A4BLWTRCLR Bottom Loading Water Cooler Water Dispenser - 3 Temperature Settings - Hot, Cold & Room Water, Durable Stainless Steel Cabinet, Bottom Loading - UL/Energy Star Approved

This unit replaced an old GE unit that "appeared" to have begun leaking on us. In retrospect, it may have been more a cracked bottle cap issue that was letting air into the bottle allowing water to leak out. When we first got this unit, water "appeared" to leak from the unit as well. So I ordered some replacement bottle caps through eBay (what? Amazon doesn't carry any?), and that resolved the leakage issue. The unit works great though we don't use the cooling section, only the hot water section. It produces great hot water, sufficient for beverages and "Cup Noodles". I prefer the top loading feature over the bottom loading as water flow isn't dependent on electricity in case of a power outage, nor are we tied to the pump flow rate or pump noise, a common complaint with bottom loading units. Since we don't have kids that we are concerned about getting burned with the hot water, I put clear packing tape over the "safety" button on the hot water control to hold it down and now have one handed operation. I couldn't do that with the GE unit’s twist safety feature. The unit is good for filling thinner containers with hot water (it’s hard to add water to medium to larger pans from the unit due to the proximity of the cool dispenser control). We have a very good under sink filter with a dedicated filtered water faucet and use that for cold drinking water and refilling the 5-gallon bottle for instant hot water. We opted not for an undersink instant hot water generator due to the higher cost, limited undersink space, installation process and higher risk of an accidental undersink leak (we had a very expensive house flood due to an accidental disconnect under that sink in the past). This unit fit the bill. From an esthetic perspective, it would be nice if they offered it also in a “stainless steel” paint version which would fit better in with our kitchen décor.

I go through a ton of water in a day, and am not a huge fan of tap water, which means about 10 jugs of water at a time sitting around my house. Which also leads to the problem of making sure I have water jugs in the fridge so they are cold, which has not always happened, hence the reason I decided to try out the Avalon Hot/Cold Top Loading Water Cooler!! I have been wanting a water cooler for a while now and finally decided to go ahead and get one. These take 3 or 5 gallon jugs which sit on the machine perfectly, and of course the water lasts a lot longer than gallon jugs. When the item arrives, you are pretty much ready to use it, place your water jug on the top, let the water bubble out and fill the tank, plug the cooler in and turn on the switch. The first time I used this, I went back an hour later to test the water, and it was VERY cold, love it! To get the water itself out, all you need to do is place the cup against the tab and the water comes right out, so easy to do, and can be done one handed. There is also a hot water dispenser on this cooler but I have not tried it out yet.. If you decide you want to use the hot water, there is a separate switch on the back to turn on for just hot water. If you would like to mount the water cooler, it does come with hardware for you to do this. I did not use it, I just placed the water cooler in a cooler in my kitchen. I will say I was not a huge fan of the shipping and packaging, and did need to order a replacement, but it was sent out in a few days. I would recommend more protection during shipment. However, I am rating the product in this review, not shipment. Overall, I am VERY happy with this product. It works very well, gives me cold water, saves room, and is very easy to use. I received this product at a discount in exchange for my honest opinion

Bought this in May of 2023 for use at a small office. It's now April of 2024 and the unit leaked out all over the carpet at work and now we have water stains and an unusable water cooler. I checked it to make sure it wasn't a faulty tank of water, and it is not. When it was working it did a great job of keeping the water cold or hot, but to have it less than a year and to have it leaking is unacceptable to me. My office only has 5 people using this unit and we're not all big water drinkers so it was surprising to see this have an issue so quickly. Unfortunately this item only carries a 30 day warranty so it seems I'm out of luck. It's a shame because the build quality seemed sturdy, but if it can't do it's one job of containing water until ready to drink, there's no reason to purchase from this company again.

