Water coolers – Buying guide

A cooler company image with water coolers

Water coolers and dispensers are now more and more frequently found in hallways, conference rooms, corridors and recreation rooms of companies of all sized - why not in yours yet ?

There are a few types of dispensers to choose from to give your employees a chance of immediate and healthy refreshment. If choosing between a table top or free-standing cooler seems pretty straightforward to you, you might be scratching your head about the all-important choice between a bottled cooler and a plumber - in cooler - especially since there are economical arguments in that debate. After you have decided on the machine, you’ll be ready to choose between buying the cooler, renting it or leasing it.

Types of water coolers

- Bottled coolers VS plumbed-in coolers: Choosing between a bottled cooler and a plumber-in cooler is the biggest question as far as these devices are concerned. Both types have their advantages and disadvantages, so make sure your review the checklist before making your choice.

- Hot and cold dispensers: It would be awkward to call a hot water dispenser a... water cooler, but these are nonetheless a distinguished category within the same family of product. Do you want the dispenser to release cold water, hot water, boiling water or all of them?

- Freestanding or table top coolers: Here, the question is more about volume: do you need to provide large quantities of water, or just a little? This is the main, but not the only question which governs the choice between freestanding and table top coolers.

Choosing the right water cooler

A water cooler is simply not the kind of device you just buy, install and leave. First, you don’t necessarily need to buy it at all: you can also rent it or leave it - all solutions have their advantages. Then, you need know that you will have to maintain it regularly, and how to maintain it. With this in mind, and after deciding on the economical merits of bottled coolers VS plumbed-in coolers, you can safely select the model and manufacturer that’s right for your needs.

- Bottled water cooler VS plumbed-in water cooler, the economical battle: Many technical differences result in very different requirements and different cost factors for bottled coolers and plumbed-in coolers, that make the overall bill quite different between the two solutions.

- Understanding maintenance instructions: Maintenance is a key area of differences between various models, but users need to know that there will always be the need for some regular maintenance, and should be prepared for the related costs.

- Buying, leasing or renting a water cooler: Knowing that there’s more to water cooling than the cooler itself, prospective users get a better idea of the pros and cons of buying, leasing and renting their machines.

- Main suppliers: More than a dozen suppliers compete on the water cooler business - some provide everything from machine to water and service, some are known for the original options they offer.