With our busy lives where time is valuable, a hot water dispenser can be the difference between getting an extra 5 minutes of sleep or waking up 30 minutes in advance to prepare breakfast.
Having hot water with a turn of a lever accelerates chores. For example, it can buy you time if you suddenly realize you have to sterilize your baby’s milk bottles. And while you’re at it, you can soak your greasy dishes too and save time.
The truth is, hot water is essential to our daily lives. Whether it’s for cleaning, sterilizing, or speeding up pasta, it’s hard to imagine a life without it. You might be familiar with the different types of hot water dispensers. Perhaps, when we mentioned the appliance, one person is thinking of the unit in their office, and another person is thinking of the tank underneath his sink.
Types of Hot Water Dispensers
Hot water dispensers vary from top-loading, portable, and point. Top-loading dispensers use a jug that you place on top of the unit. They typically have 2 faucets for warm and cold and are pretty common in offices and households. Portable hot water dispensers, on the other hand, give you the convenience of portability at the expense of a smaller capacity. While these two have their own silver linings, including not needing installations, the third type can still be appealing for most households.
Point hot water dispensers can also give both temperatures, depending on the unit that you’ll be getting. You attach them directly to your main water line, which means you can have hot water by just turning your faucet on normally. And because they work with your water line, you can dispense as much or as less hot water, depending on your needs.
However, because you connect them to your main water line, some people are hesitant of getting these units. Most of the time, they’ll just hire a plumber to make sure that they have installed it correctly. But if you’re the type who is very hands-on and enjoys DIY projects, you can still find units that don’t require you to be a rocket scientist.
But First… How Do You Install a Hot Water Dispenser?
It will be a whole lot easier if you have some background in installing hot water dispensers. But you can also talk with your home improvement center employees if you are unsure with your unit’s instructions.
Generally, your sink top must have a hole because this is where you’ll thread your faucet. Depending on the model, you must check the dimension requirements of the hole and the thickness of your countertop.
After you have tightened the faucet in place, the next step is to connect a saddle valve on the cold water pipe. This is where you’re connecting the tank to your water supply. You can use copper tubing and compression fittings. Lastly, you can join the faucet to the tank.
It is also worth noting that some hot water dispensers will work well with filtration systems.
InSinkErator H-WaveC-SS Involve Series
Among the most popular hot water dispensers are from InSinkErator. They market one of their models from the Involve series called the H-WaveC-SS as an easy-to-install unit. The faucet itself will require a hole measuring from 1-¼ inch to 1-½ inch in diameter. And as for the countertop thickness, it should not be more than 3 inches. Threading the faucet through the countertop is easy. It also has a plastic nut that you can use to tighten the faucet in place.
For connecting the tank to your water line, you need to buy some materials separately. These include the shutoff valve, compression washer, adapter, and those for T-fitting including a ¼ inch nut. If the material of your sink cabinet is easy to put some pilot holes in, it will also be relatively easy to mount your tank in it.
All in all, it helps that the directions that come with this unit are easy to understand. This water dispenser even has good reviews confirming that InSinkErator lives up to their claim of easy installation.
Waste King H711-U-SN
Similar to the InsinkErator, the H711-U-SN from Waste King is easy to thread through the countertop. But if you ended up experiencing leakings, you might need to replace and clean out the potentially damaged o-ring bits and re-assemble the valve.
Waste King comes pre-installed with a power cord, and you will also get quick-connect fittings with and without a filter. These fittings are important to give you a neater-looking water line. However, you have to purchase separate tubings measuring ? and ¼ inches for installation.
It is important to note that the braided hose where your cold water supply line will connect to has a ? inches male compression fitting. Therefore, if your supply line does not measure at ? inches, you will need an adapter. Otherwise, your supply line can go directly onto the hose using the included nut and brass ferrule.
For attaching the faucet to the tank, you can attach the red hose directly on the stud on the tank’s corner since they both measure ¼ inches. You can also attach the neoprene hose from the faucet to the tank’s center using the provided two clamps with no additional tweaks or hardware necessary.
Ready Hot RH-100-F560-CH
Last but not the least is the RH-100-F560-CH from Ready Hot. Frankly speaking, compared to the previous hot water dispensers, this unit will be better for those with more experience with plumbing. However, this model still deserves to be on this list because the instructions are well-written. You will also get quick-connect fittings like in the Waste King, as well as the hose clamp and adapter.
Final Take
“Easy” installation can be subjective. Your experience might depend on how easy it is to understand the instructions or how familiar you are with each step. Like with any home modifications, installing a hot water dispenser yourself can either be frustrating or effortless. DIY projects can be enjoyable, as long as you have the patience to learn.
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