A hot and cold water dispenser gives you chilled water for drinking and near-boiling water for tea, coffee, instant soup and baby bottles, all from one unit. In winter on the Highveld or in a Cape Town office, it saves a lot of kettle trips and queueing. Most are floor-standing with an 18.9 litre bottle, though some connect to the water line. Send one request and suppliers in your area quote you directly, to buy or to rent. It is free and carries no obligation.
What you are really choosing
Three choices decide the price and the daily experience. First, the loading style: a bottle on top is cheapest, while a bottle in the cabinet is easier on backs (see bottom-loading dispensers). Second, the water source: bottle or mains. Third, the cooling system. Compressor units chill fast and cope with a busy tearoom. Electronic units cost less and are quiet, but cool more slowly.
A supplier who knows your site can advise on the right mix. See also water dispensers for the full range.
Hot water safety
The hot tap is the part to take seriously, especially where there are children, elderly people or visitors. Look for:
- a child lock on the hot tap, which needs two actions to open
- a drip tray that is easy to remove and wipe
- a hot tank thermostat and a cut-out in case of fault
- a switch to turn the hot tank off at night or on weekends
In a crèche or a home with toddlers, place the unit where little hands cannot reach the tap, and never rely on the lock alone.
What drives the cost
As a rough guide, a floor-standing hot and cold unit costs about R4,600 to R12,400 to buy. Where a quote lands in that range depends on the cooling system, the hot tank size, bottom or top loading, and any extras such as a self-clean function. The running cost is the electricity for the hot tank and the bottles you drink. A tank that stays hot all day uses noticeably more power than one switched off outside working hours, so ask for the rated power of each model.
Buy, rent and keep it clean
Buying suits a home or a small office. Renting suits a business that wants the supplier to handle repairs and replacement for a monthly fee, often combined with bottled water delivery. Whichever you pick, a dispenser needs sanitising on a schedule, because the taps and reservoir grow a film if they are ignored. Ask whether a cleaning service is included and how often it happens.
What to include in your request
- How many people use the hot and cold taps
- Child lock on the hot tap, yes or no
- Buy or rent, and for how long
- Top-loading, bottom-loading or plumbed-in
- The suburb, town or business park
Hot and Cold Water Dispensers for different sites
- Households: a hot and cold unit in the kitchen for tea, coffee, soup and the odd baby bottle
- Offices and business parks: a tearoom dispenser that replaces the queue at the kettle and keeps meetings on time
- Schools, crèches and colleges: a staffroom unit with a child lock, kept away from the classrooms and corridors
- Clinics, practices and care homes: hot water for staff tea and patient drinks in the waiting room, with a locked hot tap
- Lodges, hotels, restaurants and events: hot and cold water in the guest lounge, breakfast room and conference area
- Factories, mines and building sites: hot water for canteen tea and soup, and cold water for hot shifts on the floor
- Shops, gyms and refill stations: a back-office unit for staff, or a self-serve point for customers in a salon
- Farms, smallholdings and villages: a farm kitchen dispenser for tea and instant meals when load shedding slows the kettle
Frequently asked questions
How hot does the water from a dispenser get?
Does a hot and cold dispenser use a lot of electricity?
Can I use it for baby formula?
Do you sell hot and cold water dispensers?
Hot and Cold Water Dispensers by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg