I am thinking of getting one of these and putting in our pantry - we have a local spring water source and you can buy the unit and either have delivery or pick up the water....

I had a whirlpool hot and cold one I used for several years. I purchased it from Lowes for a little more than $100 and had water delivered a while then switched to the store's filter machine.. the water service got more and more expensive with added fuel surcharges and prices going up that when I got a fridge for the first time that had an ice maker and filtered water dispenser that there was no point in it any more. I would discourage you from buying into the bottled water thing due to how bad it is for the environment that I have come to realize it is. I only buy it for camping trips. in the usa we have better tap water than most of the world yet we waste fossil fuels transporting water around in plastic bottles that is sometimes no better than tap water The plastic bottles are often not recycled either. if you are going to use a water cooler there are supermarkets that have a machine that you can get RO filtered water near me for 35 cents a gallon in your reusable container, fill while your at the store no wasted trip or fuel just for water. or there is a filter system that fits on like a 5 gallon jug. My only real dis like of tap water is chlorine taste and a good filter can help with that.

Thanks for the input.

Mike, I would either be getting the water at grocery stores I already go to, or filtered from my own sink. My main concern is having cold water accessible all the time. I don't have enough money or space for new fridge shopping.

That is understandable I could not just get a new fridge for a while either and the cooler was a great option if you have a place for it I got a fridge with one when it was time for a new one Mine is just sitting unused I would give it away to you but I'm sure you are not close to Pennsylvania I would look on Craig's list for a used one I see them in the appliance listing often. You can sanatize it with a bleach and water before use just rinse well

I did like the reverse osmosis filtered water I could get at my Weiss market store and just fill my bottle. That was way better and cheaper that delivery was No using extra fuel to get water that tasted good I think if you need it filtered for taste you are not going to like doing it from a faucet mounted filter in to a 5 gallon