What Is a Coffee Maker With a Water Line

The name itself is quite explanatory; this type of Coffee Maker directly connects with your domestic water line, which allows you to have a steady flow of water without you needing to change any water reservoirs or add water into the system. 

Benefits of Coffee Makers With Water Line

If you are a person that literally cannot wake themselves up without a morning coffee and everything more than a couple of buttons feels like Da Vinci’s secret, then coffee makers with water lines are just the one for you. They don’t require any additional steps to change/put in the water and basically obtain water from your regular water line. This allows water to be fresh every time that you want to make coffee. You don’t need to make your coffee with the water that sits in the reservoir. Plus, most of these machines also come with an automatic water filtration system, allowing you to enjoy your coffee with pure water. 

How Do Coffee Makers With Water Line Work

There are a couple of ways that allow you to have a direct flow of water. First, you can get conversion systems that will turn your regular machine into water-line coffee machines. This requires removing your water reservoir from your coffee machine and drilling some holes for the new system and pipes. Even if it is a one-time procedure, this can seriously harm your machine when not done properly. 

If you don’t want to risk it and want an even more convenient way, the second way of obtaining direct water flow is to get a built machine just for this. There are several coffee machines in the market with an already built-in direct water line, the only thing you need to do is connect the machine to your domestic water line and your coffee will be ready within minutes.

Once you connected all the pipes to your water system. The machine automatically gets the required amount of water from your system, heats it and prepares your coffee for you. Depending on the machine, you may even be able to do several types of coffee.    

Pros and Cons of Coffee Makers With Water Line

Pros

• Allows you to have your coffee with your domestic water line.
• Filters your water for you.
• Your coffee maker will never run dry.
• You can use the hot water supply for other drinks and even for soups.

Cons

• Might require extra work and tools to assemble.
• Some of them can be quite costly.
• Once it is installed, you cannot move the machine around.
• Even though it requires less space than a regular coffee machine, it needs a fixed place.

Types of Coffee Makers With Water Line

Direct

The market for coffee makers with direct water lines included in them is quite small. When you start your research for such machines, you will realize the machines in the market lack flexibility in a wide understanding. If you are the kind of person who enjoys specific coffee types, then it won’t be a problem for you, but if you are looking for creativity and different options to make your coffee, you might hard time choosing. 

However, direct plumbed coffee makers come with many advantages. The first and the most obvious one is that you never need to fill a water tank. That is particularly great for large offices. It also doesn’t allow the water to sit in the reservoir for days; for smaller households, that might be a problem for the water going stale. 

Indirect (Plumbing Kits) 

A kit, however, is like an extension that you can connect to your basic coffee machine. However, It involves drilling some holes into your existing machine and some pipe job to connect it to your waterline. Many brands offer kits; in this sense, Keurig is an attractive option.   

How to Choose the Best Coffee Maker With a Water Line

Usage

These machines already come pretty automized; they mostly all work with a couple of buttons. The hardest part is the cleaning. Some machines in the market that parts you need to clean are easily separable and easy to clean. If you don’t want to lose time cleaning and/or not really good with machines, these are just for you. 

Type

The machines usually come in 2 types, single cups or carafes. Single-cup brewers make 1 cup of coffee each time. It is amazing for a group of people that enjoy different types of coffees. A carafe will brew a carafe size coffee for around 5 to 10 cups, depending on the size of the carafe. The coffee will be the same for all the cups, so carafe types offer less flexibility. 

Installation

Installation is not particularly hard or easy. It just requires some tools, just like a regular plumbing job. If you are familiar with it in any sense, you can easily do it by yourself with the help of the instructions. 

Filter

We all know that high-quality coffee gets its source from high-quality water. Many automatic coffee machines also come with a built-in filter system, so you don’t need to look for another piece of equipment to filter your coffee.  

Size

Since the machine is going to be an accessory for your kitchen, it is important to consider its size. It needs to sit comfortably on your counter. Hopefully, without a large water reservoir, the plumbed coffee machines are usually very small. 

Functionality

Plumbed coffee machines are pretty automized to start with, but some allow you to customize all aspects of your drink. 

Customization

If you want your coffee machine to work with your specific desires, you need a machine that will work just for you. With many customizable mods and specific styles, some brands offer almost personalized coffee machines. 

Construction Material

Good quality material helps with the durability of the machine. Most machines in this category are already in the luxury end of the market, so they are usually made from very high-quality materials. You may find some that are made of plastic; they are the ones that are on the more budget-friendly side of the market. 

Number of Cups

ıts is important to consider the number of cups that your machine can fill in one go. Some machines are built to fill 1 cup while some can fill 2 simultaneously and there are even ones that can fill a full carafe.  

Budget

even though you want a great machine for yourself, your budget must be the most important thing. Generally, these machines are very luxurious pieces of equipment for your kitchen and tend to be very expensive. So considering your budget will narrow down your options.

Cleaning

They sure do require minimal cleaning. The water in the system is always running, so that allows the system to be cleaned regularly. However, you need to take care of your pipes and filtering system. As a golden rule, a hot water flash before and after brewing will keep the pipes clean and both the water filter and the coffee filter need to be cleaned from time to time. 

How to Install Coffee Maker With Water Line 

Installing is literally the hardest thing that you need to do with these babies. Once the installing is done, you need to push a couple of buttons and enjoy your coffee. So let’s get started;

Step 1- Get some extra parts

You will need some extra parts to connect your machine to the waterline. You will need a water line adaptor with an elbow, ¼ inch water line tubing and water filter set if your machine doesn’t have one. 

