Whether you’re at home or in your office, bottled water is one of the healthiest ways to hydrate. Unlike sweetened beverages, you’re not loading up on sugar and artificial sweeteners. And you don’t have to worry about any contaminants in your municipal or well water. Instead, you’re getting pure, clean H2O, which is exactly the hydration that your body craves. But individual, single-use bottles are wasteful. It’s great to have healthy water, but is it worth producing all of that trash? Thankfully, there’s a more environmentally-friendly solution. You get your water in a 5-gallon jug, and fill a reusable cup or a water bottle.
But if you’re using a large jug, pouring your water isn’t practical. You’d end up spilling all over the place. Instead, most people use a dispenser to make it easier to fill up. That way, you can carefully dispense the exact amount you need, without spilling. Then again, not all dispensers are equally well-designed. Take a traditional vertical dispenser, where you turn the jug upside-down and set it in the housing. The jugs themselves are perfectly clean; presumably you’re getting them from a reliable source. But the dispenser housing can develop mold and mildew, ruining your water. A small, washable electric dispenser is a safer, more reliable alternative.
Today, we’re going to review three of the best 5 gallon water bottle electric pump dispensers we could find. To start with, we’ll examine the Myvision Water Bottle Pump. This is a no-nonsense stainless steel water dispenser with a simple control scheme. Next, we’ll take a look at the CozyBlue Water Dispenser. This is a food-safe plastic dispenser with continuous and measure 600ml dispensing modes. Last but not least, we’ll check out the SmartDevil Foldable Water Dispenser. This is a collapsible water dispenser with two dispensing modes and USB Type-C charging. Which one is the right choice for you? Let’s take a closer look at all three options, and see how they perform!
Myvision Water Bottle Pump
The Myvision Water Bottle Pump is a little plastic cylinder that mounts on top of your water bottle. It comes in two different versions, and both of them are black and white. But one has a black top half and a white bottom half, while the other is reversed. The total height of the housing is 5.1 inches, with a diameter of 2.9 inches. This makes it ideally-sized to fit a standard 2.16 (5.5cm) jug opening. That said, you can’t attach it to just any old water jug. The jug has to have a rubber insert that reduces the diameter. If there’s no insert, the pump won’t seal properly, and will fall off easily.
The pump housing curves inwards at the top, and culminates in a control button. This is a simple press-to-dispense button. As long as you hold it down, water will flow out. When you let go, the flow will stop. It’s simple and straightforward, and the rubbery button is easy to hold down. It’s also surrounded by an LED light ring, which illuminates when the pump is active. Admittedly, this is just a cosmetic feature, but it’s still a nice touch.
Your water flows out through an angled spout, which first juts up and out from the front of the pump. The tip angles back down, so you can easily dispense your water. This stem will even fit in a small water bottle opening, so you can fill and reuse disposable plastic bottles. The spout is stainless steel, which makes it microbe- and corrosion-resistant, as well as easy to clean. The plastic housing itself is BPA-free, so you don’t have to worry about chemicals leeching into your water. The ABS plastic material is also very durable, and won’t cause your water to smell. And the hose is made from food-grade silicone, so it’s perfectly safe.
To install this pump, you first have to attach the intake hose. It fits snugly over the tip of a plastic nipple on the bottom of the housing. Then, you put the other end of the hose through the bottle opening, and make sure it reaches the bottom. After that, the pump should fit securely to the top of the bottle.
Battery Life and Extras
The Myvision pump has an internal rechargeable battery, with a capacity of 1,200 mAh. In practice, this means that you’ll be able to dispense between four and six 5-gallon bottles of water. Why the wide range? That’s because batteries naturally lose power over time. So another way of looking at the battery performance is that it will last for around 30 to 40 days. Either way, that’s a lot of heavy lifting for a small battery. By comparison, the iPhone 13 has a battery capacity of 3,095 hours. So you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.
Charging is quick and painless, with the included USB to Micro USB charging cable. The process takes about 3 hours, which is a bit longer than we would have liked. Still, you can charge it overnight, or even just during the morning. The LED ring on top will light up red when the battery is charging, and turn off when it’s fully charged. That way, there’s no ambiguity as to your charging status.
CozyBlue Water Dispenser
The CozyBlue Water Dispenser has a slick, unified design that’s very easy on the eyes. The black cylindrical housing has a height of 5.91 inches, and is just wider than your bottle opening. It has a smooth, dull finish, which is easy to keep clean, but won’t collect fingerprints. The spout sticks out horizontally, and is constructed from the same black plastic. It’s all one molded piece, so there are no grooves or gaps that need to be cleaned. The spout extends a little over 5 inches from the main housing. As a result, you’ll have plenty of clearance for filling wide-mouthed bottles.
