Refrigerator water dispenser

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

First I'm not sure if this belongs in general discussion or off topic. There isn't an appliances section. 

 

Anyway I want to know this: is the water dispenser on a refrigerator supposed to dispense cold water? My refrigerator gives me cold water for a bit but then it becomes the same temperature as the tap and I don't know if it is only initially cold because there's a sort of water buffer stored in the filter or if it should be cold the entire time and my refrigerator isn't working right. Or maybe it is working correctly and it just can't instantly chill water at a 1:1 ratio and my giant water portions are larger than what the manufacturer intended. 

 

Your input would be appreciated ?

[samcool55]

I guess it depends which one you have?

 

My refrigerator also has a water dispenser but it's just a plastic box with a lever thingy you need to push your cup against to fill it.

It doesn't have a cooling element or something similar to cool it, it just gets cooled by the cold air inside the fridge...

 

Maybe your refrigerator has a different system?

[Xanthe_2871]

6 minutes ago, EverythingPinkIsMagic said:

First I'm not sure if this belongs in general discussion or off topic. There isn't an appliances section. 

 

Anyway I want to know this: is the water dispenser on a refrigerator supposed to dispense cold water? My refrigerator gives me cold water for a bit but then it becomes the same temperature as the tap and I don't know if it is only initially cold because there's a sort of water buffer stored in the filter or if it should be cold the entire time and my refrigerator isn't working right. Or maybe it is working correctly and it just can't instantly chill water at a 1:1 ratio and my giant water portions are larger than what the manufacturer intended. 

 

Your input would be appreciated ?

I have no idea. I would assume that it should be cold, and it's either not working correctly or your gluttonous water consummation has overpowered the machine. 

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

2 minutes ago, samcool55 said:

I guess it depends which one you have?

 

My refrigerator also has a water dispenser but it's just a plastic box with a lever thingy you need to push your cup against to fill it.

It doesn't have a cooling element or something similar to cool it, it just gets cooled by the cold air inside the fridge...

 

Maybe your refrigerator has a different system?

It's a Samsung. I would think such an expensive refrigerator would have chilling functionality but maybe not.

[bgibbz]

6 minutes ago, EverythingPinkIsMagic said:

It's a Samsung. I would think such an expensive refrigerator would have chilling functionality but maybe not.

Check the manual. If there is supposed to be a cooling system, then just call the retailer and file a warranty claim. 

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

4 minutes ago, bgibbz said:

Check the manual. If there is supposed to be a cooling system, then just call the retailer and file a warranty claim. 

Alright I will. Thanks. Do you have a refrigerator with a water dispenser?

[bgibbz]

Just now, EverythingPinkIsMagic said:

Alright I will. Thanks. Do you have a refrigerator with a water dispenser?

Nope, but one of my relatives does and as far as I remember the water comes out cold. 

[TheLaserCucumber]

I've got a Samsung fridge with a water dispenser, but the water that it "dispenses" (don't know if that's the right word ) is always cold. 

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

Just now, TheLaserCucumber said:

I've got a Samsung fridge with a water dispenser, but the water that it "dispenses" (don't know if that's the right word ) is always cold. 

Darn! So it may really be broken? If it is supposed to be cold then it must be!

[johnny5c]

I have a Samsung too and it doesn't have a chiller for the water dispenser, instead it has a plastic reservoir behind one of the refrigerator drawers.  You get 2-3 glasses of cold water then it takes awhile for it to cool down again.

[TheLaserCucumber]

3 hours ago, johnny5c said:

I have a Samsung too and it doesn't have a chiller for the water dispenser, instead it has a plastic reservoir behind one of the refrigerator drawers.  You get 2-3 glasses of cold water then it takes awhile for it to cool down again.

In my fridge this is the case for ice cubes! Not for water. Damn how much different fridges has Samsung made so far?

[Nuluvius]

I have a brand new Samsung RS53K4400 which features a water and ice dispenser unit. The water supply is connected at the rear of the unit with an external filter in series and supplies the ice unit located within the freezer section. It then simply runs through the body and door to the dispenser tap, there's no active cooling component involved in that part of the mechanism.

 

One may be lead to surmise (via deductive reasoning) that Samsung intend the use of dispensed ice to provide sufficient cooling to any dispensed water due to the fact that one must actively dispense the ice (or turn the feature off) in order to prevent its accumulation from causing an obstruction in the collection box.

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

19 minutes ago, Nuluvius said:

I have a brand new Samsung RS53K4400 which features a water and ice dispenser unit. The water supply is connected at the rear of the unit with an external filter in series and supplies the ice unit located within the freezer section. It then simply runs through the body and door to the dispenser tap, there's no active cooling component involved in that part of the mechanism.

