Comparison Ecotronic C21-LFPM vs HotFrost V127

Varieties of water types that the device can produce. Most models have several options for different situations.

— Hot. Water is heated to a high temperature — usually about 90 – 95 °C. This temperature is considered optimal for brewing most types of tea, and for instant drinks and other products (for example, instant soups), it is more than enough. However water from the cooler is not suitable for ground coffee — effective brewing of such a drink occurs at higher temperatures, about 100 °C. On the other hand, there are specialized household appliances for brewed coffee.

— Cold. Water cooled to a temperature noticeably lower than room temperature — about 8 – 10 °C, and sometimes even lower. Such water can be useful for diluting other drinks (juices, tea, etc.) and lowering their temperature, as well as an independent drink in hot weather.

— Ambient. In this case, it usually means the supply of water directly, without any cooling or heating. Thus, the temperature of the water at the outlet will be the same as in the bottle or water pipe. In addition to the fact that this option allows you to save energy, it often turns out to be convenient from a purely practical point of view — for example, it is more comfortable for many people to drink clean water not chilled, namely at room temperature, and for preparing some instant drinks, diluting med...icines, etc. this is the best option. Note that some models may provide the ability of heating or cooling the incoming water to ambient temperature if its initial temperature is very different from this indicator.

The ability to regulate the temperature of the water produced by the device. Such an adjustment can be provided for both hot and cold water (of course, everything also depends on what kind of water the cooler is capable of supplying).

This function is indicated only if the temperature adjustment is available to the average user and can be carried out right in the process of using the device. The convenience of this function is obvious: it allows you to adjust the water temperature to the specifics of a particular situation. For example, for some varieties of tea, a lower temperature is desirable than that normally provided by the cooler — about 80 °C; water that is too cold may be uncomfortable to drink and may require a slight increase in temperature.

In addition, there are models where temperature adjustment is carried out as part of the general maintenance of the device, and the switch on the rear panel or in another similar place is responsible for it. However, such devices are not included in this category; temperature adjustment is not indicated for them.

The presence of a display on the body of the device allows you to make settings more clearly and more comfortably and see the result on the screen, rather than relying on possible indicators. The screen displays information about the temperature of cooling and/or heating water, notifications in case of system errors, the need for scheduled maintenance, and more — a specific list of functions already depends on the model of the cooler or purifier. The display diagonal of an average cooler/purifier is 1-2”. The screen can be either monochrome or colour.

The volume of the cold water tank provided in the device.

In this case, it means a tank for water specially cooled by the device (see "Water supply"). The volume of the tank is the maximum amount of cold water that the cooler can dispense in one run, without interruption or with minimal interruptions. When this amount is exhausted, you will have to wait until the water in the tank cools down again to a sufficient degree; the waiting time depends on the cooling capacity (see below). At the same time, the volume of cold water tanks in modern devices is usually several litres, and it is extremely rare to drain this entire volume; usually, small portions of 200-300 mL are required. Therefore, this tank plays the role of a buffer — when the user drains the next portion of water, water from a bottle or a water mains is added to the tank; such an admixture does not particularly affect the temperature in the tank, however, for an additional guarantee, the cooling system immediately turns on. Thus, if consumption does not exceed productivity.

The volume of the hot water tank provided in the device.

This parameter describes the maximum amount of hot water that the cooler can produce in one run, without interruption or with minimal interruptions. When this amount is exhausted, you will have to wait until the water in the tank heats up again to a sufficient degree; the waiting time depends on the heating capacity (see below). At the same time, the volume of hot water tanks in modern devices is usually several litres, and it is extremely rare to drain this volume entirely — usually, small portions of 200-300 mL are required. Therefore, this tank plays the role of a buffer — when the user drains the next portion of water, water from a bottle or a water mains is added to the tank; such an admixture does not particularly affect the temperature in the tank, however, for an additional guarantee, the heating system immediately turns on. Thus, if the consumption does not exceed the heating capacity, the temperature of the contents remains practically unchanged.

The performance of the cooling system installed in the device, in other words, is the amount of water that can be cooled per hour. In coolers, it is usually indicated for water at room temperature — about 20 °C, in models with a connection to the water mains (see "Water loading") — for 15 °C (this is the average temperature of cold water). Accordingly, when deviating from these indicators, the actual performance may be slightly more or less (however, such deviations must be very significant for this to become noticeable).

This parameter determines two main points. First of all, it characterizes the maximum flow of cold water that the device can handle and the recommended breaks between use. For example, if a user needs to collect 2 standard 200-gram cups and the cooler specifications state a cooling capacity of 2 L/h, this means that the cooler will cool 400 g (0.4 L) of water that has entered the tank, for 0,4/2 = 0.2 h, that is about 12 minutes. However, the need for such calculations arises mainly with high water consumption, which is very close to the claimed performance.

Also, knowing the cooling rate and the volume of the cold water tank (see above), you can determine how long it will take to cool the tank filled with water at room temperature. Such situations arise during the first use of the device, as well as when draining the entire volume of the reservoir. So, if in the above example, the volume of the tank is 3 litres, then 3/2 = 1.5 hours...will be spent on cooling it. However, you can use water earlier, if a slightly elevated temperature is not critical.

It is the power consumed by the device in water heating mode. Usually, it is the operating power of the heating element.

This parameter is directly related to the heating performance (see above): a high heating rate inevitably requires appropriate power. Also, the power consumption of the device depends on this parameter. However, it is worth noting that after the end of heating, the device switches to the temperature maintenance mode and requires much less energy. In other words, the heater consumes the specified power not constantly but occasionally, as needed.

It is also worth mentioning that in models that work only for heating, this indicator also describes the maximum power consumption of the entire device. And, if there are two modes (heating and cooling), the total maximum power consumption corresponds to the sum of the powers of both modes.

A water supply control method is provided in the device; in other words — the design of the switch is responsible for turning on and stopping the feed.

— Cup pressure. A system that turns on the water when a glass or other container is brought to the tap. The control body in such systems is usually a special spring-loaded lever that covers the spout on the sides and bottom like a frame. When the user brings the container to the spout, its edge presses this lever, starting the water supply; to stop the feed, it is enough to slightly move the container toward yourself, returning the lever to the neutral position. This method is extremely simple and intuitive, making it easy to use. The disadvantage of such systems can only be called inconvenience when pouring large volumes of water — it can be tiring to keep the frame pressed for a long time. At the same time, in many models, this drawback is eliminated due to the presence of an alternative mode, when the water is turned on by raising the lever towards itself: the lever remains in this position until the user manually lowers it, which eliminates the need to keep the container tightly pressed .

— Buttons. Water supply control by buttons or keys on the device body. Such controls may have a different design and method of operation: for example, in some models, water flows as long as the button remains pressed; in others, it can be fixed in...for continuious pouring. Also note that the buttons, in contrast to the cup pressure systems described above, are not directly connected to the taps. It allows you to create multi-mode devices (see "Water supply"), in which both hot and cold water flows through one spout — depending on which button is pressed. Due to this, it is possible to slightly reduce the dimensions of the cooler body. However, most devices of this type still have separate taps for each type of water.

— Levers. Water supply control with a lever, usually mounted directly on the tap, from above. Such control is in many ways similar to pressing with a glass described above, adjusted for the fact that you need to press the switch not with the edge of the glass but with your hand. In some situations, it is more convenient — for example, if you need to draw water into a container with a narrow neck, which would be inconvenient to press the lever under the tap.