Drinking Fountains & Bottle Fillers: An Installation Guide

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Installing Drinking Fountains in Your School

A drinking fountain is the perfect way to keep your students hydrated and ready to learn throughout the school day. If you still haven’t decided what sort of water fountain is best for your school, then head over to our school drinking fountain guide; otherwise, read on to find out everything you need to know about installation

Before you begin

There are a few things to think about before you plumb in your drinking fountain:

Location

When choosing a location for your water fountain, try to place it close to the main drinking water supply line. The supply pipe to your fountain should ideally be no more than one metre in length - otherwise, you run the risk of water pooling within the pipe, creating a breeding ground for bacteria.

Your pipes should also be protected from extreme heat and cold. That means your fountain should be installed away from direct sunlight or boilers, while the pipes supplying an outdoor fountain should be insulated to stop them from freezing.

Finally, you should never install a drinking fountain within a bathroom. Whenever someone flushes a toilet, millions of microbes are released into the surrounding air, meaning that there is a substantial risk of cross-contamination.

Installation height

If you’ve chosen a wall-mounted water fountain, then you should consider how high up it will be installed. As a general rule, we tend to recommend 915mm from the floor for secondary school pupils, and 762mm from the floor for primary and below.

Installation

You will need:

Screws
Screwdriver
Electric drill
Wall plugs
Adjustable wrench

First, take the wall mounting brackets (in the case of wall-mounted or floor-standing drinking fountains) or the baseplate (in the case of pedestal drinking fountains) and mark the location of the mounting holes at an appropriate height. Drill into the holes and insert wall plugs as necessary, then screw the wall brackets/base plate into place.

Next, insert the waste fitting and bubbler valve into their respective holes, then fit the rubber washer of the inlet nipple and mount it within the recess at the base of the bubbler valve. Fit the assembled bubbler valve into the hole at the top of the drinking fountain.

Finally, flush the potable water supply line to get rid of any dirt and grime, then connect it to the water fountain.

Aftercare

If you’re still having trouble installing your water fountain, or something’s gone wrong and you’d like to know how to put it right, feel free to get in touch with us via the contact page. A member of our dedicated team will be happy to assist you.