I've been using it, I've ran into two problems, all because I tried to use essential oils with them.

1. Very little mist coming out
And I mean less than what you'd expect from the Low setting. This happened when I tried adding waterbased essential oil in the tank. It worked for a night, then eventually residue formed and it clogged the system. Solution? Just clean it!

2. No mist coming out
Now, this happened when I tried to put PURE essential oils on the base. I put a few drops of what I thought was waterbased EO (it's too cheap to be pure so I thought it's actually water-based even though it says PURE EO on the label haha!). It worked fine for a few minutes then suddenly the mist was gone. I could still feel some air coming out but there's totally no fogging going on.

I thought I broke the unit. Thank God I was able to save it by cleaning it. Now I can prove this model isn't meant for any type for EO at all. Just look at how dirty it turned:

Yikes right? That's oil residue that I scraped off using cotton buds. Fortunately, it's easy to clean. And after unclogging it from all that gunk, it starts to work fine again.

Cleaning 

So how do you properly clean this thing? The water tank is fairly easy to clean, you can just reach inside with a damp cloth and wipe it clean.

I was also able to clean it with soap and water, it's pretty safe since there are no electronic things at the top part. Just make sure to dry it completely to remove the odor. And avoid getting water inside the mist outlet, just because it looks like it's not supposed to get wet hehe.

Now for the base...

I just use cotton buds to scrape off any residue. Just clean the sink area of the base, avoid wetting anything that's not touched by the water coming from the tank.

Our humidifier sits on a plank of laminated MDF and I noticed some kind of moisture settling at the bottom like this:

Just wipe it off, it's not a stain anyway hehe. It's probably due to the air coming in from the bottom of the humidifier because the air intake is positioned there (notice the round grills)

Maintenance tips

1. Avoid EOs, just use water. Pure or distilled water, preferrably.

It acquires residue faster when you use essential oils so I advise you to just use water and nothing else, if you don't want to clean more frequently! Also, I use water straight from the tap so maybe 

2. Don't let the water run low

I refill the tank with a pitcher of water every night before going to sleep just to keep it running uninterrupted. In my experience a full tank lasts me 3 days on low setting so that's around 24 hours of sleep time.

3. Don't fill it to the max

Just for safety. I'm praning it might get knocked over or something so I only fill it with around 3 liters of water max.

4. Clean once a week

I thought now that I only use water and nothing else, it'll be easier to clean. But somehow, after around 3 weeks of use, I notice some dirt forming at the bottom of the water tank. Similar to the brown dirt I scrubbed off when I used EOs. The base is also showing some yellow stains that I can't remove so it's also nice to clean at least once a week to avoid these dirt from accumulating. I'm not sure if it's because I use tap water directly but maybe it's better to use filtered water? 

So is it effective?

ABSOLUTELY. It's prevented my throat from drying and it's something that I noticed instantly like the moment I woke up after turning it on for the night. Amazeballs!

Our bedroom is only around 11sqm small and the low setting is strong enough to relieve dryness in the room the whole time. It's even positioned at the far end of the room (which isn't really that far maybe just 2 steps away from the bed lol) so I know it truly works.

Price and Availability

You can get this for less than  ₱2,000 at Shopee or Lazada. I have no idea of its SRP. Usually it ships from China, but if you filter it by location (which is what I always do), you can save yourself at least a week of shipping time by purchasing from local Xiaomi retailers. Also, for a product like this you'd want to get it locally (the nearer the better) in case you had to return it.

I got it for ₱1,784.00 at Shopee PH from this store.

Congrats on reaching this part! That's it! Let me know if you have any questions on the comments area below. :)