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The Ultimate Boiling Water Tap Guide

In today’s market, there are dozens of boiling water taps available, which can make finding the perfect one for your kitchen a daunting task. Luckily, we’ve compiled this buying guide to help you make an informed decision about the best boiling water tap for your needs.

Join us as we cover everything from how these taps work to different features, prices, energy use and more.

What Is A Boiling Water Tap?

Generally, a boiling water tap is a tap that supplies cold, hot and boiling water, usually through the same mixer tap. All three water temperatures can be dispensed instantly, saving homeowners time waiting for a kettle or pan to boil.

How Do Boiling Water Taps Work?

A boiling water tank is plugged into the mains and your water supply. The tank heats the water and stores it at the correct temperature, so every time you turn on the tap, boiling water is available instantly. This means you don’t have to wait for the water to heat up before you can use it – you can just turn on the tap and dispense boiling water straight away.

Our Ume 3-in-1 Tap in Gold

Types of Boiling Water Tap

There are a few different types of boiling water tap:

Boiling Water Only Tap

This tap dispenses only boiling water from a dedicated spout. This means you would have to have a separate mixer tap for regular hot and cold water, which may not work for every kitchen configuration. However, boiling-only taps tend to be the cheapest of all models. Hanstrom does not manufacture these taps as they are, in our opinion, far less useful than a boiling water mixer tap.

3-in-1 Tap

This is the standard style of boiling tap, dispensing cold, hot and boiling water through a single spout. Generally, 3-in-1 taps offer the best combination of affordability and convenience, if your budget is limited. We stock a wide range of 3-in-1 taps at different price points and in a variety of finishes and styles.]

Shop Our Full Range of 3-in-1 Taps

4-in-1 Tap

This is an upgraded version of the boiling water tap, which also dispenses filtered cold water. For those looking to enjoy

Some models dispense sparkling cold water instead of still – check with the manufacturer if this is something you want.

Shop Our Full Range of 4-in-1 Taps

Boiling Water Tap with Flexible Spout

These taps come with a pull-out spout that allows you to direct the flow of water around your kitchen sink. Generally, to limit the risk of injury, the boiling water function can’t be used at the same time as the pull-out spout. These types of tap can have 3 or 4 water functions, and are sometimes called ‘5-in-1 taps’.

Shop Aran: Our 3-in-1 Tap with a Pull-Out Spout

Our Aran Flex Tap in Matt Black

Are Boiling Water Taps Safe?

We completely understand the concern that homeowners might have when it comes to taps that dispense boiling water, after all, children are notoriously curious. However, we’re pleased to say that boiling water taps are incredibly safe – often more so than a kettle. There are a few reasons for this:

  • Our boiling water taps come with a child-safe spring lock to prevent the boiling function from being turned on when you’re out of the room
  • An insulated spout means the tap itself doesn’t reach high temperatures that could otherwise cause burns
  • Unlike a kettle, a boiling water tap can’t be knocked over. That means your children are even less likely to handle boiling water unsupervised
  • As our boiling water tank heats water to 98°C, steaming hot water is instead dispensed smoothly out of the spout instead of spluttering

Read more about boiling water tap safety

Boiling Water Tap Costs

A boiling water tap is a great investment for any home. Not only do they offer a convenient way to heat water, but they can also save you money in the long term. Boiling water taps are available at a variety of different price points depending on your budget.

The Tap

Of course, these taps are more costly initially than a regular mixer tap, however, we want to make the convenience of a boiling water tap available to as many people as possible, so we focus on affordable luxury. Compared to other brands in the market, our taps are some of the most budget-friendly, without sacrificing the top-quality build that you would expect from a high-end tap.

Our budget models start at just £349, while our advanced 4-in-1 or pull-out models can cost upwards of £549. Boiling taps elsewhere can cost from £750 to £1,000+, making them unaffordable for most homeowners.

Finishes

The final cost of the tap can increase or decrease, depending on the finish you choose. For example, gold finishes often cost more, while a chrome finish is usually the lowest cost. It’s worth considering this if you want your hot water tap in a particular colour.

At Hanstrom, we don’t want our customers to break the bank when they decide on a specific colour palette for their kitchen. That’s why our finishes cost a maximum of £100 more for our premium gold or matt black finishes. Compare this to Quooker, which charges an additional:

  • £340 for a matt black finish
  • £870 for a gold finish
  • £150 for a stainless steel finish

It’s easy to see which brand is more affordable.

Boiler Tanks, Filters & Add-ons

Most models will include a boiler tank, filter and all of the parts necessary to get up and running, however, some brands offer add-ons that can quickly hike the price. For example, a sparkling and chilled water add-on from Quooker (their ‘CUBE’) costs an additional £1,150.

The filter for your tap should be changed every 6 months – our replacement filters are £50.

