CASO Design HW 660 Turbo Hot Water Dispenser Review

Introduction

Forget waiting for the kettle to boil or boiling the wrong amount of water, the CASO Design HW 660 Turbo Hot Water Dispenser is a simple, cheap, instant hot water dispenser that gives you precise amounts of hot water at the temperature you want.

Easy to operate and effective, this is a great alternative to a kettle, although some people may prefer more temperature options and a slightly larger water reservoir.

Design and features

• Variable temperature control
• Volume control
• 2.7-litre tank with water filter

Taking up no more counter space than a traditional kettle, the CASO Design HW 660 Turbo Hot Water Dispenser delivers precise amounts of hot water directly into a cup or mug.

There’s only a little setup to get the water dispenser ready for its first use: the water tank needs to be filled to around the 1-litre mark, and then I had to dispense 300ml of cold water and 400ml of 100°C water.

Once commissioned, the machine is ready for the next stage, sorting out the water filter. This should be soaked for 10 minutes, then rinsed with tap water to get it ready for use.

The filter then sits in a filter holder, an inner tank that sits just above the 1.5-litre mark in the 2.7-litre tank. This setup means that you can add around 1.2 litres of water to begin with, and then you have to wait for it to filter through before adding more water.

That process can be a little slow, and there’s no way to use the full 2.7-litre capacity in one go. In effect, the CASO Design HW 660 Turbo Hot Water Dispenser operates in a similar way to a traditional jug filter, such as the ZeroWater 12 Cup; the far larger Milky Plant The Watery has one large tank at the back for tap water, and produces filtered water in a jug at the front.

I found that with the CASO Design HW 660 Turbo Hot Water Dispenser, the best option was to filter the water through and then top up to the 2.7-litre mark. Once I started using water, keeping the tank topped up meant that I didn’t have periods where I had to sit around waiting for water to filter before using it.

Water filters should last four to six weeks, and you can buy replacements in bulk for around £5 a filter.

Finally, there’s a water hardness control to set. It’s important to get this setting right, as it dictates when the descale light turns on.

Touch controls are on the front. For safety, the CASO Design HW 660 Turbo Hot Water Dispenser locks when it’s not been in use for a while; the lock button has to be pressed and held to reactivate the machine.

Controls are then simple. There’s a temperature button that moves through the options, starting at 0°C (room temperature water), and then cycling through the options in 10°C increments from 40°C to 100°C. I’d like a little more variation in the mix, as there are some teas and coffees, for example, that prefer a 95°C temperature.

Water volume is selected by a different button, with 50ml increments between 100ml and 400ml. That’s enough for pretty much all size mugs and cups, with room enough under the spout for mugs up to 160mm tall.

There’s no room to get a saucepan underneath, so if you normally boil your water in a kettle before cooking, you’ll either still want a kettle or you’ll need to boil water directly in a pan.

The final control is for Baby Food. Press and hold this button to dispense water at 40°C; release the button when you’re done. As the water in the tank is not boiled, CASO recommends pre-boiling water in a saucepan, leaving it to cool for three minutes and then adding it to the water dispenser’s tank. To be honest, if you have a baby, you might be better off with a kettle.

Performance

• Precise water dispensing
• Basic filtering
• Good temperature control

I found that the CASO Design HW 660 Turbo Hot Water Dispenser was very good at dispensing precise amounts of water. Adding water to a measuring jug, I found that the dispensed amount was within a few ml of the target amount every time. Once you get used to your mug sizes, this level of control makes using the water dispenser easy, plus you can walk off and do something else while water is coming out.

The water filters are designed to remove chlorine and pollutants, prevent bacterial growth and increase the life of the device. I used a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) meter to test the water. With normal tap water, I got a reading of 307; after the water was filtered, a reading of 293.

The water does taste better, but less is removed from the source water than if using a dedicated filter or a combined product, such as the Milky Plant The Watery.

I then measured the water temperature. It takes the CASO Design HW 660 Turbo Hot Water Dispenser a few seconds to heat up to pour, before steaming hot water comes out. Set to 100°C, the water was 95°C in a warmed mug, similar to a result from a kettle.

At full temperature, the CASO Design HW 660 Turbo Hot Water Dispenser drew 2400W. Crucially, power is only used when pouring, so you only use as much energy as required for the water you need; with a kettle, you have to heat the minimum amount of water, which is often wasteful.

The same was true with other temperatures, with the final in-mug temperature close to the set temperature. That’s normal, as some heat is lost through the pour and also into the mug.

Should you buy it?

FAQs