Hot Water? Cold Water? What’s your opinion?

Hot Water? Cold Water? What’s your opinion?

by | Mar 17, 2016 | Water Boilers, water cooler

I’ll admit I’m the world’s biggest wuss when it comes to bathing or showering in cold water. Even when there are scorching hot temperatures, I’ll still opt for a mildly warm shower instead of ice cold. I may slowly turn the hot water tap down during shower but even then, I’d rather not switch off the hot tap entirely.

To be fair, if you live in a region with longer winters and icy cold weather for more months of the year than warm weather, it makes sense to keep that hot tap open, so you’d need to take that into consideration, but when all is said and done, are hot or cold showers better for you and why?

I splish-splashed across the web to find out.

In favour of heat:

  • Hot showers can relieve tension and soothe stiff muscles. If you have a powerful showerhead, even better! You can let the hot water work like a mini massage on your shoulders, neck, and back.
  • Studies have shown that taking a hot shower can amp up your oxytocin levels and ease anxiety. Anyone working with stress can use more of the love hormone in their life.
  • A hot shower also acts as a natural decongestant to relieve cold symptoms, since the hot steam moisturises nasal passages.
  • Under the weather and running a slight fever? A hot shower might be what you need to help break your fever and bring your temperature back to normal.

In favour of the cooler option:

  • Cold showers – as unbearable as they are – are actually really good for our bodies. Turning your shower cold for the last five minutes can help ‘shock’ your body awake. This instant change in temperature relieves your body of fatigue and increases your mental alertness.
  • A ’cooler’ shower (around 20 °C) for two to three minutes once or twice daily is recommended by researchers as a treatment for depression. Just make sure you check in with your doctor before testing this out.
  • On the more vain side of the spectrum, cold showers are better for our hair and skin. Where a hot shower can dry things out, cold showers hydrate and help with split ends and dry skin. I also have it on good authority that rinsing your shampoo out with cooler water places less stress on your hair, leaving your hair in a more sleek condition. All of those beautiful sleek looking seals can’t be wrong.

Whichever works for you, a cautionary note – no, I wouldn’t suggest that you filch the company water cooler or boiler to test out the hot or cold shower theory. That water’s for drinking, dear, not bathing.

 

 

The AquAid Compact Water Boiler vs. a Kettle

The AquAid Compact Water Boiler vs. a Kettle

by | Oct 21, 2015 | Water Boilers

Switching from a kettle to a hot water boiler not only reduces the amount of time spent waiting for a cup of hot water but the cost involved in production time and energy bills.

Obviously, each work environment is different, so this information will assist you in being able to look at your work place environment for potential savings. The essential question to ask is:

Q: How does an AquAid Water Boiler save you money?

A: You no longer have to waste time waiting for a kettle to boil.

An average 3kW kettle takes 4 minutes to boil and if all the water in each kettle is actually used, it will produce 5 mugs of hot water.

Scenario: If you have 20 staff that each have 4 hot drinks per day (80 mugs), the kettle will be boiled a minimum of 16 times. It will probably be boiled more often as no-one ever empties it entirely each time they use it. So assuming they do actually use all the water every time, the kettle is boiled 16 times a day.

… 16 x 4 minutes = 64 minutes or … let’s say an hour.

If the person, or the people, who make the hot drinks are on a salary of £20,000pa and they work a 40-hour week, their hourly wage is £9.62/hour.  You are paying £9.62 per day whilst the person waits for the kettle to boil.

£9.62 x 5 days = £48.10 per week
£48.10 x 52 weeks = £2501.20 per year
30 staff, 120 mugs a day = £3751.80 per year
40 staff, 160 mugs a day = £5002.40 per year
and so on …

Comparisons between a kettle and a hot water boiler

Energy Consumption:

In terms of actual energy consumption, there is very little difference between a kettle and an AquAid water boiler. In fact, the boiler becomes cheaper to run the more people use it; Unit of Electricity in kW/h = 12 pence (approximately). 

The Kettle: An average kettle is 3kW and takes 4 minutes (0.07 hours) to boil.

So 3kW x 0.07h = 0.21 kWh, 0.21 x 12p = 2.5p

So it costs 2.5p to boil a kettle of water. If all the water in the kettle is used it will produce 5 mugs of hot water.

Taking the same scenario; if you have 20 staff that have 4 mugs a day each, that’s 80 mugs, so the kettle is boiled a minimum of 16 times.