Update: I’ll leave the original review down below. It’s back up to 5 stars because I was able to repair it and all features are still going strong a few years after purchase, despite a prolonged storage period. My memory is a bit fuzzy now but a sort of perfect storm had happened. The gasket had slipped which support helped me to correct but I actually tested if it was fixed with a bad bottle which just so happened to be my last bottle with any water. I’ve since recycled the bad bottle and haven’t had issues since minus one other bottle developing a visible crack and experiencing the exact same issue. This thing was spectacular while it lasted and the price was more affordable than other coolers of the same specifications. But a bit over a week ago I woke to nearly 5 gallons of water dumped on the dining room floor. Hot and cold water on demand. Easy enough to flush clean which I did every 3 months as suggested. It was a little noisy when it was heating or cooling water but I have an air purifier in the same room and I’d say it was only slightly louder than that boosted by the fact it did not run 24/7. Customer service was spectacular for me and that’s why I give 2 stars. They did seemingly try to help me self-repair and when the determination was made it might not be doable on my end only then did they inquire about an invoice to determine warranty status. Sadly I’m just outside of the warranty window. I purchased it in late January last year and it failed in the second week of February. They did offer me a 25% off coupon and their apologies when it became clear they could not replace it. But it feels a little silly to reward them with another purchase for a cooler that failed so quickly so I will likely pass on this brand in the future. At least at this price range. The issue is the reservoir up top where the water first feeds in overflows and the water slowly spills out. Something must be keeping the pressure from equalizing and stopping the bottle from flowing so I’d like to believe this is something that can be repaired on my end and I’d hate for it to end up in a landfill for a minor issue. Especially since the internal plumbing seems good.

Update: April 2025. The cold water side began dripping on it's own. I had to glue the cold side shut to continue to operate the unit. I mainly just used it for the hot water side for coffee or reheating oatmeal, but it did break. I would buy another one if the hot side broke as well. Looks like they're cheaper now because the newer ones are bottom loading and have replaceable filters now. I had gotten a hot/cold water cooler off a friend when he was moving out of his apartment. That broke after a couple of years, but I had gotten used to having one, and decided to buy another one. It's been many years, but I'm writing the review today since I'm bored. I believe the first one I received was actually defective. This seemed strange because I don't think I'd ever had a brand new item be DOA right out of the box before. It was either DOA, or it only worked for a couple of weeks, I forget. Return was easy, I bought another one because I liked the look, the features, and the price. It isn't used that much. Not like commercially, or even regularly. I use it whenever I need hot water for like instant coffee, or a cup of noodles. I rarely drink the cold water just for those purposes. But I think I've had this unit for 7-8 years at this point, and no issues with the second one. I'd recommend this to anyone. But I'm taking a star off because the first one was defective.

At first I was going to go all out and buy a bottom loading, high dollar water cooler, but some of the bad reviews and problems people experienced scared me. So I chose to go with a basic and functional design. I didn't want digital touch buttons that could fail or a pump system that might leak. I chose this basic design, top loading water cooler, and I couldn't be happier. If I experience any issues, I will update this review. The noise is seriously almost non-existent. It looks great and appears to be well made. The hot water is actually hot although I did not measure the temp. The cold water is very cold too. It was a good buy.

Taking a min. to give credit to this good product. Here are the points to its credit:- + QUIET + Can turn ON the hot, or cold, only -- or both. Easy-to-reach switches hidden behind top edge + Much higher than other models, so not leaning over much for fills and refills + Hot water guard is no issue; just press once at the beginning of dispensing. I was expecting to have to hold it the whole time...... + Like the looks. Clean, modern design. One thing -- make sure to watch the video or read the installation instructions. There are some important points to leave it working well, which includes avoiding burn outs and leaks. Some instructions include 1/ Do NOT turn machine on until new bottle is mounted and 2/ water is run through the system to prime it and eliminate air bubbles in the lines. 3/ Shut off to change water bottles.

This is my 3rd home water cooler. After 2 weeks of heavy usage ( 2- 6 gallon containers) I would say this is an excellent product. The water flow is much faster than my previous Avanti Unit which recently broke down and started leaking. The temperature if much colder than my previous coolers and I am able to poor several large glasses of water without worry about them not being as cold as the previous poured glass. I am also able to stand under the spout larger mugs and tall glasses which I could not with my previous coolers without slanting them. The hot water has also been working very well. My wife and I drink tea often a night and we are both able to fill our large mugs with piping hot water. The unit does not have storage underneath for cups or tea bags. But I think it makes up for that by providing plenty of cold and hot water.. I have read plenty of reviews on and off of Amazon before making this purchase due to the frustration of already burning through 2 other water coolers. I have not experienced any of the negatives as presented by other reviewers.