Avanti Thermo Electronic Cold and Room Temperature Water Dispenser, Countertop

UPDATE:Once this little cooler warmed up, that is, once it had gone through a few cooling cycles, it achieved cold water, and has done so repeatedly in a reasonable amount of time. There must be a break-in period. The cool water light now responds correctly. I suppose I was hasty in labeling it defective in the first 48 hrs.I'm still stuck just under five stars based on the small amount of water cooled (approx 2 glasses per cycle) and its need to re-cool fairly often, but that's why it's a compact, and that's why it costs so little. It's unfair to place those kinds of expectations on a product which clearly sells for less than half of a full-sized model and takes up less than half the space.If I have need of another compact, I will not hesitate to purchase again.OLD REVIEW:PROS: Cheap, lightweight, small, convenient for a small number of people to drink water.CONS: COLD light doesn't light up, cold water is not super cold, unit came smelling of plastic (I followed other reviewers' advice about rinsing it out), and the cold water reservoir is not much more than a glass or two.If you have small needs this is fine - and it suits me well since I live alone - but if your intent is much more than that, you may want a traditional, full-sized cooler.For me that would have been overkill - and it didn't hurt that the price on this as of June 2010 is $50, as opposed to spending $150 for most full size coolers.I was stuck at 3.5 stars and rounded down because of the indicator light's being defective. It's not a big deal, but it says something about quality control. Makes me wonder if perhaps this unit won't last long or if there's some other flaw I haven't noticed.

I use this water cooler in the waiting room of my medical office:Pluses:-quiet-lighter weight the my prior one-looks good on top of a small table-no stupid, little fridge below it-water catch pan easily removed to be dumpedMinuses:-requires you to puncture the water bottle before putting it on and you risk getting water all over the place (I didn't get water anywhere when I did it by I have my nurse stand opposite me holding a towel as a shield).-no hot water (this wasn't clear on the ad)-the water gets stuck on at times as the levels seem to twist and get suck under a plastic lip at the top of the arch in the designI followed other peoples advice and I put a cap of bleach in it and flushed it with about 3 gallons of water. Tastes fine and not plasticy.***Update June 2014: this water cooler is still working well. I have switched from using bleach to an enzyme product for when I do cleanings. I found that the bleach solution took gallons and gallons of water running through it to get rid of the taste and the enzyme solution not as much as well as a more effective cleaning.

My first problem with this water cooler is that -- unbelievably-- it does not come with a water bottle as pictured online and on the box. So you get the thing out of the box and can't actually use it! Also, your first several pour-throughs will taste awful; it takes many rinses to clear the bad flavor from the machine.My second problem with it is that no matter what size jug you buy and set atop the unit, the unit only holds 20 oz. of water (the rest dribbles down and refills it as you use it). So it takes hours to cool, and then after only a couple of glasses you are back to room-temperature water.My third problem with it is that the cold-water spigot only lets out a dribble of water, and sometimes (mysteriously) none at all.I bought this unit several years ago (it came with a bottle, then) and it worked pretty well for a few years. The quality seems to have deteriorated since then.

All we wanted was a water dispenser for my wife and I at home. If you're wanting a bunch of cold water, this isn't for you. It is very quiet while it is cooling, but it never turned off after several hours (documentation said could take up to an hour), so we just turned it off. We use it strictly as a room temp water dispenser, and for that it works great! In our case, exactly what we wanted!Again, if you want a bunch of cold water, NOT FOR YOU! Everyone complains about how slow it cools, but it says in documentation it would take an hour to re-cool if you only do 1-2 8oz cups, so don't get mad that it's not an office size water cooler!

Been using this for 3 months now and have no leaking or any problems yet. The best way to get rid of the plastic taste is to boil water and pour it into the tank and flush it out through the spout. After I did a gallon of hot water, the taste went away. The tank is small so after you dispense 2 cups of cold water, the fan comes on. I'm sure in the summer you will run out of cold water quickly if you have several people using it. But if you like to drink your water in room temperature, this is great to have on your counter. Note that i had a dispenser from Poland Spring (more expensive one) and the water tank was aluminum. This water cooler has a plastic tank.

This is a cute dispenser i bought from amazon.com. It was cheaper there compared to wal-mart. I live in an apartment so the counter space is not adequate for it. So I placed it on a small table in a corner beside the counter. I use the 5 gallon bottle water. I take the cap off completely but need an extra pair of hands to assist in placing the bottle on. My family love it. The only problem I find with the dispenser is that the cold water indicator does not turn on even after overnight when everyone has slept for at least 8 hours - which would give the water chance to get to its coldest temperature. Nonetheless, the water gets cold, so i don't take that for a problem.

Bought this for my mother it arrived damaged tried to return but was going to be too costlyso lost our money on this

I love the size but didn't realize the reservoir would be so small.