So 20 staff, 80 mugs, 16 boils 16 x 2.5p = 40p per day
30 staff, 120 mugs, 24 boils 24 x 2.5p = 60p per day
40 staff, 160 mugs, 32 boils 32 x 2.5p = 80p per day

and so on … 

The Water Boiler:

Standby (Idle Mode): The electrical consumption of the AquAid Compact (5 – Litre) 3kW boiler, whilst on standby is 0.07kW/h, which means it will use one unit of electricity (12p) in 14 hours (0.86p per hour), or 20.6p per day. A free timer allows you to turn off the boiler when it is not likely to be used – e.g. at night when the staff go home. 

Energy usage (when in use): The Aquaid Compact is designed so that it only boils the water that is used each time. It will run for approximately 30 seconds for each mug of water drawn-off … 1 minute for 2 mugs, 2 minutes for 4 mugs …

So for 20 staff, requiring 80 mugs, it will be on for 40 minutes (0.66 hours) throughout the day;

So 3kW x 0.66h = 1.98kWh 1.98 x 12p = 23.7p

Add this to the standby amount of 20.6p per day gives a total of:

For 20 staff, 80 mugs; 44.3p per day
For 30 staff, 120 mugs; 56.6p per day
For 40 staff, 160 mugs; 68.5p per day

Every Aquaid Hot Water Boiler is British Manufactured and WRAS (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme) approved.

Our British manufacturer has offered quality hot water boilers for several decades. While many companies opt to use kettles, AquAid’s multitude range of hot water boilers offers an appealing alternative. Whether providing coffee or tea to an office of workers or hydrating an energetic audience in a stadium, our products are a worthwhile investment.

 

What Makes you Thirsty?

What Makes you Thirsty?

by | Aug 24, 2015 | Water Boilers, water cooler

Let’s fact check here for a moment.

This is a blog page.

The running (aha) theme is generally about all things watery.

There’s heaps of information about the supply of water and how we deliver said water to you, dear customer, through the provision of our spankingly smart range of:

Bottled Water Coolers

Mains Fed Water Coolers

Water Boilers

Hotel and Catering Solutions

Water for Schools

Water Fountains and

Accessories

so, it’s important to keep you informed about the importance of drinking water; to advise about how to keep from becoming dehydrated (occurs more often and easier than you might think); what to drink; how often to drink it and in general; how to keep yourself healthily hydrated.

But the one question I don’t think I’ve asked as yet is: What makes you thirsty?

Are you like me where when you go to the pictures, it’s not officially an occasion unless you have a bucket of very over-salted popcorn and then when your tongue swells up and you feel like you’ve been eating dry desert sand, you wonder why you are so thirsty?

or, are you more of a be out all day in warm weather, keeping active, running from place to place, sweating a bit and wait-until-the-last-minute where you’re absolutely parched and then you guzzle fizzy drinks (packed full of bad sugars) which will probably make you more thirsty than before you drank them.

or, do you load up on the Chinese or American fast food which is packed with too much salt (and then you still add loads of salt to your meal or chips) and again, wonder why you’re feeling so thirsty?

Whatever your thirst metiér is, I’m sure it doesn’t help realising that most of our extreme thirst is self-imposed. Us humanoids, such silly beings, aren’t we?

 

 

The Dinghy Stealing Seal

by | Apr 16, 2014 | Water Boilers, water cooler

I was trolling through the Google avenues when I came across this article about a seal that took up residence in a dinghy of a couple that were honeymooning on an island. When I saw the photo, I snorted my Kenco Coffee  that I’d just served myself up from our AquAid Compact Boiler and narrowly missed electrocuting myself in the process.

From the article in The Telegraph:

A newly-wed couple were stranded on a remote island three miles from the mainland when a giant bull seal climbed into their inflatable dinghy and refused to budge for four days.

Eddie Stebbings, 35, and his bride Bee Bueche, 36, spent their first three months of married life together with a colony of Atlantic grey seals on Skomer Island off the Pembrokeshire coast.

But their wildlife adventure took an unexpected turn when a giant seal took up residence in the dinghy they used to reach the mainland.

Eddie and Bee were married in August and returned to the windswept island where they are wildlife wardens just in time for the seal pupping season.

Eddie said: “One morning in October the seal flopped itself into the boat.

“It refused to budge for four days and was at one point joined by another seal.

“He was about four times my weight, eight foot long and clearly not worried about people coming close to him.”

The couple chose to spend their honeymoon on one of Britain’s most remote islands, which they shared with over 400 adult seals.

Have another gander at the weight of this cubby chappy! Almost makes me feel good about my weight issues. (Then again, I don’t live in the icy cold water which would justify extra warm keeping blubber).

