Instant hot. Absolutely, without question, hesitation or a shadow of a doubt. Instant hot has so many uses- you can have a cup of tea, cocoa, oatmeal, all without waiting for water to boil. There is nothing else that serves that function instantly.

Pot filler, you just fill a pot w/ cold water.

Gr8t. Simulposts.

an instaHot located next to the cooktop
"... obviates about 50% of the effort involved in carrying filled pots to burners: you have to move them to empty them, but not to get the full ones to the burner. To me, ...(it)... saves ... labor and muscle strain. YMMV."

A pot filler too.

Pot fillers are widely seen in magazine photos.
They are easy to photograph.
Great to look at too.

I think the insta hot solution has not been widely considered.
The real question now is whether it's a good option.
And also if not why not.

Here is a link that might be useful: In 'Build' forum: Pot filler discussion, with Insta_hot commentary

What manufacturer of instant hot dispenser is best? I'd like one, but all the ORB insta hots that I saw are expensive. The cheaper satin nickel units made by InSinkerator would not match the kitchen very well at all, but would match my budget.

Insta-hot without a doubt. We've had one for over 20 years, can't imagine my kitchen without it.

DH suggested a pot filler, but I am very, very short and didn't think it would be useful to me.

I have a smallish kitchen and never considered a potfiller. Aside from never having felt I needed one, I find they can look pretentious and silly (although not always!!) and would be really out of place in MY kitchen.

I very much love my instant hot, even though I can heat water very quickly on my induction cooktop. My sink is very close to my cooktop and I am still capable of moving a pot of water. I really like how some kitchens have a sink (prep or otherwise) near enough the cooktop to utilize a pullout/down faucet as a potfiller. THAT is a sensible compromise to me.

I also like to have drains under my faucets, cuz I'm old fashioned.

Well, I have neither but I would like to weigh-in anyway.

If I had to choose, I would go with the A. Pot-filler only because of the following:
~ Not doing the research, I think the insta-hot would be a constant, larger electricity drain.
~ Most insta-hots that I've seen after a few years, look kinda grody.
~ I like my water hotter than the insta-hots (that I've used) get the water. I still wind up nuking the beverage afterward.
~ Modern electric kettles get the water cranked up pretty quickly and they have an auto-off for safety.
~ Plus, I'm supposed to have an induction cook-top installed sometime in the near future which is supposed to do a whiz-bang job of boiling water quickly.

This is why I would go for a pot-filler.

Pepper
~ Waiting for the snow to happen. :-)

I got the insta-hot and would do so again. I like to let the water run for a bit before filling a pot, so the pot filler just seems out of place for my way of cooking.

I had an insta-hot in my old condo and never actually turned it on once. Well, OK, once. I found out, it's not as hot as the Brits brew tea, so I never saw the point of it. If I want lazy-*ss American-style tea, I'll just use the microwave.

Comments received from two groups.

Those who don't have an instaHot:
txpepper
kitchendetective

Those who do
marcolo
michiganrachel
joyce_6333
Adrienne2011
beaglesdoitbetter

tx pepper represents my initial thoughts, when I had none.

But then I started to appreciate the point of view expressed by those who have one.

Hth

Ah, but I did once have an insta-Hot, although it was installed by a previous builder. I didn't use it. The thing is, I thought it was hokey and it reminded me of being in an office. It was a sensibility thing. I like kettles and tea rituals. When I make hot cocoa, I use cream, cocoa, and a whisk (and a copper pot), then I add milk to thin. On our boat, when in port, I use an electric kettle (that runs on solar panels). I don't do instant anything that I can think of.

purists anonymous, unite.

There's a lot of wisdom, to my mind, in all of this.

Right down to the united cry of this self-selected forum of purists.

And in that vein, may I vote for "neither".

