# Brita water cooler? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 31, 2007, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794 "2007-07-31T08:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/1 "2007-07-31T08:20:15Z")
Does anyone know if Brita still makes their 3 gallon water cooler? Has anyone used one and if so are they good or do they suck? Now that my son and I have moved in with my boyfriend, the household water consumption is going to seriously tax our poor Brita pitcher, and fridge space is at a premium anyway. I don’t like the faucet attachments, so that’s not an option. I remember seeing the Brita cooler a while back, but current searches seem to be coming up a bit dry (ha ha, water pun). ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/2 "2007-07-31T08:48:09Z")
I don’t know about the Brita water cooler, but if you call your local bottled water delivery place, I’m sure they can set you up with a new water cooler. That’s what we did, and it was worth every cent! The cold water coming out of the thing is nearly frigid, and it’s wonderful! We use the 5 gallon bottles on ours, and with four adults living in our house, we need to place a new one on probably every 2 or 3 days. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/3 "2007-07-31T08:51:51Z")
Well yeah I know there are other water coolers, but the point is that this is a _Brita_ water cooler. As in, you don’t have to pay for the water like you do with those bottled water delivery places. You just fill it with tap water and it filters it. My boyfriend and I are both full time students, neither of us is working, we’re living off of student loans and such. Paying for water delivery isn’t really on the “smart ways to spend your money” list for us right now. ---
**Author:** ![Jimson\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@Jimson\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimson_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/4 "2007-07-31T14:14:07Z")
My wife and I looked into this and found it impossible to buy the cooler. It seems in the US it’s really only marketed to offices. Myabe check out Office Max? We settled on the sink mount. Works great and it seems to work better than the pitcher filters. [You might consider this](http://www.allergybegone.com/britaoptimax.html?gcid=c11639x005) ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/5 "2007-08-01T01:29:26Z")
I find the sink mounts get in the way (I used to have one, drove me crazy, hated it). I’ve seen those like the one in your link, but the problem is that we already don’t have enough room in the fridge, and those take up just way too much space ☹ I will check out Office Max. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/6 "2007-08-01T02:46:47Z")
Also, if you can get the cooler itself, find out if any 5-gallon water bottles are OK, because I know a lot of grocery stores carry 5 gallon bottles of water, and a lot even have refill stations where you can fill it for 40 cents a gallon or something really inexpensive. FTR, I have the faucet mount, and think that it’s only OK. I don’t really have room for a pitcher, and never even thought about a cooler, but we have good water here, and the filter is only for the demanding bf. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/7 "2007-08-01T02:59:51Z")
Man, you should just give unfiltered Cleveland water a chance. I’ve always been a fan! ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/8 "2007-08-01T04:49:09Z")
I have used one of [these](http://www.allergybegone.com/britaoptimax.html?gcid=c11639x005) for years, and I love it. Only issues I have are putting it back in the fridge without spilling. I takes a lot less space then you think, being all rectangular and such. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/9 "2007-08-01T05:14:19Z")
Do a search for the Big Berkey. These filters are massive, and should set you up very well. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/10 "2007-08-01T16:14:11Z")
[QUOTE=CoG888] I have used one of [these](http://www.allergybegone.com/britaoptimax.html?gcid=c11639x005) for years, and I love it. Only issues I have are putting it back in the fridge without spilling. I takes a lot less space then you think, being all rectangular and such. [/QUOTE] I can see how big they are, and if you saw what our fridge was like you’d see why there is no room. It’s one of those “highly organized” kinds of fridges, with virtually no just big open shelves. Our current Brita pitcher in the fridge already takes up more room than I’d like, and we already have almost no room for food, and my son isn’t even here yet. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/11 "2007-08-01T16:15:46Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Man, you should just give unfiltered Cleveland water a chance. I’ve always been a fan! [/QUOTE] I’m exceptionally picky about water. I couldn’t even drink water until I was in my mid-20s. I hated it. Now I can drink it, but only if it’s filtered. If the water has any taste at all I can’t drink it. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brita-water-cooler/413794/12 "2007-08-01T16:18:12Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] Do a search for the Big Berkey. These filters are massive, and should set you up very well. [/QUOTE] Wow that looks cool, but it’s almost $300!!