Standard hot & cold water dispenser

[MaiDong]

I'm looking to buy a 'Standard' hot & cold water dispenser from Lazada, I usually buy 1.5L bottles direct from Singha but the sheer amount of plastic used, along with lifting all those bottles through the house every couple of months, plus the storage space used, has me thinking that a dispenser is a better option all round.

I understand it'll use electric but we're constantly filling the fridge up with room temp Singha bottles, so I don't think it'll make much difference to the leccy bill.

 

My question is this: has anybody bought one of these? What was your experience with it? Do they last a long time? Can they be easily fixed if a pump/motor fails?

 

There are many different types of water dispenser on the market, but sadly most of them are plastic boxes, and will deteriorate/yellow in this climate(or just get fallen into by a teenage boy), and I don't want to contribute any more plastic to landfill(the oceans) than is absolutely necessary.

This is why I've got my eye on this 'Standard' brand. It looks good enough in the pics, the reviews are fair, but I'd like to hear from anybody here who has one, and if they would recommend it.

 

[CharlieH]

Many of these (not all) do not make the water cold.They will make it hot (if you have the option).

 

If you put the water in cold it will maintain it for a time.

 

So, check exactly what you are buying, z water cooler or just a dispenser, as descriptions are less than accurate from my experience.

[MaiDong]

2 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Many of these (not all) do not make the water cold.They will make it hot (if you have the option).

 

If you put the water in cold it will maintain it for a time.

 

So, check exactly what you are buying, z water cooler or just a dispenser, as descriptions are less than accurate from my experience.

Thanks, I'll bare that in mind.

[HauptmannUK]

26 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Many of these (not all) do not make the water cold.They will make it hot (if you have the option).

 

If you put the water in cold it will maintain it for a time.

 

So, check exactly what you are buying, z water cooler or just a dispenser, as descriptions are less than accurate from my experience.

Reading the Thai description reveals that its a cooler unit that cools water to between 4-8 deg.  It can cool 4 litres per hour.  Personally I'd prefer to keep individual sealed bottles in the fridge at 4 degrees. Less chance of contamination.

[CharlieH]

5 minutes ago, HauptmannUK said:

Reading the Thai description reveals that its a cooler unit that cools water to between 4-8 deg.  It can cool 4 litres per hour.  Personally I'd prefer to keep individual sealed bottles in the fridge at 4 degrees. Less chance of contamination.

Thats what I do, we have a shelf dedicated to the bottles.

 

The plastic bottles recycle amount actually pays the mains water bill ????

[MaiDong]

1 minute ago, CharlieH said:

Thats what I do, we have a shelf dedicated to the bottles.

Same here, but we get through so many bottles, and that's what I'm trying to cut down on.

 

5 minutes ago, HauptmannUK said:

Reading the Thai description reveals that its a cooler unit that cools water to between 4-8 deg.  It can cool 4 litres per hour.  Personally I'd prefer to keep individual sealed bottles in the fridge at 4 degrees. Less chance of contamination.

I plan on buying Singha water 19L bottles, I don't see any more chance of contamination using those over 1.5L bottles.

[Dmaxdan]

We've have one made by Clarte.

It's about 10 years old now and so far has never had a problem.

 

Our one only chills the water, it basically works on the same principal as a refrigerator, switching it's on and off via a thermostat when the water temperature rises. It doesn't chill the water in the bottle, only what is in the reservoir within the machine. It has a control on the back which you can adjust to how cold you wish your water to be.

 

There is no pump to fail.

The water is dispensed purely by gravity from the 20 liter water bottle which is turned upside down on top of the machine.

Warning! Changing the bottle when the water is finished does take some practice!

 

We decided against buying on that heated the water.

A conventional kettle is perfectly adequate for that purpose.

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by Dmaxdan

[MaiDong]

36 minutes ago, Dmaxdan said:

We've have one made by Clarte.

It's about 10 years old now and so far has never had a problem.

 

Our one only chills the water, it basically works on the same principal as a refrigerator, switching it's on and off via a thermostat when the water temperature rises. It doesn't chill the water in the bottle, only what is in the reservoir within the machine. It has a control on the back which you can adjust to how cold you wish your water to be.

 

There is no pump to fail.

The water is dispensed purely by gravity from the 20 liter water bottle which is turned upside down on top of the machine.

Warning! Changing the bottle when the water is finished does take some practice!

 

We decided against buying on that heated the water.

A conventional kettle is perfectly adequate for that purpose.

 

 

 

Thanks for your helpful reply! Some good points there.

I'm going to have a look around my area for pricing and brands. So far I've seen Standard, Victor & Clarte, I can't see there being much difference between them though...

I assume that because they're gravity fed they're a little bit faster to dispense than the fridge-front-mounted dispensers?