As for assembly and compatibility, you’re looking at similar performance to the Myvision pump. It will fit any standard 2.16-inch bottle opening, on 5-gallon jugs or any smaller size with the same opening. Just make sure there’s a rubber reducer in the jug’s mouth, or you won’t get a secure seal. The intake hose fits over a little nipple, and then extends down into the bottle. That’s all there is to assembly and setup.
The top of the pump has a decorative purple ring, which surrounds a pair of buttons. The first button, the one with the “power” symbol, is a simple continuous operation button. Hold it down, and the water will flow. Release it, and the flow will cut off. The second button that says “600ML” is a measured control button. When it’s pressed, the pump will automatically dispense 600ml of water, and cut off on its own. This is great for filling a standard 20-ounce water bottle.
The material itself is very good quality, much like the Myvision dispenser. The plastic is BPA-free ABS, so it’s durable and won’t leech chemicals into your water. The silicone tube is also food grade, which makes it equally safe for water. Our only real complaint here is the spout’s tip, which is not made of steel. Instead, it’s chromed plastic, which is a little bit tougher to keep clean.
Battery Life and Extras
As far as battery performance goes, you’re looking at near-identical performance to the Myvision device. The CozyBlue pump has a 1,200 mAh battery, which is good for around four to six 5-gallon bottles. It also lasts about as long, with a lifespan of 30 to 40 days. And charging is identical, taking around 3 hours via Micro USB. That said, there’s one nifty bonus feature we should mention. On the top of the housing, just above the buttons, there’s a little indicator light. This illuminates when your battery is low, so you know it’s time to charge up.
All of this is good news if you’re using a 5-gallon water bottle. But what if that’s not convenient, or water delivery is expensive in your area? In that case, you might consider a UV water purifier/dispenser, like the Acuva Arrow 5. It installs into your kitchen sink, and the UV rays sanitize the water as it passes through.
SmartDevil Foldable Water Dispenser
The SmartDevil Foldable Water Dispenser comes in two colors, white or deep blue. Both are made from the same high-quality plastic, which is easy to keep clean. The main housing measures 5.81 inches high and 2.48 inches in diameter. This makes it well-sized for a standard 2.16-inch water jug opening. As with the previous two pumps, this one will only attach to a jug with a rubber insert.
The main attraction of the SmartDevil Foldable dispenser is in the name – the spout is foldable. When it’s flipped up, it sticks out a little more than five inches. That’s enough for you to easily fill even very wide-mouthed bottles. When the spout is collapsed, the opening is concealed in the side of the housing. This keeps it safe from pets or small children, who might otherwise decide to lick the spout.
Material construction and assembly are very similar to our last two options. The pump housing is made from BPA-free ABS plastic. This means it’s safe for your health, as well as tough enough to handle some mild abuse. The hose is made from food grade silicone, so there are no issues there, either.
The dispense button on the top of the housing is slightly recessed, which makes it easy to operate. But despite the fact that there’s only one button, you actually have two different modes of operation. The first is a measured 230ml dispensing mode. Just press the button once, and it will dispense that exact amount. Two pumps will mostly fill a 20-ounce water bottle, but three will be too many. The other option is to press and hold the power button for three seconds. This will dispense a full liter of water, which takes about a minute. Regardless of your mode of operation, you can press the button a second time to stop dispensing. Usually, it’s easiest just to start dispensing a full liter, then tap when you want it to stop.
Battery Life and Extras
The SmartDevil has the same 1,200 mAh battery capacity as the other two pumps. It will pump the same four to six bottles of water, and will last for the same 30 to 40 days. That said, it charges via USB Type-C, rather than Micro USB. This allows you to charge in two hours instead of three, which is a marked improvement.
But what if you want all of your tap water to be safe and clean? If that’s what you need, consider a whole house UV purification system instead. They’re no good for removing minerals. However, they’ll keep your tap water free of microbes, throughout your entire home.
Final Verdict
So, how do these three water bottle pumps stack up? Let’s go over what we’ve learned. The Myvision Water Bottle Pump is the most straightforward of the three. You just hold the button down, and the water flows out. We also liked the stainless steel spout, since it’s easier to keep clean than plastic. Our only minor complaint is that the battery doesn’t charge as fast as it could.
The CozyBlue Water Dispenser is similar in many respects, with the same battery performance and charging. That said, it has a nifty 600ml dispense button for filling 20-ounce water bottles. Its battery warning light is also convenient, since you’ll know when you need to recharge. Just be aware that you’ll have to keep the tip squeaky clean.
The SmartDevil Foldable Water Dispenser has its own unique quirks. The control scheme is more complicated than the other two. However, the fold-down spout is great if you’re worried about inquisitive pets licking you spout. We also liked the USB Type-C charging, which is faster than Micro USB.