I'm with fori in that they can look kinda pretentious. I'm not meaning to diss anyone and I have no doubt they are valued and well-used by many. For me, it crosses some personal-professional line. If I fill a large kettle with water I do it once, really, per day likely. At least not over and over as one might in a professional kitchen. Given that I am going to have to haul that heavy thing off the stove, it's no hardship to haul it over. Moreover, there's something in the 'save energy for later' thinking that requires you to turn back on a hike before you are so exhausted there's nothing left to get home: if I can't haul the water over to the range, how will I get it back (without relying on reduction)?

I'm sure there's an age-issue too. I, for example, have not the trouble lugging that my mother nearing her 80's would. OTOH she's not cooking massive quantities of anything anymore.

I also agree completely with the criticisms of the insta-hot-water spouts. They'd make a poor cup of tea; water's not hot enough. The tea-ritual is venerable and, dunno, just one of life's virtues. Those spouts do seem groddy with time and I worry about the health risks of consuming hot water that's sat around in pipes. Those pipes aren't the cleanest of things and stuff leaches out of them, admittedly always but more rapidly when the fluid inside is hot. It was drummed into me long ago not to boil water using hot water from the tap; always cold.

Moreover electric pots are the next best thing to sliced bread. If you factor in solar-powering, that would rank em right alongside sliced bread in my book ... wait, I don't use sliced bread.

Those electric pots are like the induction-heaters safety component analog as far as I am concerned. I have ruined, dunno, probably a half dozen kettles by leaving them on the stove and forgetting about them. Even sternly limiting myself to stay in the kitchen if I've lit a burner only helps a little while. That auto-off switch is a life-saver, probably literally for me. True, insta-hot could be similarly safe, but not quality or health-wise (I fear).

So I could randomly select one of these useless (IMO) devices over the other, but not sure the point. Save the under-sink plumbing space; the cost of additional fixtures and fussy cutouts. Save the extra plumbing line and expensive, clod-hopper faucet. We all of us have to draw our own personal line and I'm really happy viewing both of those devices from across the divide.

YMMV for sure and no offense is intended.

Now, to figure out how to harvest all that solar energy bouncing off our new roof. That's one heavy, expensive piece of equipment I could tolerate.....

What temperature is tea supposed to be? I use water from my instant hot for tea as well as my morning coffee press.

I don't have an instant-hot or a pot filler. I have considered getting a pot filler, and then changed my mind. Now I'm considering an instant hot dispenser, but I'm not sure. It would be great for my daughters to be able to make their own oatmeal and occasionally hot chocolate... but then, when I make hot chocolate, I use mostly milk and a little water, so a microwave is needed anyway. I like the idea of an instant hot, but am not sure I will actually get one.

No drain for either in that location (i.e., not at a sink).

I use my instant-hot daily. I rinse my knives since they don't go in the dishwasher. Wet a micro fiber cloth to wipe down the granite counters. Also will rinse my coffee mug and put back on the shelf and well as spoons. My husband loves and uses it to. We will be moving in a couple of months and will get a new one. Mine is at the kitchen sink.

Just f.y.i. about IHW: it's easy to reduce or eliminate the possible problems described above in a couple posts. It's been done in a few threads last year and before. (leaching, grotty, temperature, energy cost, etc.). In reality these aren't problems.

Which do you see YOURself using more? For me, it would be a no-brainer, though I certainly have enjoyed reading (and learning a lot) from this discussion. I make coffee in my coffee pot, hot chocolate on a pot on the stove, rarely if ever do instant oatmeal (we preferred the cooked kind), and don't drink tea, so I can't see myself using the instahot. On the other hand, I frequently make large batches of pasta. We are a family of (well, very soon to be) eight, with an extended family of 30+ that get together at least once a month. I also cook (at least a few times a year) meals (often pasta dishes) for 60-150 people. So the pot filler would make filling my extra large pasta pots much easier. If I could get a drain for it right next to the stove, I'd be even happier. As it is, I usually use a strainer/pasta insert and leave the big pot for hubby to empty if I don't need to turn around and immediately reboil another large portion. SO I guess you should try and envision which you would use... Just my two cents.

