Water Cooler Manuals & Owner Guides

Water cooler types

Hot and cold

Chilled water plus a heated reservoir for tea and instant foods; the hot tank accounts for most of the energy use.

Hot, cold and room-temperature

Adds an unchilled tap — ENERGY STAR calls this a "hot, cook and cold" unit.

Cold and room-temperature

No heater, so energy use is far lower ("cook and cold" in ENERGY STAR terms).

Cold only

The simplest and lowest-energy design.

Bottled vs. point-of-use

Top-loading coolers use gravity and are the simplest, but require lifting a bottle that weighs about 42 lb when full. Bottom-loading coolers hide the bottle in the cabinet and pump water up. Point-of-use coolers connect to a cold-water line and usually filter the water, eliminating bottle deliveries.

Keeping a cooler clean

Sanitize the reservoirs and water path every three months or as the manual directs, empty the drip tray weekly, and store spare bottles out of sunlight and away from chemicals. Point-of-use filters must be replaced on schedule.

Water Cooler FAQ