Avalon A3F Bottom Loading Water Cooler Dispenser with BioGuard-3 Temperature Settings-UL-Filtered

Edit: Avalon reached out and sent me a new unit. Much happier with them now! 2 years. That’s how long this water cooler lasted, and even in that time it had issues. Last night it started making weird noises and now it doesn’t dispense hot water. 2 days ago it wouldn’t dispense cold water. If you’re looking for something to last a short time, go for it. If you want something that lasts, avoid this product. Also, I got the one with the filters.

Summary - Stay away from this product. Constant issues with the pump not recognizing the water bottle is refilled and issues with leakage. I’ve owned two of these units within the last 3 years now. My previous unit suddenly leaked all over my floor with no clear sign as to where it was coming from as the source was in the chamber above the bottle. Keep in mind the area the leak was coming from is never touched as it’s enclosed. My second unit that I purchased 4 months ago is now showing symptoms that previously constantly plagued the first unit - the machine would not pump water after filling the bottle. This issue requires constant attempts of opening and reclosing the door housing the bottle until it decided to pump again. I’ve attempted working with support and researching the water not pumping issue and this seems to just be a defect with this unit. Unfortunately I had to repurchase this specific unit as my only option is to bottom load my water coolers and this was one of the only units with a filtration system that can help with the fact that i’m forced to use tap water. This product at its core is extremely unreliable at doing its only job. I’ve scoured through reviews on this products page and at this point I need to accept that 99% of the negative reviews are legitimate. I’m seriously disappointed in this product and Amazon for even allowing it to be sold.

This is a 'holy grail' type of product I had long been looking for that ticked all of the boxes. As renters in a townhouse w/o access to a water line (for a water dispenser housed within a refrigerator), we'd been subsisting with a countertop PUR filter dispenser for about 13 years. But over those 13 years our family grew, and the PUR just couldn't keep up with us. It was important for us to purchase something that would actually filter water, because we didn't want to have to lug bottles to/from the store or subscribe to a bottled water delivery service. I searched high and low for a dispenser that had good filtration, multiple temperature options, and (importantly!) wouldn't require us to hook it up to a water line. This was a MUCH harder task than I initially anticipated; nothing had everything we needed. So we waited. Aaaaaand waited. Our PUR dispenser begged for mercy. And then, one fateful day, I found it... The Avalon holy grail!! We've now owned this dispenser for 3 months, and it is an honorary member of our family. It's handsome. It's user-friendly. The drum it comes with is high-quality and easy to refill in my kitchen sink. It *does* get heavy when I have to carry it from the sink back to the dispenser, but the fact that it's bottom-loading is a huge saving grace! The low growling noise it makes when we dispense water is a small price to pay, IMO, for clean, great-tasting water. It otherwise is a very quiet machine! I would recommend splurging for the overpriced Avalon stand (sold separately), as it makes the dispenser sit at a very convenient (taller) height, *and* elevates the machine itself from the ground, which I appreciate from a cleanliness standpoint. (We have a dog. She sheds. 'Nuff said.) Of course I hope it lasts us many great years, but even if it doesn't, I would buy it again in a heartbeat. It's that good, and worth the $200ish pricetag!

While looking to purchase a water cooler for family for the holidays, I noticed I did not review my purchase of this water cooler. I bought it in Feb 2023 and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I no longer need to purchase individual 16.9 oz water (unless it's an emergency). It works great to fill my sports bottle as I'm heading out the door. I also love the hot water feature to be able to make cups of tea (no longer use my Keurig or microwave for this). Even though the unit came with an empty bottle to use (of course how to fill it would be difficult), I purchased a few 4 Gal bottles of purified water from the local supermarket. I use these and just refill with reverse osmosis water. The collar for the probe assembly doesn't lock tightly onto the bottom and the assembly seems a little taller than the bottle. But it works just fine and the notification comes on when the bottle is empty. Two issues with the item though ... 1. The unit can be noisy when dispensing water. It is rather loud when you're standing next to it, but it's not noticeable in other rooms in the house. 2. BIGGEST PROBLEM ... the filters. They were rather difficult to install and IMPOSSIBLE to remove. The indicator came on and I was going to try to replace. They will NOT come off. I did find that I can just reset the filter light inside the door panel so it's not a big deal ... yet. ALSO, there are some useless hooks to place the filters along the wire mesh at the back of the unit. They will not hold securely. I hope this review helps others because it is a great unit and I'm enjoying using it immensely.

