What to consider when buying hot water dispensers

Hot water dispensers, also called instant hots, provide you with hot water at the ready. These may be stand alone units which are part of a freestanding water cooler or they may be part of your sink and plumbed into the plumbing of your home. Before buying a hot water dispenser, there are a number of things you should consider to make sure you get the features you need.

Technical features

The first thing to consider when buying hot water taps or a hot water dispenser is what technology is used to provide you with the hot water. Some hot water dispensers use a coil system where water is heated up as it passes through coils before it comes out of the boiling water tap. Others have a small tank which sits under the sink or in the cabinet. The tank keeps the water hot so that it comes out more quickly than water which has to pass through coils. The risk of the tanked system, however, is that if something goes wrong, the water could leak and potentially do damage. The flow rate The flow rate is your next consideration. This is the rate at which hot water can be produced. Pay attention to how many cups can be produced per minute or per hour and make sure that the dispenser can produce enough water to serve your needs. In a home set-up for example, a cup dispenser which produces 20 cups an hour might be more than enough unless you routinely have huge parties. In an office environment, you may need a dispenser which produces 60 cups per hour or more, so everyone in the office can have their hot cup of coffee or tea without waiting for the dispenser to refresh.

Other considerations

Once you have made sure your hot water dispenser has the technical features you need, you want to consider aesthetics. Do you want the instant boiling water to come from your sink? If so, you may want to look for a home water dispenser which has a faucet which will coordinate with the existing faucet that you have. Brands like the Insinkerator hot water dispenser offer a variety of different faucet styles and finishes so you can find something to match any decor. If you prefer a free standing unit, then you will need to think about getting one for which you have space for somewhere in your home. You will also need to think about how often it needs to be refilled and whether the hot water boilers or hot water machine will be used enough if it is not part of the sink itself.