While it’s nice to have a full sized water dispenser in the home or office, sometimes you might be strapped for time or you simply don’t need the amount of water that is provided by a large unit. In order to get around this issue and still get convenient access to the benefits of drinking water, a few companies have released some solid mini water cooler products to go along with the bigger units. I tested out roughly 12 of the most popular products on the market and came back with my top 3 picks based on these factors:
- Price
- Features
- Build Quality
Before I get to the products, I want to expand on the above three items. For price, what I really mean is “bang for the buck.” If a certain product is pretty bare on features but does it’s job as a water dispenser well enough and has a competitive price, then that’s a good product in my eyes. For features, I’m looking for useful, time-saving and convenient amenities that make life easier. What I’m not looking for are features that exist simply to fill out a bullet list on the front of the box but have no practical use. Lastly, build quality is a pretty subjective one but it’s also pretty logical. Smaller products like mini water coolers are generally more prone to shoddy design. This is because they are cheaper to manufacture than a larger item, and thus some companies will unfortunately see this as an opportunity to cut corners.
OK, with that little bit of description out of the way, let’s move on to my top 2 picks for best mini water coolers:
Cuisinart WCH-850 CleanWater Countertop Filtration System
One complaint that came up disturbingly often about some of the cheaper mini water dispensers was bad taste. Specifically, many people were concerned about a chemical flavor in their water during the first few uses, requiring them to clean their water dispenser before further use. The WCH-850 is one answer to such a problem, incorporating a water filtration system into the unit itself. This will help you avoid bad tastes and odors from your water, all in a small form factor.
The Cuisinart’s water filter is a proprietary design, featuring an advertised 80 hours of life, which the company states is equivalent to about 4 months of normal household use. I’ve learned to take advertising claims as the exaggerated statements that they usually are, so I would assume the filter will last for about half that time, especially if you are drinking the several glasses a day recommended by most health authorities.
One worry I have with this unit is the proprietary filter design. Many companies will tout features like this as a good thing, but what happens when they stop making replacement filters? Then you’ll have to buy a new dispenser. For my money, if a product requires consistent replacement, I would rather it be standardized so that I can purchase third party parts.
Beyond this, the Cuisinart water cooler is a really solid product. The build quality was excellent and I never had any issues whatsoever with getting cold water out. The water chilled pretty quickly, which was surprising out of such a small device. Generally, cheaper mini water coolers will have major problems with getting the water cold, but that was not the case here!
Lastly, here are the contaminants that the Cuisinart will remove (quoted from their stat sheet):
GF-80 filter reduces the following contaminants:
- Chlorine taste and odor 97.5%
- Mercury 92.8%
- Benzene 84.1%
- Cadmium 96.6%
- Copper 85.0%
- Tetrachloroethylene 92.5%
- Toluene 89.8%
Oasis Onyx Ultra Countertop POU Water Cooler
This unit is a real winner, but it’s got a hefty $700 price tag attached to it (as of the time of this writing). One feature that immediately drew me to the Onyx was the biodegradable, eco-friendly filter media. Any product that legitimately, efficiently allows me to reduce my waste footprint is a great thing in my book.
Another big plus in my book is the stainless steel reservoir. I generally like to avoid water coolers that use plastic reservoirs (with few exceptions, some of which are included in this article) because the cheaper ones often add an unpleasant taste or odor to drinking water. This strikes me as counterproductive considering that we spend so much money on water purification equipment that removes these impurities!
Some other cool features that you don’t find in many other water dispensers:
- Hot water dispenser with safety shut-off
- Leak detector to prevent a nasty surprise on your kitchen floor
- Ridiculously easy filter element installation
- LED lit dispenser area so that you can see what you’re doing when you wake up dehydrated in the middle of the night
- Variable water temperature adjustment
General Observations
Point of use water filters (which includes all water dispensers) are a great option when combined with a larger, point of entry system that cleans the water as it comes into your house. Therefore, these units would be most effective if people are already using whole house filters or some other heavy duty filtration system.
Furthermore, larger water coolers are generally better at cooling water than the smaller units (ceramic water dispensers, mini fridges, etc.). Keep this in mind if you’re expecting a product that cools as well as a refrigerator. If you’re in doubt, be sure to consult multiple sources, including individual user reviews. I may have had a great experience with the above two products, but there might be other people who differ from me. Never hesitate to do your due diligence! (I probably say that too much on this site, but it’s super important).