We do not have either due to the space constraints of a small kitchen.

However - for cupfuls of plain hot water for oatmeal, hot chocolate, etc, we go to the Keurig and run it without a K Cup.

Very interesting topic!

I've never had either so cannot give experiential advice. But, I can 'guess' what I'd do :)

No on the instant hot for me. We have fresh, Alaska glacier-fed well water. I don't want that water sitting in any pipe for a length of time picking up anything or nothing. Just 'knowing' it's fresh is enough for me. Plus, I want my water HOT. And freshly 'drawn'.

As for the pot filler...what does one do when it's time to empty the pot? You'd still have to carry a heavy pot at one point. What I do is take a smaller pot & fill the pot already on the stove & I can do the reverse when emptying it to a manageable weight.

melaska: my point exactly about the pot filler when it comes time to empty the pot!!! Loses it's attraction pretty quickly then.

I have seen an appliance (I'm not quite sure that is the appropriate word for it!) where you basically have a pot/steamer installed flush in the countertop. The ones I have seen are right next to the sink and I assume are plumbed directly into the water and drain there. You can steam things in it etc and you can drain it when you are done. I think that is more appealing than the pot filler.

Fori...

There are a bazillion links you can read about brewing tea, but the steps most of them have in common are:

1. Start with cold, freshly drawn water. In fact, let the tap run for a bit before filling the pot/kettle. So this eliminates Insta-hot. lol
2. Bring it to a boil, but don't over boil. The boiling action releases the oxygen from the water....which purist claim gives a flat taste to the tea.
3. One tsp of tea per cup plus one for the pot. If you want stronger, add more tea...do not extend steeping time.
4. Temper both the pot and the cups prior to brewing the tea. [Type of pot (metal, glass, or clay) is matched with the type of tea.]
5. Add water to tea, not the other way around.
6. Steep for two to five minutes depending on the type of tea. Remove tea/bag after steeping as leaving it will create a bitter taste.
7. Loose leaves or bagged is a whole other discussion as is various additions...milk, lemon, sugar, etc.

Side note: Chinese loose teas...are often rinsed off lightly before the main steeping process.

:-)
Pepper
~ No snow, just ice.

All good information about "Tea". (nobody asked about tea in the original post).

Those who have Instant Hot taps and use them insist they would like another one in a next kitchen. Most people who have one use it.

Instant Hot taps are for other purposes too.

David,

Sorry if I hi-jacked your post, but Fori asked about water temp for tea....so there ya are.

Pepper

One nice alternative if you want but can't have an instant hot is an electric kettle---we got one a few months before our remodel, and have been using it for all sorts of things. It boils far faster than our kettle did on the gas stove, and I also love the auto shutoff. No more trying to remember if I turned the stove off after I'm at work! It will have its own space in the new kitchen, and will be the primary source for hot water.

We are also in the extreme minority in GW land and only have one water source in the kitchen---not even a fridge line! (Okay, technically it's split for the d/w, so I guess that's 1.5...) It's what we had before and we liked it, so we kept it that way. Works for us. I like the idea of an instant hot, but we have a small kitchen and the under-sink real estate was too valuable to put one in.

I contemplated a pot filler, but our stove is close enough to the sink that we wouldn't gain that much. Friends who have one that is very close to the sink still love it because it allows them to fill pots with a child in one arm. You still have to put the child down to empty it, of course, but makes it a little easier! We have a hot water dispenser at work, which I do use, but I do find the water is not quite hot enough for tea. I use it anyway for that since I'm lazy, though. :) (You also may be able to change the settings; no clue how it works, exactly.)

I've seen steamers (someone around here who posted a finished kitchen recently has one, I think) and they're very cool, but really only logical to have if you steam things virtually every night or if you have a really large kitchen with space that isn't needed for other things.

