Since the evolution of the electric water cooler in 1938, reservoir water coolers have been probably the most widely used of all chilling systems. After hearing this, it was no surprise to me that these types of coolers are often referred to as “dinosaur†coolers, which I’m sure refers not only to the age, but to the bulky appearance of these types of coolers as well.
With reservoir water coolers, water is first filtered through a carbon media filtration bed, and then into the reservoir, typically 2L where it is then chilled over time.
I have heard it said that drinking from a tank-fed water cooler is like taking a jug of water, putting into the fridge and continuously refilling it and drinking from it without washing it out….not a terribly appetising thought!
Reservoir coolers are easily accessible and slighlty cheaper than more advanced cooling technologies, however, they do come with a number of drawbacks. Without going into too much detail, some of these include:
-The carbon filtration is heavily relied upon with these systems. However, where the volume of water dispensed is high, the filter becomes less effective than it should be.
– The filtration process removes the chlorine that protects the water prior to the water stagnating in the reservoir. Therefore there is a risk of harmful bacteria developing.
– The temperature of water within the reservoir fluctuates between 4-12°C, which can be a suitable environment for bacterial proliferation.
If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to use a reservoir cooler, here are a few tips that can help to minimise some of the drawbacks to reservoir coolers:
- Don’t drink directly from the tap
- Don’t let the surfaces of reused cups or bottles touch the tap outlet
- Do not pour any unused water or beverage into the drip tray
- Don’t touch the tap outlet or water stream
- Where applicable use the clean cups provided
- Advise management if the machine is not working properly
- Report any water taste or appearance problems to management
- Ensure any reused personal water bottles have been cleaned
This is the last of the Chilling System series. I hope you have enjoyed learning about what is out there, and that it makes your choice of point of use water coolers a little easier going forward.
Whatever you do, whichever type of chilling system you opt for, the most important thing is to keep hydrated!
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