How Does a Water Cooler Work?
How Does a Water Cooler Work?
You’ve seen them in countless waiting rooms and offices, but how do water coolers actually work? And are they worth having around?When you think of a water cooler, you likely think of the most common type: the bottle-fed water cooler. These coolers feature a large water bottle sitting upside down on top of the cooler. There’s a valve present that prevents the bottle from flooding the machine. Instead, a certain amount of water is funneled from the bottle to an internal reservoir surrounded by small pipes. The pipes are filled with a refrigerant that chills the water in the reservoir, keeping it cool and ready for you when you need it.
The hot water is heated much like a water heater in a home heats water. The water enters a separate reservoir dedicated to hot water. There, it is heated with a heating element. Some models, like this Global G5F dispenser, also come with the option for room temperature water, which is stored in a third reservoir.
The other element involved in water coolers is the filter. It is becoming more widely recognized that despite misleading labels, single-use store-bought bottled water is most often no purer than tap water, and in some cases, it’s even less clean! Because of that and the potential for unsafe drinking water from the tap that varies by region, it’s important to filter your water before you ingest it. Your water cooler is the perfect point in the system to do so.
There are multiple ways of filtering your water. Some, like the Clover D16AF-B-K, house traditional filters that do an excellent job of removing potentially harmful chemicals and other substances from drinking water. Others, such as the Global G3RO water dispenser, use a newer approach called reverse osmosis which is incredibly effective.
If you’re interested in learning more about how water coolers work, take a look at Keystone Water’s impressive inventory or bottle, bottleless, and countertop water dispensers!
