As discussed in Chilling Systems Part I, there are numerous variations of chilling systems within the water cooler market. We’ve already seen that the Reservoir/Tank Fed coolers with UV light leave a lot to be desired when it comes to cooler hygiene; now we take a look at the Direct Chill system.
We at Living-Water took a view since the day we opened our doors that we would supply Direct Chill water coolers to all clients wherever possible.
Direct Chill technology is far more advanced and offers significant hygiene benefits over reservoir technology. As the water enters the system filtered, it passes into chill coil pipe and is chilled as it moves through the pipe to the point of dispense, providing a more consistent delivery of chilled water. This coil is an Ice Bath which maintains water temperature continually below 5 degrees Celsius.
Its principal advantage over other water cooler systems is that the water flows continuously through the system, rather than sitting waiting to be dispensed, and so bacterial proliferation – a constant bugbear of other cooling systems – is no longer an issue.
Also, the water does not come into contact with air until it is dispensed, so this system does not require UV inside the cooler and provides increased quality of product delivered coupled with obvious hygiene benefits.
As much as we are in favour of Direct Chill technology, there are a few considerations that may become drawbacks depending on the type of environment this where this is situated.
- The volume of chilled water that can be dispensed at the optimum temperature is limited to 20 Litres per hour from direct chill units; therefore extra consideration should be given if the cooler is to be sited in a busy environment.
- Some customers can be mistaken that direct chill water coolers do not need to be sanitised. Such assumptions are misguided. Direct Chill water coolers also need to be sanitised regularly. Contamination occurs mainly from the tap end and rarely from the incoming water. By removing chlorine in the mains water through a carbon filter, bacteria has been removed prior to entering the direct chill system, thereby allowing bacterial contamination from the tap back into the cooler.
To spend that little extra to make sure that you get a Direct Chill cooler should be considered by all. If you consider that the water cooler houses your daily drinking water supply, upgrading to Direct Chill would probably be one of the most effective improvements you could make to your office hygiene, and personal peace of mind.
