Anyone have a drinking water fountain?

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I usually have one or two people helping me at our place working on the property or in the shop. We go through a case of bottled water a day in this heat. It is hassle to go buy it all the time and bottles are left everywhere. I was thinking of buying one of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001DEN91E/ref=pd_aw_sbs_60_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1EMA6VN11JVV6G4SSZJX and mounting it in the shop on the outside of the bathroom wall. Wondered if anyone else had some type of water dispenser in their shops? I considered the office style water coolers with the inverted 5 gallon bottles but you still have to buy those and cups.

Where in Texas are you? I won an auction that had a high and low, side x side water fountain. The high one has the cooling unit and the low one just takes water from the high one. I mounted the high side in my barn. If you had a refrigerator that you could mount the low one next to, you could run a coil of tubing into and out of the fridge for your cooling unit. I'd just give you the lower unit if you wanted it. I live in Giddings but commute to College Station if that's anywhere near you. I love having a water cooler. It keeps me from having to go into the house all dusty just to get a drink. Also, I hate lugging water bottles around. Sometimes you can find the old style stand up models which aren't compliant for wheelchair people.

 

[AxleHub]

I know you are prob. not interested but just a side note. The machine shop I went to as a kid had an old time spicket turned upside down for a water fountain. It worked very well. That was over 45 years ago when people did not think all water had to be cold to be drinkable. Ed

In our Wisconsin community . . we have "bubblers". They are substantial cast metal units located an many street corners inthe downtown area (they are completely free standing) and you can stop for fresh cold drinks anytime till temperatures cease their operation.

 

[DFB]

I usually have one or two people helping me at our place working on the property or in the shop. We go through a case of bottled water a day in this heat. It is hassle to go buy it all the time and bottles are left everywhere. I was thinking of buying one of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001DEN91E/ref=pd_aw_sbs_60_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1EMA6VN11JVV6G4SSZJX and mounting it in the shop on the outside of the bathroom wall. Wondered if anyone else had some type of water dispenser in their shops? I considered the office style water coolers with the inverted 5 gallon bottles but you still have to buy those and cups.

We have two just like those in picture side by side, one high, one low in our new building. Work really well water gets cold very quick.

We have supplied bottled water for years for a crew of up to 10 men. Gets expensive and the outdoor litter from those cheap plastic bottles is phenomenal (even with the rules) thruout the orchard. Let them use their own containers to fill up now.

Pretty easy to install too. A hanger bracket is mounted on the wall first. (helps to have a solid backer at that point) Feed line, drain line. You need a wall outlet under where it mounts. The instructions were pretty explicit. Ours was all done to satisfy commercial building code inspection.

 

[chim]

We had a bunch of the regular bottled water dispensers in our facilities. I've been replacing them with these:

Clover D7A White Cabinet Bottleless Water Cooler | Pittsburgh Water Cooler

No more whining about carrying 5 gallon jugs. I had them install a whole-house type charcoal filter head of the dispenser and all they are as simple to connect with a 1/4" line. They like the hot side for instant soup, hot chocolate and tea.

 

[Deere Dude]

In our Wisconsin community . . we have "bubblers". They are substantial cast metal units located an many street corners inthe downtown area (they are completely free standing) and you can stop for fresh cold drinks anytime till temperatures cease their operation.

Unless they have a refrigeration unit, the only time they will be fresh and cold would be in October maybe. I have never seen good ones on street corners.

 

[chim]

Unless they have a refrigeration unit, the only time they will be fresh and cold would be in October maybe. I have never seen good ones on street corners.

Depends on the part of the country you're in. Around here the temp is about 55* in the warmer weather and a little lower in late winter. Cold water piping will sweat in an unconditioned space when the humidity is high. If I run the equivalent of a couple glasses of water to empty the house piping, it's refreshing any time of year.

At work, we have so much interior piping that it takes refrigeration at the dispenser to chill it down.

 

[AxleHub]

Unless they have a refrigeration unit, the only time they will be fresh and cold would be in October maybe. I have never seen good ones on street corners.

Deere dude,

"Bubblers" in our town are all much older than I am . . Turn of the century. They weigh a couple hundred pounds each and are hooked up directly to the city's deep well pump system. In our area water is 46 to 48 degrees and because it is hooked up pre-treatment, its filtered but it doesn't have the chemical additives. Its exactly why western wi produced so many breweries and why western wisconsin is home to so many bottled water producers.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Deere dude,

"Bubblers" in our town are all much older than I am . . Turn of the century. They weigh a couple hundred pounds each and are hooked up directly to the city's deep well pump system. In our area water is 46 to 48 degrees and because it is hooked up pre-treatment, its filtered but it doesn't have the chemical additives. Its exactly why western wi produced so many breweries and why western wisconsin is home to so many bottled water producers.

I wish I could get some "Point" beer down here. Good stuff.

 

[Deere Dude]

Deere dude,

"Bubblers" in our town are all much older than I am . . Turn of the century. They weigh a couple hundred pounds each and are hooked up directly to the city's deep well pump system. In our area water is 46 to 48 degrees and because it is hooked up pre-treatment, its filtered but it doesn't have the chemical additives. Its exactly why western wi produced so many breweries and why western wisconsin is home to so many bottled water producers.

I guess I am spoiled. I like water at 33 -35 deg. I have an ice maker and water on the fridge at home but I keep a glass in the refrigerator with 1/2 ice and 1/2 water so it is as cold as you can probably get it. A good bubbler will be almost there but most don't, especially the non refrigerated ones on the street corner. In hot weather I will suck from them if I am really thirsty and nothing else is available and I won't drink bottled water except for dire need. I'm too cheap to pay for bottled water that is just plain old water. Besides, from living on well water in Wisconsin for 65 years, I like water with a little taste. Bottled water doesn't seem to have any taste to it. Taste is all filtered out :laughing:

 

[varmint]

I'll chime in and add that bottled water, while needed in some conditions, is an abomination in general. In a world running out of potable water, it take about 4 gallons of clean water to make each and every plastic liter water bottle... and the litter from the discarded bottles drives me nuts. Come down to Baltimore's scenic Inner Harbor area, and where the covered over streams flow into the harbor, you will see where thousands of those bottles end up. I think two or three "cleaner barges" stay busy trying to gather the flotsam and jetsam.

The Elkay fountains are an industry standard- I started specing them 40 years ago, as an architect, and hardly ever saw any issues with them. Perfectly logical for the OP's needs!