Most kits come with a mounting head with screws, lengths of NSF certified Food-Grade water line, a shutoff valve, angle stop valve, and a one-way check valve. 

Step 2 – Attach the head unit with the bracket

Use 4 screws to make the IN side of the head is facing right. 

Step 3 – Insert water line into the check valve

Insert the one end of the water line into the one-way check valve. You need to leave the other end of the water line free. The Grey ball valve is supposed to be already attached to the check valve.  Attach the grey ball valve to the head unit. 

Step 4 – Connect the water line to your water source

Make sure to turn off your water source before doing so. You’ll do this by either using the included 1/4″ Adapter or the Angle-Stop Valve.

Step 5 – Attach the connecter to your machine

After screwing it into your brewer, connect the head OUT with a pipe. You can then attach the head on your brewer with 2 more screws. 

How to Use a Coffee Maker With a Water Line

Step 1 – Safety

Before using it for the first time, make sure there is leakage and no breaks. That’s particularly important to check before plugging your divide in. Just in case, remove the other electronic devices close by. 

Step 2 – Prepare your coffee

Depending on your machine, you may prepare your coffee before your machine might do it for you if you are prepping the coffee. Do it as you always do; your machine will provide hot water for you. 

Step 3 – Push the button

Your machine will get the water from the line, heat it for you and prepare your coffee. This can take a couple of minutes.

That’s pretty much it! Then you can go and decorate your coffee however you like. Sugar, milk, creams, syrups… anything but always use a heat-resistant coffee mug. If you use a capsule-based coffee maker, we suggest you order the world’s best hot chocolate K-cups. Isn’t it so cool that your machine can also provide you hot chocolate, thanks to these cups! 

How to Maintain Your Coffee Maker With a Water Line 

Step 1 – Run hot water through the system

This will clean the pipes all the way. This allows you to not clean inside the pipes as often, which is like the hardest part. 

Step 2 – Remove the coffee filter and wash it

You can wash it in the sink with regular soap or toss it in the dishwasher. Always wait until it gets scorched before putting it back to prevent any water dripping to the important parts of the machine and make sure it is fully intact. 

Step 3 – Run vinegar, vinegar-water mix or cleaning solution

This will clean all your machine’s insides and kill all the other bacteria and dust that might be forming there. 

Our general advice is to be persistent with daily hot water runs. That will make the big cleaning processes a lot easier and keep your machine healthy. 

Does More Spending Mean More Quality

As a general rule, spending more actually buys most equality machinery but to a point. Of course, there is a machine in the market that will be over yıur budget. That’s mainly because for some machines; you also will be baying for the brand you are getting.

You need to evaluate what you want to do with your machine; if you are the type of person that only enjoys drinking filter coffee, you don’t need to pay for a machine that can make 10 different styles of coffee. Do your research well and evaluate the machines according to your needs; this way, you won’t need to pay for extras that you won’t even use in the future. 

Do’s and Don’ts With Coffee Makers With Water Line

Do’s

• Do your research.
• Watch a couple of tutorials to connect your pipes.
• Use premium coffee beans.
• Use organic instant coffee.
• Use coffee syrups with natural aromas and flavors to customize your coffee.

Don’ts

• Leave your equipment dirty.
• Choose without considering.

FAQ About Coffee Makers With Water Line

Can I install a plumbed coffee maker by myself?

Yes, you can. It requires some tools and knowledge of plumbing. It definitely comes with instructions and with a couple of tutorials, you as well can do it. If not, there are professionals out there that you can get help from. 

How do I descale a plumbed coffee maker?

Allow your machine to fill and heat the water. With flushing, you will pull about 8 oz through the group, pull about 6-8oz from the hot water, and let the machine fill and reheat. You need to flush until the water runs clear and smells clean

Can you use a coffee maker with a water line for hot water?

Yes, you definitely can! You can use the hot water in the line to make tea, soups and even oatmeal. 

How many cups of coffee can a plumbed coffee maker hold?

You can expect a regular carafe to hold around 6 cups of coffee. If you have a larger carafe, it can hold up to 12 cups. 

Do I need a filter for my plumbed coffee maker?

The most plumbed coffee maker comes with a built-in filtering mechanism. So it means you don’t need to pre-filter your water. Just in case, you should search for each specific piece you plan to have. 

Should I go for a specific company?

Not at all. You should go for the company that will answer your needs. Your choice should answer all of your questions, what size do you want it to be, how fast do you want it to be, what type of coffee and so on. 

Conclusion

To sum up, coffee makers with water lines are amazing for people who want to enjoy their coffee without hassle. With a plumbed coffee machine, you completely get rid of the hassle of refilling the water reservoir. This is especially beneficial for areas with lots of people like offices. It will make coffee easy for you and keep your water fresh. 

Of course, with such a machine, it will sit in a particular place and installing it can be a problem. If you don’t wish to play some little engineering with water pipes, you can stay with traditional coffee-making techniques. For example, enjoying great coffee with a percolator is priceless. They are quite amazing and innovative these days as well like the pour-over coffee maker uses a filter that catches oils and sediment. Also, a wide variety of automatic coffee machines out there with water reservoirs such as Keurig K55 come with a large water reservoir. 

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