 

One may be lead to surmise (via deductive reasoning) that Samsung intend the use of dispensed ice to provide sufficient cooling to any dispensed water due to the fact that one must actively dispense the ice (or turn the feature off) in order to prevent its accumulation from causing an obstruction in the collection box.

I hope not! I don't like ice ?. But that does make sense. Someone here said they always get cold water though. Could this be a generational thing?

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

31 minutes ago, TheLaserCucumber said:

In my fridge this is the case for ice cubes! Not for water. Damn how much different fridges has Samsung made so far?

They've made over 2,000 distinct variations according to the store. I literally just called one in NY just to ask for you. ? 

[Nuluvius]

1 hour ago, EverythingPinkIsMagic said:

Someone here said they always get cold water though. Could this be a generational thing?

Without doing any research myself I'd suspect that this would be due to passive cooling rather than active cooling. Think about where the hose is routed in a typical scenario: This usually being under/inside cupboards, around other cold water piping and then around the external side of the internal thermal compartments before reaching the dispenser; all areas that are characteristically cool.

 

Moreover consider that if there were an active cooling component of some sort then it would only decrease the overall energy efficiency of the appliance as well as requiring additional maintenance/being prone to fault. The alternative would be to route the hose/have a reservoir inside the fridge component, however once again the efficiency would be degraded due to thermal entropy i.e. cool water in => cooling => cold water out; and indeed simply routing the hose is unlikely to provide sufficient surface area to accomplish any meaningful amount of cooling. To further compound this consider the health implications of having water sitting potentially unused in a reservoir for any length of time, indeed the same could be said of it sitting in the hose for that matter (although they do have models where one manually fills such a reservoir).

 

In conclusion I suspect they have adhered to the Keep it Simple, Stupid (KISS) design principal.

[Tosa]

I have a fridge with a water dispenser that doesn't work. I don't believe it was any colder than water from the tap when it worked, though.

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

So I called Samsung today and asked, I was unable to get an answer. The phone rep had no idea whatsoever. ?

[TheLaserCucumber]

20 hours ago, EverythingPinkIsMagic said:

I hope not! I don't like ice ?. But that does make sense. Someone here said they always get cold water though. Could this be a generational thing?

I said that I always get cold water, but my fridge is like 12 years old

 

18 hours ago, Nuluvius said:

Without doing any research myself I'd suspect that this would be due to passive cooling rather than active cooling. Think about where the hose is routed in a typical scenario: This usually being under/inside cupboards, around other cold water piping and then around the external side of the internal thermal compartments before reaching the dispenser; all areas that are characteristically cool.

In my fridge the dispenser is at the door for the freezer. I don't think that it's cooled through the freezer, cause then it would be frozen. Right?

[Nuluvius]

31 minutes ago, TheLaserCucumber said:

In my fridge the dispenser is at the door for the freezer. I don't think that it's cooled through the freezer, cause then it would be frozen. Right?

I'd have thought that would go without needing to be explicitly stated...

[Misanthrope]

Depends on your fridge but if it's the kind you connect to a water source directly with a pipe, it only cools down a tiny bit on a small reservoir so if you drink more than 1 or 2 glasses it will be warm because it hasn't had time to cool down.

 

If it has a container that you have to refill manually then your fridge might be broken.

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

28 minutes ago, Misanthrope said:

Depends on your fridge but if it's the kind you connect to a water source directly with a pipe, it only cools down a tiny bit on a small reservoir so if you drink more than 1 or 2 glasses it will be warm because it hasn't had time to cool down.

 

If it has a container that you have to refill manually then your fridge might be broken.

No, mine has a waterline. I guess it really is just sucky for me since I drink water in such massive quantities.

[Misanthrope]

Just now, EverythingPinkIsMagic said:

No, mine has a waterline. I guess it really is just sucky for me since I drink water in such massive quantities.

I'm a diabetic so I can relate: a good third of my fridge consists of water bottles to keep up.

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

Just now, Misanthrope said:

I'm a diabetic so I can relate: a good third of my fridge consists of water bottles to keep up.

Uh oh. I hope that's not why I'm always so thirsty!

[Misanthrope]

Just now, EverythingPinkIsMagic said:

Uh oh. I hope that's not why I'm always so thirsty!

There can be plenty of reasons I wouldn't worry without other side effects or risk factors though.

[EverythingPinkIsMagic]

Just now, Misanthrope said:

There can be plenty of reasons I wouldn't worry without other side effects or risk factors though.

That is a relief. I don't mean to be insensitive but I would hate that so much. I am not a very responsible person. I would not keep up with the bodily maintenance necessary to keep a constant blood sugar level I needed. I commend you for continuing to live! It's certainly not as easy for you as it is for me!