Super Duper Hot Water Tap Thing

[prasantrin]

We've got one of those super duper hot water spigot things at work. Not the type on a water cooler, but the kind that's installed next to your sink. It's very handy, and now I'm thinking of installing one at home.

Questions:

What's a good model?

What will I be able to do with the surplus of hot water I will have? Instant ramen, tea, coffee. . . surely such a fantastic system will have other far more interesting uses than those. And I'm sure with a new toy, I will want to use it as much as possible.

What are the drawbacks of installing such a system at home? Increased gas bills?

[Carlovski]

We have them at work too and I hate them. Seems to break down quite a lot too (Although I guess it gets a lot more use than a domestic one would) Bring back the kettle!

What someone needs to do is build one with a super accurate temperature gauge and controller - could multitask as a sous-vide unit!

[Kerry Beal]

I had one in my last house. Can't recall the brand - but did some research before buying - think the name started with an i - for some reason isi comes to mind. Wait - it was insinkerator - same as the disposal.

Loved it for boiling hot water to do stuff with - but for some reason never used it to make tea or anything where I added it to food. I'm not sure why the mental block on that. Probably the same reason I fill the kettle with cold water - so I don't get the crud out of the hot water heater in my food.

Of course it packed it in before long and was never repaired or replaced.

Much prefer the Zojirushi water boilers but hubby has an issue with leaving them plugged in overnight.

Edited May 23, 2011 by Kerry Beal (log)

[the old cook]

We have one in our house, been in for six years, have never had a problem with it. We love it, it is great for really cleaning knives that you would NOT put in dishwasher....boiling hot, we have made one cup tea with it, added it to pan for vegetables, etc.

Use it often for rinsing out fry pans and then just drying with paper towel...our brand is Insinkerator also. would not be without it, so if ever it breaks, it will be fixed or replaced.

You are able to have plumber who installs it set it at whatever temp you desire, I chose to have it steaming/boiling hot.

[dcarch]

"---What are the drawbacks of installing such a system at home? Increased gas bills? "

I think they are all electric, not gas.

"---Much prefer the Zojirushi water boilers but hubby has an issue with leaving them plugged in overnight. "

Touch the outside of the container, if it is warm, then the unit is not insulated well. If it is cool, then plugging in overnight will not use much power. They will not start a fire. There are safety thermostats built-in.

dcarch

[prasantrin]

In Winnipeg water is heated through natural gas. How do these spigot things work differently? I assumed they'd have a tank type of thing just like a regular hot water tank.

[Kerry Beal]

"---What are the drawbacks of installing such a system at home? Increased gas bills? "

I think they are all electric, not gas.

"---Much prefer the Zojirushi water boilers but hubby has an issue with leaving them plugged in overnight. "

Touch the outside of the container, if it is warm, then the unit is not insulated well. If it is cool, then plugging in overnight will not use much power. They will not start a fire. There are safety thermostats built-in.

dcarch

It's not me that won't plug it in overnight! It's the hubby - I'm sure they won't start a fire - but it's not me you need to convince.

So on the other hand -what's the difference between that and one attached to the sink - which he didn't feel the need to unplug overnight!

[Lisa Shock]

I put my ZoJirushi on a timer, mostly to save energy when I am asleep. Maybe the husband would be ok with that? (It also means that I can make tea immediately upon rising.)

The main difference between a hot water pot and the instant hot water for sinks is the connection to the house's water line. The hot water pot can eventually dry out inside, and older models that didn't have the sorts of thermostats we have today would have problems with burning out the heating element if the water was gone. That can't happen in the just-in-time models unless you have a plumbing failure or water shutoff.

[heidih]

The Instant hot water faucets I have had and installed were electric and tankless. There is not any water just hanging around to be used. The regular hot water is heated in the natural gas water heater with the big tank.

As others have noted, I found it useful for getting the pasta water going quickly, and for rinsing greasy things. I didn't re-install it or replace it when I remodeled the kitchen the last time around. For my purposes it was great when it was there, but not sorely missed.

[andiesenji]

I've had three instant hot water dispensers, in-sink-erator units, over the years in this house and currently have this one

with an auxiliary in-line filter system, absolutely necessary in my area. The heaters last longer without the stress of heavy calcium buildup.

It saves me a lot of time when blanching vegetables &etc., not to mention not having to wait for water to boil for pasta.

Also for sterilizing containers - do get a jar holder to hold them securely.

I also have the Zojirushi water boilers - so I don't have to trek all the way to the kitchen when I want to make tea or otherwise need hot water.

Edited May 23, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[DickL]

We've had one for about 20 years now. Well, three, actually. All have, IIRC, been Kitchen Aid units, and all electric (I've never heard of one that uses gas, and I'm not sure I'd even want a gas appliance operating in the cabinet under the sink).

The first was a gem. Great for warming a cup of cooling tea, warming a coffee mug (my wife makes filter coffee one mug at a time), adding water to something being cooked without cooling it off, scalding the skin of peaches and good tomatoes to make them easily peelable, scalding the skin of a salmon fillet so that it peels off nicely, defrosting a container of whatever just removed from the freezer, rinsing a plastic container that had come from the freezer for refrigerator storage of leftovers, melting the contents of a jar of fat (e.g., the bacon fat I use in some things, but store in the refrigerator), rehydrating Chinese black beans and dried mushrooms, and softening the gunk under the lid of a hard-to-open container. It lasted about 7 years, and was replaced by a like unit; for some reason (faint plasticky off-flavors, I think it was) it wasn't as nice for use in anything to be consumed, particularly tea.

When the replacement unit was about three years old we moved, and installed one in the kitchen that we had remodeled in the new place. Somehow the guys working on the plumbing screwed up the installation (I think, or maybe it was a defective unit), but water coming out of it has a definite metallic taste (I think they somehow got some dissimilar metals connected and something is slowly dissolving). But we've still gotten a lot of use out of it for things that don't involve consuming the water (thawing, scalding, rinsing, mug-warming, softening). I'll replace it when I get one of those fabulous round tuits and do a little work in the basement to supply the new one from the house filter.

One other thing I use it for. I mix homemade garlic puree and olive oil and brush it on the above-mentioned salmon fillets and other things I'm going to put under the broiler, then use the boiling-hot water and a little dish detergent to clean out the brush. Works like a charm, even if the garlic has sort of dried on the brush.

Edited June 19, 2011 by DickL (log)

[slo_ted]

We had an Insinkerator hot water dispenser which we really enjoyed until it leaked into the kitchen counter damaging the counter and the wood floor. That occurred more than ten years ago, so maybe they are better now.

[DaleJ]

I make coffee with mine. But the best use, IMO, is for risotto. I put a blob of chicken stock reduction in the pot after sauteing the onion and rice. No need for a pot of stock. I just add a TB or so right from the spigot and presto.