There are stockpots with taps. Big, somewhat spendy, kind of institutional looking.

My personal choice is ''neither''. When I can't carry a full stockpot, it'll be time to leave this house (3 stories, no elevator). I like the teakettle ritual too.

Instant hot for me. Has more uses and the electrical expense is negligible. You have to fill and plug in electric kettles. Store them someplace. Seems like a lot of hassle unless you are one for time wasting, useless rituals. Pretty much the same goes for on stove kettles.

Instant hot comes out the tap at up to 190 degrees. Tea is best brewed at temps from 140 to less than 190 depending on the variety. If you feel you need water hotter than 190 for tea then you are not really brewing or tasting tea the way its meant to be. Don't assume because the Brits do some thing one way that they are the authority. Other than fish 'n chips, when is that last time you went out to an English restaurant? I get my shirts from England but would not trust them on matters of food and drink (other than scones and clotted cream).

A pot filler for me is a useless indulgence. Anyone with strength greater than a newborn should not be straining to carry a pot of water.

Hot water cools rapidly on contact with a cup. So obviously nobody is actually brewing tea in a pot at 212 degrees. For the same reason, the grungy old water that came out of my Insta Hot probably dropped to 120 or even 100 by the time it hit the English Breakfast. Tasted terrible, every time. Microwave does a much better job.

I have to say, though, the suggestion that the English cannot brew tea is kind of an embarrassing thing to say. Also, maybe you should google Jamie Oliver or Nigella Lawson, very informative reading I'm sure.

Ah, but it's not the Brits we look to for inspiration in brewing tea, it's their one-time subjects, the Indians. Plus of course they're the ones who grow it too. If you want meticulous about tea-brewing, ask an Indian. Or at least my Indian sil ;)

And btw, the above instructions work great for black teas but not for other types. I don't really know the precise in and outs of brewing non-black teas, but I understand there's quite a different ritual to it all too, including lower water temps.

Lots of things to obsess about...

p.s. Other British colonials, say, the Canadians, can get pretty compulsive about their tea as well. I think sometimes the derivatives cling more tightly to the ritual than the primaries.

I am off to get a cuppaT now...

Instant hot for sure. I have instant hot & cold and would not want to live without it. I love the ability to get filtered cold or hot all day. As for the pot filler - you still have to move it to empty it so what is the big deal. So, , , your filling up the pot . . . the phone rings, , , you answer it get side tracked and what happens? You flood that expensive range you splurged for. It almost happened to me several times. Go for something you utilize many times during the day vs. something you use on occasion. Plus, when I recently did my kitchen, I did not want to add it to my backsplash or spoil the "look" of my beautiful tile. This however is only my opinion - go with what you would would use most often and appreciate.

My insta hot is fed by my reverse osmosis system. So, the super pure water that goes in is actually just sitting in a tank meant for storage of hot water for consumption.

In the 5 days I've lived in my house, I've used it for tea, for water to heat up my daughter's thermos before putting soup on, and dh used it for coffee. I'm not sure what the max temp is on my insta-hot, but when I turned it up to hottest, I swear it was boiling as it was causing water to sputter and leak from the tap.

Rachel

Our hot water heater is in the garage on the opposite side of the house. I always hated wasting so much water at the kitchen sink, waiting for hot water. Love our instant-hot.

Another vote for instant hot. We have a 4 liter Zojirushi hot water kettle/heater, and I swear that thing gets filled at least twice a day, 4x if the grandparents are over. Between that and the Brita pitcher, I almost feel like I'm back in the olden days, dragging my wooden bucket to the well for water! Well, not quite, but I AM looking forward to the RO filter and the instant hot/cold filtered water in the new place.

Now let me &*^% off the pasta snobs since I've offended the tea elite.

I do not add pasta to boiling water.

I put dry pasta in a pot, fill it with water from my dispenser (filtered and 200 degrees F). It's boiling in under 5 seconds. Yes, my sink is close to my cooktop.