*Sigh* Oh well, guess I’ll just take another schlurp of my coffee … and where’s that Danish that I asked for?!

Photo: CATERS

Hot Water Bottles – Olde and New

by | Jan 16, 2014 | Health and Hydration, Water Boilers

I often read about bed warmers in books and wondered what they were exactly. Then I saw some period drama and lo and behold, the mystery was solved. Thankfully we’ve moved on since then.

Again, my intentions were pure! The intent was a straight up, C for serious blog about hot water bottles and which clever clogs (as me mum used to say) invented these little marvellous body warmers.

It started off pretty well; an olde metal warmer (see middle image) – I can imagine you weren’t meant to get into bed when that was still in it.  Then the image on the left caught my eye (only one of my eyes responds to silly or unusual – if it were both – you’d never get a straight reading blog out of me). All I could think was ‘what is that man doing to those poor harmless bits of rubber?!’

How did we progress to the cat lying on the rather shiny red blankie ask you? Wellllllllll…. cats are fantastic hot water bottles; they’re furry and purry, just one could probably get you all through winter, no problem (just watch out for those damnie claws though, when you try to move unannounced). Plus, I happen to like cats and this is a blog I’m writing, so the cat pic stays in. KO?

From Wiki:

Modern day conventional hot water bottles were invented in 1903 and are manufactured in natural rubber or PVC, to a design patented by the Croatian inventor Eduard Penkala. They are now commonly covered in fabric, sometimes with a novelty design.

By the late 20th century, the use of hot water bottles had markedly declined around most of the world. Not only were homes better heated, but newer items such as electric blankets were competing with hot water bottles as a source of night-time heat. However hot water bottles continue to remain as a popular alternative in Ireland and the United Kingdom, developing countries and rural areas. For example, it is widely used in Chile, where it is called a “guatero“. There has been a recent surge in popularity in Japan where it is seen as an ecologically friendly and thrifty way to keep warm.

Some newer products function like the older bottles, but use a polymer gel or wax in a heat pad. The pads can be heated in a microwave oven, and they are marketed as safer than liquid-filled bottles or electrically-heated devices.

Take note: None of the above examples are to be confused with water boilers.  AquAid’s range of water boilers are for keeping your insides warm, not your outside, see?  A slight distinction, but a distinction nonetheless.

During the brrr winter months we’re now experiencing; when you ‘ave to get up out of shoebox at twelve o’clock at night and lick road clean wit’ tongue before heading off to work, at least you know when you get into work, (depending on how savvy your employer is), there’s always the hot water boiler available, keeping your water at an even hot temperature of 98 °C, ready, reliable and able to ensure a constant supply of all your hot drinks .  Just don’t try using the hot water boiler as a hot water bottle; if nothing else, it’s an unsightly mess to be cleaning up after.

Happy keeping warm and toasty this winter. No, you may not borrow the furry purry, get your own.

Water Boilers / Coolers 22nd Century Style!

Water Boilers / Coolers 22nd Century Style!

by | Nov 1, 2013 | Water Boilers

AquAid have a new kid on the block. It’s very stylinnnnng. Its debuts just in time for the colder climes approaching the U.K. at warp speed Mr Sulu. Before I wax lyrical about how styling this little marvel is, here’s the nitty gritty tech spec. stuff:

What is its name? It is called The AquAid Instant Boiler

Features and Options

  • Upmarket, stainless steel design
  • Dispense point on worktop, boiler hidden underneath
  • Electronically controlled for constant temperature of 95 degrees
  • Mains fed
  • Rapid draw off 7 litres
  • Minimum hourly output 28 litres
  • Minimal steam escape
  • Early warning intelligent diagnostics with LCD display

Now you may be thinking that by me expounding all the wonderful attributes of this nifty 7ℓ stainless steel boiler, this means I’m so bedazzled by its sleek design and efficient lines that I am automatically denigrating our other water boilers. I’m not. Truly.

It’s just that we believe in a place for everything and everything in its place. Which translated to efficient speak means we have a variety of water boilers with capacities ranging from 3 ℓ through to 12.5ℓ , so the 7ℓ wedges in there capacity wise rather neatly.

I rather like the stainless steel design too – very Bauhaus / Danish modern / à la mode at present. I think.

Also note the ‘minimal steam escape’ feature. This means that when the AquAid Instant is at its constant percolating temperature of 95C°, which is just so warm and toasty, you won’t have great gobs of sweaty-making steam blorting out at you – which is especially welcome when you’re dispensing your 10th cuppa of the day.

Drink up, keep hydrated, and have a coffee, tea, or ………… hot drink of your choice on AquAid why don’t you.