 

Thanks for the heads-up regarding the bottle change too!

[lopburi3]

Having had a SS Standard - cooler only - for about a decade found it very reliable.  But as bottles became heavy (or we got older) found the bottom storage type much better and have had for about 2 years now - plastic yes but black and seems to be holding up very well.  Hot and Cold and very easy to change bottles.  Both h/c can be switched on/off.

 

Edit:  have RO filter so use two bottles and fill ourselves - easy to push across floor with foot rather than carry.  Do not use the heater as have Tefal pot for that. 

 

One caution if buying Stainless Steel unit - be sure you have RCBO protection as electric/water/steel is not a good combination.

Edited April 17, 2022 by lopburi3

[MaiDong]

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

Having had a SS Standard - cooler only - for about a decade found it very reliable.  But as bottles became heavy (or we got older) found the bottom storage type much better and have had for about 2 years now - plastic yes but black and seems to be holding up very well.  Hot and Cold and very easy to change bottles.  Both h/c can be switched on/off.

I do like this type, and I'm sort of sure my 17 year old son wouldn't fall into it giggling whilst smashing it to smithereens, but the stainless one is already on order now, so I'll give it a go, if I don't like it I'll relocate it to somewhere else in the house and try something like this.

What's the water flow like? maybe wrongly I assume the water flow is quite slow, correct me if I'm wrong.

[lopburi3]

9 minutes ago, MaiDong said:

I do like this type, and I'm sort of sure my 17 year old son wouldn't fall into it giggling whilst smashing it to smithereens, but the stainless one is already on order now, so I'll give it a go, if I don't like it I'll relocate it to somewhere else in the house and try something like this.

What's the water flow like? maybe wrongly I assume the water flow is quite slow, correct me if I'm wrong.

Water flow is same as normal above tank water units - it pumps water into the normal cooler storage tank.  Pump normally starts after you get a glass of water and only lasts a couple seconds.

[IvorBiggun2]

Do not buy a 'Standard' dispenser. They are as noisy as hell. I bought one about 6 months ago for about 2,500 Baht and it's completely c***. It doesn't keep the water cold as I wanted and I'm now having to buy a new one due to the noise. All I want is a quiet machine that dispenses cold, not lukewarm, water. Any suggestions please?

[lopburi3]

11 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Do not buy a 'Standard' dispenser. They are as noisy as hell. I bought one about 6 months ago for about 2,500 Baht and it's completely c***. It doesn't keep the water cold as I wanted and I'm now having to buy a new one due to the noise. All I want is a quiet machine that dispenses cold, not lukewarm, water. Any suggestions please?

Have not had any such noise issues with the 3 units I have owned over the years (with current hot temps expect compressor running a lot - although do not hear mine in un airconditioned room).  The lukewarm issue is likely first ounce or so that is in line from cooler to tap - if you dump that and take another cup expect will be cold as you like.  But if just one person a bottle or two in refrigerator to drink out of might be cost effective.

Edited April 3, 2023 by lopburi3

[IvorBiggun2]

3 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Have not had any such noise issues with the 3 units I have owned over the years

It was so noisy when I first bought it off of Lazada that I originally tried to return it. My wife suggested that the compressor may settle down after a little time. That seemed to be the case but it didn't last. And the noise returned or started again.  

[lopburi3]

4 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

It was so noisy when I first bought it off of Lazada that I originally tried to return it. My wife suggested that the compressor may settle down after a little time. That seemed to be the case but it didn't last. And the noise returned or started again.  

Might just be loose bolts or missing rubber pads?  Expect local air/ref shop worker might be able to fix if no guarantee issues.  Did you let it stand a day before using after Lazada delivery (never know if they may have put on side)?  

[IvorBiggun2]

4 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Might just be loose bolts or missing rubber pads?  Expect local air/ref shop worker might be able to fix if no guarantee issues.  Did you let it stand a day before using after Lazada delivery (never know if they may have put on side)?  

I can't be bothered with it anymore. Paying for someone to look at it is just going to waste more money if they can't fix it. It's gonna have to be a new one, but which one????

[lopburi3]

8 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

I can't be bothered with it anymore. Paying for someone to look at it is just going to waste more money if they can't fix it. It's gonna have to be a new one, but which one????

I tried several others (name brands) and found Standard better so can not help with that.

[terryq]

Our first water dispenser (cooling only ) was a 'Standard' very quiet and cooled fine . Unfortunately it failed about a year ago.

 

So we bought another one, why ??  If the new one emulates the original with 32 years faultless operation we will be very happy.

 

[NickyLouie]

These get very dirty inside and develop mold and algae that you cannot see, make sure you flush them with either bleach or vinegar every few months.