How to choose the right cooler for you

Drinking water is crucial for maintaining good health, and a water cooler is a great way to provide fresh drinking water at home or in the workplace.

Buying small 500ml bottles of water for every employee on a daily basis can be very expensive. The most convenient way to make fresh water accessible for drinking in the office is by installing a water cooler. The simple and compact design of water coolers enables them to fit well in any office space. There are 3 main types of watercooler so it’s important to make sure you choose the right one. Each has their own benefits and drawbacks. Here’s a few things to consider when deciding which cooler would be right for you.

Bottle-fed coolers – Free standing

Benefits - Easy to install, no plumbing required, simply plug the cooler in and turn it on, it can be moved to different locations, bottled spring water tastes great, they have two taps for a choice of ice cold chilled water or room temperature.
Drawbacks – Bottles are heavy (roughly 19kgs each), you will need some space to store the bottles and someone strong to change the bottle over when it’s empty, bottles can be expensive in the long term, variable monthly cost depending on consumption. Some self-maintenance is required, for example emptying the drip tray when it’s getting full and cleaning high touch areas regularly.

Mains-fed coolers – Free standing

Benefits – Endless supply of ice cold filtered water, you don’t need to handle big bottles, environmentally friendly, you won’t need to buy bottles ever again or find a place to store them, fixed monthly price.
Drawbacks – They require a skilled engineer to install the cooler, as they are attached to the mains water supply you may be limited to where you can install it, once the cooler is in place you cannot move it easily. As with the bottle-fed cooler, some self-maintenance is required like emptying drip tray when it’s full and cleaning high touch areas regularly.

Mains-fed coolers – Fixed to wall and plumbed to waste option.

These coolers are perfect for schools, gyms and high traffic areas. They dispense an endless supply of ice cold filtered water from the mains water supply just like the free standing option. However, these coolers are fixed to the floor and wall using a cowling that makes them tamper proof – little hands cannot gain access behind the machine. These coolers have a drip tray that feeds straight to an existing waste pipe so you never have to worry about emptying the drip tray or worry about it overflowing.

Countertop models

The bottle-fed & mains-fed coolers both come in countertop models. They are perfect for smaller offices and kitchens where floor space is tight.

Consumption calculator

Our 18.9 litre bottle is the equivalent to 100 cups so one bottle of our spring water would comfortably accommodate roughly 13 employees per day. That’s if every employee stuck to the recommended 8 cups a day!