Comparison Qinyuan Model 101 vs Ecotronic H1-T

The type of cooling provided in the design of the device with the possibility of supplying cold water (see above).

— Compressor. Such cooling systems are similar in principle to refrigerators: they use a closed circuit with a refrigerant (usually freon) and a compressor to circulate the refrigerant. The circuit consists of an evaporator, a radiator and connecting pipes. This system works as follows: freon, evaporating, takes heat from the walls of the evaporator and the water in contact with them, cooling it; then it enters the radiator, condenses and gives off excess heat, which is quickly dissipated in the surrounding air due to the special design of the radiator. Compressor systems are somewhat more complex and expensive than electronic ( thermoelectric) systems. Intricate repairs with refrigerant replacement may be required if the circuit is damaged. On the other hand, such cooling has high efficiency and productivity; and it is practically independent of the ambient temperature: in hot weather, energy consumption may increase slightly, but the outlet water temperature will remain unchanged. Note that the compressor allows you to add a real refrigerator to the device (see "Locker").

— Thermoelectric (Peltier). In this case, electronic cooling systems are built on Peltier elements — a special kind of converters that look like plates. When current is passed through such a converter,...one side of the plate is cooled, and the other side is heated. Usually, water does not directly contact such a converter; cooling is carried out due to the flow of cold air created by a fan. Compared to compressor refrigerators, electronic systems are much simpler, more reliable, smaller and cheaper. On the other hand, with higher power consumption, they have lower performance. And the efficiency of Peltier elements is not very high — in particular, they cool water not to a certain temperature, but to a certain number of degrees relative to the ambient temperature (usually 10 – 15 °C). It makes it difficult to get cold water in hot weather.

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 cooling mode. In other words, this is the power required for the operation of all elements of the cooling system — a compressor or a converter with a fan (depending on the type of cooling, see above).

This parameter is directly related to the cooling performance (see above): a high cooling rate inevitably requires appropriate power. However, with the same power, compressor systems are more performant than electronic ones. Only models with coolers of the same type can be compared in terms of power.

Also note that the cooling system does not consume this power constantly, but only when necessary. So, at room temperature of the water in the "cold" tank, it turns on at full capacity, and when the desired temperature is reached, it switches to its maintenance mode, which requires much less energy.

In cooling-only models, this figure 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.

Blocking allows you to restrict access to the water supply. First of all, this function is provided to protect children from accidentally pouring hot water. Since the water heats up to 90 degrees, overturned glass and spilt water can cause a burn, and this blocker will eliminate the possibility of such cases.