Water coolers

A water cooler can cool water from a bottle or a water supply and dispense it on your choice of container. Water cooler dispensers are said to be more hygienic than the usual water fountains seen in most public places since dispensers allow the consumers to get water into their own water containers. It is also more advantageous than water bottles since water coolers can supply water to a large group, thus it helps reduce plastic waste which could accumulate if the same large group would purchase bottled water individually.

Another advantage of having a water cooler is that it eliminates the need to store water in the fridge. The space to be occupied by water containers in the refrigerator can be used to store other food products that really need refrigeration. Also, water stored in the fridge sometimes absorb the odor of the other food products inside, which spoils and alters the water's taste.

There are two types of water cooler: bottled and bottleless water coolers .

Bottled Water Cooler Dispensers

Bottled water cooler dispensers make use of a large plastic water bottle, usually with a capacity of holding 3 or 5 gallons. The bottle is inverted and placed on top of a dispenser/cooler. You can get these water bottles from a water delivery service or purchase them from stores. When the bottle is empty, it is removed from the dispenser and replaced with a full bottle. The empty bottles are then collected by the bottling company or distributor and replaced by a filled bottle.

A bottled water cooler dispenser is ideal in rental places or in cases where occupancy is temporary as this type of water cooler is mobile and can be transferred in case the occupants need to vacate the area.

Bottled water dispenser are available as freestanding types or countertop ones which are ideal in very limited spaces.

The bottled type has its own set of advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

•  No additional plumbing work necessary to supply water for the dispenser
•  Great for places where drinking tap water is not an option
•  Easy to transport from one place to another and simple to use

Disadvantages

•  Needs constant supply of bottled water
•  Emptied bottles takes up space until the supplier picks them up
•  Full bottles are quite heavy and hard to place on top of the dispenser

Bottleless Water Cooler Dispenser

Bottleless water dispensers take up less space than its bottled counterpart since it eliminates the need for the large water bottle. The water supply comes from a fixed source made especially to serve the water dispenser. You just hook it up from an existing water connection and the dispenser filters, cools and dispense regular water for you to enjoy. This type of water dispenser is usually wall mounted, attached to pipes leading to the main water supply.

It seems to work similar to the usual water fountains found in schools and other public establishments. However, rather than just cooling and dispensing water from the main source, a bottleless water cooler dispenser filters or process the water before finally releasing it for consumption.

At first, setting up a bottleless water dispenser may be complex and costly since it requires plumbing work. However, it enables you to save money in the long run since you don't need to purchase bottled water every now and then. It's very convenient to use since there's no need to keep track of water bottle supply since you practically have endless supply of water for your dispenser.

Advantages

•  Has endless supply of water, hence eliminate the need to buy water bottles
•  No more hoisting heavy and bulky water container on top of the dispenser.
•  Space-saver and easy to maintain

Disadvantages

•  Initial setup can be quite complex
•  Had to be fixed to a water source, location should be permanent
•  Water source is a prerequisite

Home water coolers - Which Cold water coolers are the best?

As said earlier, one can choose either to get a bottled water cooler or a bottleless type. We have already discussed each type's pros and cons above. Both types basically work the same way. The main difference is just the water source.

The water, either from the bottle or from the pipes, is cooled by using a reservoir where a particular amount of water is held and cooled. When cool water leaves the reservoir as someone makes use of the dispenser, another batch of water will fill up the reservoir for cooling. For the bottleless type, water goes through an additional process where it passes through a series of filters from the pipes to make sure that the water dispensed is really safe for drinking. Bottled water coolers skip this stage since bottled waters are already processed and filtered at their respective sources.

Once you settled for your choice of type, design of the water cooler is also something to consider. The usual water coolers come as stainless steel water coolers . Stainless steel water coolers are preferred since they are known to be more durable than the plastic ones.

For the bottled water coolers, buyers can choose from a design where the bottle is simply placed on top of the device, or one which hides the water bottle from view.

Other water coolers may come with features such as hot water dispenser, which gives the consumers the option to enjoy water for their hot or cold drinks with just one device. There's no need to boil water for hot drinks or food. Those which dispense hot water as well have a locking water tap to prevent scalds or burn injuries especially in children. Some have a cup holder installed on the side of the dispenser to hold disposable paper or plastic cups

While water coolers have provisions to make sure that we enjoy cool and fresh water to drink, these devices require periodic maintenance procedures to prevent contamination.