This is our second attempt at using a water dispenser. The first highly rated Brio self-cleaning model was sent back. I couldn't get the nasty tasting water to stop even though I read the instructions. So, I read the instructions, assembled it and flushed all (3) nozzles, not just the hot and cold as it states. I ran about 2 quarts of water thru all (3) nozzles until it was clear and tasteless. I tried the hot water one with hot chocolate and it was HOT! I had to let it cool a bit before I could drink it. It was hotter than our Keurig coffee maker. The cold water was almost as cold as our KitchenAid refrigerator water dispenser. The problem with the KItchenaid for water, is the cost of the cartridges. $57.37 with tax every 5 months. We and our dogs drink a lot of water. Anyways, the driving decision to buy this Avalon dispenser was because of the filter system and the use of tap water. Not knowing, I bought an $8.99 + tax 5-gallon bottle of water, which is going back today because, Avalon supplies the water bottle with the unit. Brilliant! It took me about 30 minutes to unwrap and install the unit. Again, I flushed all (3) nozzles and there is no nasty taste. Obviously, this is brand new, so time will tell. Just the savings on the bottled water is a plus. Our daughter has a dispenser and spends between $15.00-$22.00 a week on bottled water for a family of 4 and 2 dogs. Our filters are rated for 1,500 gallons or 6 months. At 15 gallons a week (which is on the high side) or 60 gallons a month. See there are savings. Even if we changed the filters every 12 months at $99.00. It still saves money. I'm hoping that they last longer than that, but, then again, time will tell. So, hot is hot, cold is cold enough. Room temperature is good for cooking. I call this a Win-Win. I am not a spokesperson for Avalon, just a happy customer at this point. By the way, I also bought the Amazon (4) year extended warranty. Last, make sure you tighten the filters with (2) hands. Make sure to slide the bottle all the way in, otherwise the door will not shut. Also, pull the water line to the side so you don't trap it against the bottle like I did, it will make a horrible noise. Good luck. Hope you have a positive experience. I will wait a few months and will update my review. Fingers crossed; I'm hoping it will be as positive then as it is today. January 2024 Update: We had an issue with the filter light flashing red. I contacted CS and they were very responsive and got right back to me. I ended up replacing the filters, figuring that there was an issue with them. I bought the Avalon filters from Amazon, replaced them and that's when I realized that I might not have pressed the red button 3 times as it states in the directions. That was in September 2023. No problems since. This unit is the best!! Clean tasting and always, hot, cool and cold! And, I bought the 4 year extended warranty from Amazon, just in case. Happy New Year!!

I made the mistake to order this product thinking that the added filtration will be a benefit. However it turns out exactly the opposite. I have spent nearly 15-20 minutes flushing the filters (as described by the owner’s manual) where you keep pressing the buttons continuously for to dispense water for 5 to 10 minutes. So first of all - after minute 3.5 - the pump shuts off. The product is unable to continuously pour water for 5 minutes. I use such device for all water needs and this machine can’t even fill a large pot full of water!!! Second of all - the room temperature setting has no pressure behind it. It pours water at a much slower rate than the hot and cold water buttons. Third - no matter how much you flush the water through the filters - it still tastes like the carbon filters. I wasted 3 five gallon Primo water bottles doing the flushing and the water still tastes like carbon. Forth - the machine is loud. When the pump is working you can hear from afar. When the cooler is working you can hear it as well. Fifth - the space in the bottom compartment barely fits a standard 5 gallon bottle. The Primo bottles from Walmart fit but you can’t close the door without putting some work into it. Sixth - I tried researching if you can bypass the filters completely. The manual is ambiguous and points to the site, the site points to the manual, yet no real information exists. I am not going to try figuring it out on my own because I will not damage my hardwood floors with water. I will return this product promptly.

Firstly, I do really like the product. Filters appear to do a great job turning my tap water into nice cold drinking water. I just feel like the things I don't like outweigh the things I do. This thing is LOUD. Every time you use it. Just pressing the dispense button for a second activates the pumps to refill the tank, and it is SO loud and obnoxious. I'm about 5'10", and I have to significantly lean over to get to where the water dispenses, where I have to press and hold the button down the entire time to fill up my 1/2 gallon/gallon jug, which takes a very long time, and it's just sooo inconvenient. Perhaps if the dispense buttons remained activated until pressed again while getting the water, or there were levers that remained on while filling, or if the unit was about 1 ft or so taller, it'd be much more comforting. Maybe I'm wrong, but I did think it was a 5 gallon dispenser, and the frequency of refilling the jug is usually every 3rd day, which makes me thing the jug is closer to 3 gallons. Also mildly inconvenient. Lastly, I'm pretty sure the cold water tank only holds 1/2 gallon, and I often use larger containers of water. Would like to see it cool a gallon instead. Cannot speak for sturdiness/long term reliability, or even hot water functionality (don't need/use) yet. The filters are suggested to be replaced every 6 months, and feel pricey to me, but that's subjective I suppose. Also can't speak on the ease of cleaning the lines and pump etc just yet. Overall I feel like it has potential, but for the value, working those kinks out would put me at 5 stars

This is a must have! It is so easy to set up and use and is way better than having to foll up the big bottle and bring it home. I like that you can easily fill it up with tap water and have it filtered. The water tastes great. It is easy for anyone for any age to use and set up. It is a slim dispenser so it fits well in small areas. The cooling and heating work very well and the temperature of the water comes out perfect. My only critique would be that the door does not have second latch on the bottom so you sometimes have to push it hard. The dispenser looks nice with the stainless steel and I highly recommend it over a water cooler that doesn't come with filters.