If you’re buying a water dispenser or water cooler then this article is a must-read.

It will cover all of the things you should know when searching for and buying a water dispenser. This article will help you avoid common mistakes and make the best decision possible when buying a water cooler.

What is a water dispenser?

A water dispenser (also known as a water cooler) is a machine that dispenses cold, hot or room temperature water. In general there are two distinct categories of water dispensers: bottle-less water dispensers and bottled water dispensers.

Water Dispenser and Water Cooler Buyers Guide

Bottle-less water dispensers are typically plumbed into an existing water line and then dispense the water with limited filtration involved in the process. Bottled water dispensers on the other hand take larger water bottles (typically 3 or 5 gallon bottles) and then dispense the water from these bottles. As consumers begin to seek the purest water available bottled water dispensers are becoming more prominent since the water in the bottles can be of higher quality than water filtered through a bottle-less water dispenser.

The new styles of bottled water dispensers are typically free-standing machines that take 3 or 5 gallon water bottles that are placed bottle neck down into the cooler. The water is then dispensed via pulling a spigot lever or pushing a button. The 3 or 5 gallon water bottles can either be purchased from a retail water store or more commonly brought to you by a bottled water delivery company in your area. Normally, the water bottles placed on top of the water dispenser are made from either plastic or glass.

Water dispensers are available in different colors and finishes such as white, black or stainless steel. These machines can vary in sizes which include counter-top models or the more popular floor models that are used in offices, job sites and homes throughout the world. Most models on the market today offer options to dispense hot and cold water in a controlled manner. The hot spigot normally dispenses water that is instantly hot and will allow the user to make tea or instant foods such as soup and oatmeal. These dispensers require an electrical source and can be plugged into most standard wall outlets. Excess water from the spigots will usually gather below in a small drip tray and need to be occasionally dumped.

What to look for in a water dispenser?

When looking for a water dispenser, there are certain desirable attributes to seek out. If you are buying or renting a water dispenser with hot water then you should definitely get a water cooler with a child safety spigot lever to prevent burns from an accidental or inadvertent pressing of the lever.

In general it is best to get a water cooler that features spigots with levers for dispensing the water as coolers with push buttons tend to be of lesser quality and the buttons often become stuck in position.

It is also desirable to find a water dispenser that utilizes a spill free system which will puncture and interlock with a bottle that has a spill free cap on it. This will ensure that no water is spilled during the placement of the water bottle on the top of the dispenser. Water dispensers without a spill free system require the difficult task of flipping an open water bottle on the top of the cooler so that the water then pours into the cooler reservoir. This can be a messy process and water can spill all over the cooler and the surrounding area.

You should also seek a water dispenser that uses high quality tubing inside of the cooler. Oftentimes people will mistakenly purchase the cheapest cooler they can find only to then realize that the cheap tubing inside of the cooler makes the water they are drinking taste bad.

Where to get a water dispenser?

Water dispensers can be purchased online or at select retail stores such as home improvement or big box stores. Dispensers purchased at these different types of stores can be of varying quality and there is normally a warranty of 30 days to 1 year depending on the store and manufacturer.

In most cases the best option for purchasing a water cooler or water dispenser is to go directly through a bottled water delivery company. Since these companies regularly deliver bottled water that is used on the dispensers they are more likely to carry high quality water coolers that are reliable. These companies do not want to provide dispensers that will break down and cause problems for their water delivery customers.

Another issue to strongly consider is the warranty on the water dispenser. Typically, just like a dispenser purchased in a retail store there will be some sort of warranty period offered by the dispenser manufacturer. However, some bottled water delivery companies will offer extended warranties for no additional charge for periods of up to 5 years. If you have a bottled water company in your area that offers an additional warranty at little to no extra cost then that is definitely the way to go. Finally, another option when dealing with a bottled water company is to simply rent a water dispenser from that company. This alternative will allow you to have a water dispenser but with none of the warranty concerns associated with a purchase.

By Jason Matthews

Water Dispensers and Water Coolers
This is one of the best places I’ve found to purchase or rent a water dispenser or water cooler

The Cooler Girl: Around the Primo Water Cooler

Welcome to The Cooler Girl Blog! The authority on what’s hot, what’s not, what’s new, what’s innovative, and what you can’t live without in the water cooler and water dispenser world!

Ceramic Water Dispenser

However, if you’d rather simply buy a standard three or five gallon bottle of water, you can usually find a porcelain or ceramic water dispenser to use with it. These ceramic water dispensers aren’t like the office water cooler

New Type Of Water Dispenser – Cheap Mineral Pot from China Water

The unit can be plumbed-in to the mains water supply or used with bottled water if a mains connection isnt available. The top of the unit opens and a standard water cooler bottle can be placed on top of the cooler in these circumstances 

How to Prevent Water Cooler Paper Cups From Sticking Together

How to pull cups out of water cooler cup dispensers without them sticking together. 