Running Costs

A boiling water tap will cost between 10-15p a day to run. A kettle costs 6.5p to boil a litre of water, which means if you use your kettle multiple times a day you are unlikely to see a change to your energy bill. Most of our customers use their boiling taps multiple times per day – and the savings versus using a kettle soon mount up.

Ultimately, the thing that a boiling tap saves the most of is time. No more waiting around for your kettle to boil, or a pan of water to reach the desired temperature.

Read more about boiling water tap running costs

Our Lunen Touch 3-in-1 Tap

Boiling Water Tap Temperature

The water in a boiling water tap is usually stored at a temperature of between 75-98C which is hot enough to make tea and coffee and also for cooking – in reality using boiling water to make hot drinks will often ruin the taste.

Some brands of boiling water taps advertise that their taps can reach 100C, but this is not necessary for normal domestic use. In fact, to our knowledge, there is only one manufacturer whose product can dispense water at 100C – but as there is no discernible benefit of doing so, Hanstrom has chosen not to do this.

Hanstrom’s touch screen-controlled boiler dispenses near boiling water at between 75-98C, allowing you to configure the temperature to your needs.

The Benefits of a Hanstrom Boiling Water Tap

Quick and Easy – Making drinks with a boiling water tap is much quicker and easier because you don’t have to wait for the water to boil.  With 33% of Brits drinking 4 to 5 cups of tea per day – just imagine how much time you get back not standing and waiting for the kettle to boil.

Another advantage of having a boiling water tap is that it makes cooking quicker. You don’t have to wait for the water to boil on the hob, so you can start cooking sooner. This also means that you can use less energy because you don’t need to use as much heat to get the water up to boiling point.

Space Saving – Boiling water taps can be a great space-saving addition to your kitchen. They take up less room on your kitchen counters by completely removing the need for a kettle. This can be a great feature if you don’t have a lot of counter space in your kitchen.

Safe – Hanstrom boiling water taps are very safe and reliable as they employ safety features such as sprung handles which require pushing before twisting to activate the tap, preventing children from turning them on accidentally with their hands near the hot steam coming out of the spout. Water is also delivered at a slightly lower pressure than regular taps to reduce the risk of splashing back.

You can be assured that Hanstrom has put the safety of your family at the forefront of each tap’s design.

Great For The Environment – In the UK it is estimated that 3500 of CO2 is wasted every day boiling overfilled kettles. Not only are Hanstrom boiling water taps designed with energy efficiency in mind – because you are only boiling the water you need they massively reduce the amount of energy you use. Considering that around 2/3 of people overfill their kettles routinely – that is a lot of saved carbon.

Boiling Water Tap Filters

I think we have all looked inside our kettle from time to time and seen a disgusting build-up of limescale. This is particularly bad if you live in a hard water area. Every Hanstrom tap comes with a water filter which will completely eliminate limescale issues and provide you with fresh, filtered, near-boiling water on demand.

The filters are designed to be changed just once every 6 months – and this is incredibly easy to do – so maintaining your Hanstrom tap will not be a chore at all.

Boiling Water Tap Installation

Installing a boiling water tap is a relatively simple process, and can be done in the same way as a regular tap. This can easily be done by a confident DIY consumer, but there are a few more connections to be made with a boiling water tap, so you may want to use a handyman or local plumber do the installation.

The tank will usually be fitted underneath your sink, and you’ll need a standard plug socket close by. Make sure you have enough space for the tank before you buy your boiling water tap.

Once you have the necessary tools and equipment, here are the steps you need to take to install your boiling water tap:

1. Shut off the water supply to your sink. There should be a shut-off valve near where your current tap is installed.

2. Disconnect the old tap by unscrewing the nuts that hold it in place.

3. Connect the new tap by screwing the nuts onto the threaded pipe that protrudes from the tank.

4. Reconnect the water supply and turn on the taps to check for leaks. If there are any leaks, tighten the nuts until they stop.

5. Put the cover back onto the tank and screw it into place.

6. Fill the tank with water by turning on the tap at the bottom. You may need to wait a few minutes for all of the air to escape before the water starts flowing.

7. Once the tank is full, turn off the tap and test your boiling water tap by pouring a cup of hot water.

Please refer to our detailed installation manual before attempting to install the tap yourself. If you have any problems with the installation, or if you’re not sure how to fit your particular boiling water tap, please consult a local plumber who will be more than able to fit a Hanstrom tap.

WRAS Approval

Every Hanstrom product is WRAS approved – which just means that our products all comply with UK water regulations and by-laws. When shopping for an instant hot water tap, please ensure that you only buy from a WRAS-approved manufacturer for your peace of mind and security.

At Hanstrom we have a range of taps in all styles to suit most budgets. Whether you are looking for something traditional, contemporary or bold – please shop our entire range of boiling water taps.