A water dispenser gives you chilled, hot and room temperature water on tap, from an 18.9 litre bottle or straight from the mains through a filter. In South Africa they are in kitchens, office parks, school staffrooms, clinics, mine change houses and guesthouse lounges, and they keep people drinking when the municipal supply is off for maintenance. Whether you want to buy one unit, rent ten for a business park or set up weekly bottle delivery, send one request and suppliers who work in your area quote you directly. It is free and there is no obligation.
Which kind of dispenser fits your space?
Most dispensers do the same job. The difference is where the water comes from and how you load it:
- Top-loading: the classic floor-standing unit with the bottle upside down on top. Cheap to buy, but someone has to lift 19 kg. See hot and cold dispensers.
- Bottom-loading: the bottle slides into a cabinet and a small pump draws the water up. Easier on backs and neater to look at. See bottom-loading dispensers.
- Countertop: a compact unit for a small kitchen, reception desk or flat, usually with a smaller bottle or a manual fill tank.
- Plumbed-in (point of use): connected to the cold water line with a filter, so there are no bottles at all. See plumbed-in dispensers.
What to check before you choose
Look at the cooling system first. Compressor units chill quickly and keep up with a busy office; electronic (thermoelectric) units are quieter and cheaper but struggle on a hot Lowveld or Northern Cape afternoon. Check the hot tank size and whether the hot tap has a child lock, which matters in homes and crèches.
Ask how the unit is cleaned and how often. A dispenser that is never sanitised grows a film in the reservoir and the taps, whatever water you put in it. Many suppliers include a cleaning service with a rental, so ask whether yours does.
Buy, rent or plumb in?
Buying makes sense for a home or a small office that will collect its own bottle refills. Renting suits businesses that want the supplier to handle cleaning, repairs and replacements for a monthly fee, often bundled with bottled water delivery. Plumbed-in units cost more up front or per month, but there are no bottles to store, carry or run out of, so they suit sites with 20 or more people and a cold water point nearby.
Getting quotes you can compare
Give every supplier the same facts: how many people drink at the site, whether you want hot water, where the unit will stand, whether there is a plug and a water point nearby, and how often you want bottles delivered. Ask what is included: delivery and set-up, the number of bottles a month, the bottle deposit, sanitising visits, filter changes and what happens if the unit breaks. A low rental with expensive bottles, or a cheap unit with no service, can cost more over a year than a slightly higher quote that covers everything.
What to include in your request
- How many people drink at the site each day
- Buy, rent or plumbed-in, and hot water or not
- Where it will stand: plug and water point nearby
- How often you want bottles delivered
- The suburb, town or business park
Water Dispensers for different sites
- Households: a hot and cold dispenser in the kitchen with bottles collected or delivered every fortnight
- Offices and business parks: one or more rented dispensers with weekly bottle delivery and sanitising every few months
- Schools, crèches and colleges: child-safe dispensers in the staffroom and classrooms, with cold-only units near the sports fields
- Clinics, practices and care homes: dispensers in waiting rooms and staff kitchens, cleaned on a schedule the infection control team can see
- Lodges, hotels, restaurants and events: dispensers in conference rooms, gyms and staff areas, or plumbed-in units in the guest lounge
- Factories, mines and building sites: robust units in change houses and canteens, with enough bottles for hot shifts on the factory floor
- Shops, gyms and refill stations: a dispenser for staff in the back office or for customers in a showroom or salon
- Farms, smallholdings and villages: a bottle dispenser on a farm or smallholding where borehole water tastes of iron or salt
Frequently asked questions
Do you sell water dispensers?
How much water does an office drink?
How much electricity does a water dispenser use?
Can I use tap water in a bottle dispenser?
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