Technorati Tags: bottle, ceramic, cold, cooler, coolers, countertop, dispenser, dispensers, for sale, hot, instant, mini, plumbed in, water

This article is for anyone concerned about BPA that is looking for bottled water and water bottles that are BPA free.

You will learn about BPA and about a new BPA free water bottle option on the market. You will also learn where to get BPA free water bottles from.

BPA Basics
Bisphenol-A, commonly abbreviated BPA is a difunctional building block of several important polymers and polymer additives. It is used in some plastics including polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins which are used to line the majority of food and beverage cans. BPA is used in packaging for a lot of food and beverage products including polycarbonate water bottles (marked with recycling symbol #7), baby bottles, beer cans, soup cans, baby food cans, vegetable cans and soda cans. Some studies have shown that BPA can cause adverse health effects to mice, non-human primates and potentially humans. It is unclear how much BPA can actually leach into the food and beverages humans eat but it does give cause for much more research and study on the subject. For consumers looking to avoid BPA the alternate choices are not always easy to find but they do exist.

BPA Free Water Bottles

Millions of people enjoy bottled water and especially bottled water delivery service where large 5 gallon bottles of water are brought to their homes and offices. 5 gallon bottles made with polycarbonate plastic represent the overwhelming industry standard. In fact, in most cases they are the only large bottle type used by bottled water companies. However, polycarbonate bottles do contain BPA so for consumers who wants to avoid BPA and still enjoy water delivery service this presents a problem.

However, a new solution is emerging on the market and a few companies are blazing a new trail by offering BPA free water bottle options in the form of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic 5 gallon bottles. These new BPA free PET 5 gallon bottles offer the same durability and weight of the standard polycarbonate bottles and they can even have built-in handles. However, unlike the polycarbonate bottles these new water bottles are completely BPA free. The PET bottles, marked by the #1 recycling symbol, can be re-used after sterilization and also offer the durability needed for repetitive water delivery. For the concerned water drinker, these bottles are an excellent solution with the only challenge being to find a water delivery company in their locale that offers them.

BPA Free Water Delivery

For those water drinkers that don’t have water delivery and might be relying on a home or office water filtration system they should be aware that many systems can’t remove BPA from the tap water. If they truly want to enjoy BPA free water they should look for a water company that will deliver ultra-purified bottled water to them in 5 gallon BPA free PET bottles. By choosing a water company that can deliver water and bottles that are free of BPA they will be able to enjoy refreshing water while eliminating there exposure to Bisphenol-A. For consumers that receive water delivery in polycarbonate bottles they should seek out a bottled water company that will deliver water to them in PET plastic 5 gallon bottles. It may take a bit of research to find the right vendor but more companies are starting to offer BPA free water bottles.

By Jason Matthews

BPA Free Water Bottles and  Delivery

Loving Heart Mommy: Hydrate Yourself!

She’ll be comforted knowing this bottle is made from BPA-free Eastman Tritan™ copolyester and love it if you include a donation to charity: water in her name to support sustainable hydration in African communities. 

Do Sigg Bottles Leech

If you put beer/coffee/wine/whatever in the bottle all it needs is a quick rinse with water and it won’t retain any of the smells or tastes. It got to the point where I would need to bleach my Nalgene once a week if i forgot …. All of the bottles currently online and in our stores are BPA free

The Latest News On BPA

And what if you’ve put your company name all over re-usable water bottles in an effort to promote your business and do something for the environment? What you need to know, if you’re worried about BPA, is to look for unbreakable … Trying to address the issue, the FDA released a statement in response to the Science Board report suggesting worried parents turn to BPA-free plastic alternatives or glass baby bottles

Nalgene Reusable Plastic Water Bottle

I loved my Nalgene too but alas, I’ve made the change! I bought the BPA-free Titan Water Bottle – it’s got a built in carabiner clip and they say you can unclip it and drink from it all with one hand! It’s on backorder right now so I’m thinking about another BPA free … I just purchased a nalgene bottle , eco friendly reuseable water bottle kit ; it has a number 7 in a triangle on the bottom and says it is made in the USA. 

Paper Bottles

If it irks you to pack a plastic water bottle as much as it irks us, take note of this new prototype design: paper water bottles. Design firm Brandimage has come up with a concept. National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) reports that 2.7 million tons of plastic PET bottles hit U.S. shelves

Keep The Bottle Contest

My parent’s cabin does not have drinkable tap water, so we use a lot of water bottles, juice bottles and all kind of bottles. I found a way to reuse them by turning them into a useful, good looking and entertaining buoy for the lake. posted by Patenteux du Nord … The objective of the project was to create a plane (floor, wall, ceiling, partition, anything planar really) out of used objects(our group happens to choose 2 litre PET soda bottles

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