Hydration equipment in K-12 environments must stand up to a lot. Drinking water dispensers need to be rugged, because sometimes students don’t know their own strength (and some, as we know, like to cause mischief); they need to resist the spread of germs from being touched so frequently; and they need superior filtration to protect growing bodies from contaminants found in water, including lead. Finally, they need to be cost-effective and efficient to operate in order to protect the district’s bottom line.
OASIS® International introduces the K-12 Bottle Filler to address all these concerns and more. Any school can easily and quickly put this specially designed unit to work in their hallways, because it is a virtual plug-and-play retrofit to existing ADA-compliant OASIS drinking fountains dating back to 1995—and is itself ADA-compliant when used with OASIS models PG8AC or P8AM drinking fountains.
The single-piece polymer cabinet won’t rust or dent, and its polymer construction is less expensive than metal. The large 13-inch alcove on the bottle filler fits most tall sports bottles. The K-12 Bottle Filler’s mechanical activation uses no electricity for dispensing, so it costs less to operate and still works even during power outages. The large antimicrobial copper activation button is easy to push and helps reduce the potential transfer of pathogens.
Each unit comes with the new high-performance VersaFilter II, a certified 3,000-gallon lead reduction filter that treats water to both the bottle filler and the fountain. It provides a flexible water treatment solution that effectively reduces lead, cysts, and other contaminants in water while also filtering out chlorine taste and odor. It is tested and certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 and NSF/ANSI Standard 42.
High-capacity VersaFilter II reduces the number of filter changeouts required in a year and allows them to be completed in minutes when it’s time, thanks to several new features found on the K-12 Bottle Filler. First, the filter is housed within the bottle filler on top of the drinking fountain. The bottle filler tips forward for easier access to the filter, with no need to disconnect any water lines or fittings or remove the front apron from the unit. Next, the included tether keeps the K-12 Bottle Filler stable during filter changeout, eliminating any need to set it aside or on the ground. Plus, automatic shut-off inside the filter head eliminates the need to shut off the water supply.
All of these features add up to a bottle filler that protects students, is easy to install and maintain, and has a lower cost of ownership.