Brio Self Cleaning Bottom Loading Water Cooler Water Dispenser – Limited Edition - 3 Temperature Settings - Hot, Cold & Cool Water

Prior to buying this Brio water dispenser we owned a Primo brand dispenser (also purchased from Amazon) we were pretty happy with it, for the most part. Over the past few years the primo has developed a taste I didn't care for, but no one else in the house seemed to notice or care. I tried cleaning it with vinegar and water flushes and dilute bleach and water flushes but the taste remained. I figured it was just the brand of 5 gal bottles we were having delivered so I drank a lot of wasteful single serve plastic bottles to avoid the water from the Primo unit. Finally the cooling part of the Primo broke so I started looking for a replacement.I definitely wanted another bottom fed cooler. Once you get rid of that 5 gallon bottle perched on top of your cooler you'll never want to go back. Just not having to deadlift the 50 lb bottle and flip it over without spilling a bunch of water on the floor is reason enough, right? Then there is the nice clean look of the cooler without the bottle perched on the top. Anyway, the Brio is a bottom fed so it fit the bill there. I also liked the sound of the "self cleaning ozone" feature so I decided to give the Brio a try, and I'm so glad I did.This Brio is such an improvement over the Primo it replaced. Let's start with little things. The Brio pump is quieter. No one in our house cares about this but I've seen people complain about noisy bottom fed coolers and the Brio is pretty quiet.The Primo had a room temp button but the water was the nearly the same temp as the cold. It was a pointless and never used button on the PrimoThe Brio room temp button is just that, room temp water. I measured each spout and the cold is 43°F, room temp is 71°F, and hot is 178°F. Now you may already know this but 178°F is a great temp for steeping most white and green teas as well as herbal blends. Oolong and black teas want to be a little hotter (up over 200°F) but for a relaxing cup of sleepytime tea this thing s perfect. The Primo only reached 165F°. Point Brio.Also note you can turn off the hot water in the Brio if you don't want to use it and don't want to waste the energy heating water you won't use. This was the same with the Primo.Tall containers fit better in the Brio. The Brio has a full 1 3/4" (4.5cm for you non-Americans) more space under the spout than the Primo did, a full 10 inches from base to spout as well as a slightly wider perch than the Primo. I can fill my baseball stadium "big ole beer" cups, my Bubba Keg, even my wife's tall 64oz Camelback fits under the Brio nozzle no problem. That never worked with the Primo, you were always holding cups at a weird angle with your finger over the edge to feel when the water was close to the top. Point BrioThe Brio is attractive, at least in my opinion. Black and stainless fit well in most any decor. The Primo was the same color scheme so a wash there.The taste. The water from the Brio is delicious. I don't know what the deal was with the Primo, maybe it was age or some tubing they used I didn't like but I'm back to drinking water from the dispenser instead of destroying the environment with plastic single serve water bottles. I'm going to make regular use of the "self cleaning ozone" feature in hopes of keeping it that way. I much prefer being an environmentally conscious citizen but I just couldn't drink the water from the Primo, it was gross.So I guess you've figured out by now I really love this Brio water cooler and I highly recommend it. It is on the higher priced side of water dispensers but not by a lot and to me, if the self clean feature works it is 100% worth the extra money to have a cooler I will continue using for many years because the water will actually taste good.

Have owned one for two years now since 2023, no issues works great! Now I'm looking for a water dispenser that incorporates an ice maker to free up counter space in my tiny kitchen.

Not happy the purchase. It lasted one week past the warranty. Unit will now only dispense water at room to warm temperature...no more cold water. I contacted Brio. They had me unplug the unit for 2-hours, plug back in, dispense some water then turn the unit back on. If that doesn't work, oh well, contact Amazon. Well, its out warranty so I'm out of luck. I HIGHLY recommend that if you buy a water dispenser, any brand, purchase the extended warranty. I have a top bottle dispenser that has lasted 20 years. My first bottom dispenser lasted two years. This one lasted one year and a couple days. Bottom dispensers are a great idea and look good (hiding the bottle, easier to load) but my experiences with them have not been good... not dependable for the long run.

I almost didn't buy this dispenser due to some negative reviews like dents, bent rods, pump over heating, etc. I caught myself being focused on just these few comments when in actuality there is an overwhelming majority of people who had only good things to say about the machine. I am now included in this latter group because the machine has exceeded my expectations. Let me share some noteworthy details: (1) It came in a box that is well packaged with lots of cushions and tape to prevent scratches and dents. It was packaged so well that I do wonder how the heck were the dents even possible in some of the reviewer's pictures, (2) The manual is on thick glossy paper and instructions are concise and clear. If you don't follow the steps (which there aren't even that many of) AND if you ignore all of the warning stickers on the machine, then yes there's a chance you might burn out the pumping mechanism (spoiler alert: if you try to dispenser water repeatedly when there is no water, it will burn out. When I say "no water" it's not subjective. I literally mean no water as in you haven't even attached a water bottle to the pump! So just follow the steps in the nice manual and you'll be fine), (3) There are lots of stickers on the actual machine to guide us. There's a sticker for almost every button on the machine (there's even a sticker for their support number, sticker for a quick start in case you forget to read the manual, a sticker to warn you that the hot water will be hot). In fact, if you keep the stickers on, your machine will be protected from scratches lol. If you don't like the stickers then they are easily peeled off leaving no residue, (4) Water dispenses evenly and strongly for all 3 (hot, room temp, cold) spouts. I saw a reviewer say the water came out weaker than his top loading dispenser, but in my case this one is stronger than my old top loading. I did a test and it dispenses at a rate of 1 oz every second, (5) From the aforementioned I feel this company is proud of their product and service, and values us as customers. The proof is in the amount of support provided. For these reasons I highly recommend this product.Other things worth mentioning that I saw in the negative reviews: The rod that goes in the water bottle is straight and plastic, there is a conspicuous red light that turns on to let you know when the water bottle needs to be replaced, you can turn on the cold water feature and leave it on (the machine will make cold water in a holding tank and will make more cold water if needed. A light will let you know when the machine is making more). Lastly, there's no complicated programming or temperature sets, which I like!Again, if you are worried about this purchase, I hope this review alleviated some of the concerns!