Tiger and Zojirushi Water Boiler and Warmer Review

While many of us have fridge dispensers for ice and cold water, not that many of us have instant access to hot water for a hot cup of tea, hot beverage, or bowl of soup. Yes, you can put the kettle on and wait a few minutes for it to boil, but to have steaming hot water on tap all day you need a water boiler and warmer.

I tested out the Tiger 3 liter Micom water boiler and warmer and the Zojirushi Commercial water boiler and warmer. Both are large capacity water boilers, both keep your water piping hot for as long as you’d like them to, and both are compact and easy to use.

If you’d love to have hot water on tap in your kitchen, here’s my review of these versatile water boiler and warmers.

Appearance and features of the Tiger Micom water boiler and warmer

The Tiger Micom water boiler and warmer (model PDR-A30U) has 4 temperature settings and a capacity of 101 oz (3 litres).

• 4 temperature settings including 208°F (98°C), 194°F (90°C), 176°F (80°C), 158°F (70°C)
• Automatic Keep Warm function
• Energy-saving function
• Sleep timers so you can program when you want it to turn on
• Delay for 6 to 10 hours before turn on
• Pre-set temperatures let you tap to have the perfect water temperature
• Auto Shut off
• Auto-lock so no one can access hot water without tapping unlock

Appearance and features of Zojirushi water boiler and warmer

The Zojirushi water boiler and warmer (model CD-LTC50) is a 160 oz (4.99 liter) water boiler with 3 temperature settings.

• 3 temperature settings including 208°F (98°C), 195°F (90°C) or 175°F (80°C)
• Quick temp mode will bring water to 195°F or 175°F without reaching a boil
• Reboil feature brings water back to a boil
• 7-hour delay timer so you can set it to boil before you go to bed
• Dispense lock so little hands can’t access hot water

Testing out the Tiger and Zojirushi water boiler and warmers

I have a refrigerator with ice and cold water dispensing on the door, but I’ve always said I thought they should add hot water dispensing too. There’s just something so convenient about going to the door, pressing the tab, and having water eject instantly, and I know I’d use it all day to make tea, soup, or dishes like oatmeal.

That instant dispensing is the best part of the Tiger and Zojirushi water boilers and warmers. Once they boil you’ll have access to hot water all day.

Filling up the water boilers

Both water boilers are compact and will fit underneath your cupboard easily. They also are small enough to stash away inside your cupboard if you don’t want to leave your water boiler on the counter.

If you use your sink to fill your kettle, you’ll have an easy time filling the inner compartment. I have a separate water dispenser, and I found it was a little awkward filling it up from there. Both water boilers have a shape that makes it hard to get it underneath the cold water nozzle. With the lid attached, I had to shift them both a bit to get them full without spilling, but I did manage to fill both.

Boil your water quickly

Both of these small appliances are designed with one simple purpose: to bring water to a boil and keep it hot. To test out the Zojirushi and Tiger water boilers, I filled them with cold water, set them to boil at the hottest temperature of 208°F, and waited.

You’ll want to make sure you fill the buckets with water before you plug them in. As there is no on/off switch on these devices, plugging them in is the indicator that they should start boiling water. You don’t want to have your kettle heating up without water inside.

It takes about the same time for the water to boil from cold. The LCD screen on the Tiger water boiler gives you updates on how long you’ll have to wait, but I put a timer on the Zojirushi water boiler and it took approximately 15 minutes.

Dispensing hot water

Both the Tiger water boiler and the Zojirushi water boiler have a Keep Warm setting that kicks in automatically. On the Tiger water boiler, you’ll see exactly how hot the water is when keep warm is on. The Zojirushi has a light that will stay on the desired temperature so you know the water is still hot.

Dispensing is easy, and I appreciate the fact you have to tap the unlock button to get the water to dispense. I noticed when the water was dispensed from the Tiger water boiler it came out in such a solid stream I thought it would splash as it dispensed. I had the same experience with the Zojirushi. Both appliances are pretty tall, so you can lift the bowl or cup to get it closer to where the water is dispensed.

Hot water on tap

I made oatmeal, ramen, and tea with both water boilers throughout the day, and although I had tapped Energy Saving on the Tiger water boiler, the water was still piping hot hours later.

I tested the water temperature out on the Zojirushi water boiler after it had been sitting for an hour and it came in around 140°F. The temperature on the appliance was still indicating it was at 208°F so I’m not sure why it only registered 140°F, but the water was hot enough that there was still steam rising from it.

Having hot water on tap all day is such a luxury. When you want tea or hot chocolate all you have to do is tap. I think this would be a great device for anyone who makes baby food too, and because you can adjust the temperature you won’t have to wait for scalding hot water to cool down before you can serve the food.

Should you choose a Tiger or Zojirushi water boiler?

Now that I’ve used both the Tiger water boiler and warmer and the Zojirushi water boiler and warmer, I can’t imagine not having hot water on tap in the kitchen. You don’t know how many times you use hot water every day until you don’t have to worry about boiling it frequently, and I loved having it ready to pour.

The LCD screen on the Tiger water boiler is very useful for knowing what temperature you’re at or how long you have left to boiling, but I also thought it was easy to navigate the menu on the Zojirushi water boiler. It’s easy to change settings on both too, and although I didn’t use the timers to delay boiling, I think that’s a great feature for anyone who wants to wake up to already boiled water for tea.

The Zojirushi water boiler is slightly larger than the Tiger water boiler so you’ll have you choose which capacity you’d like, but both boil quickly, are easy to use, and keep hot water on hand all day.

You can find the Tiger 3 liter Micom water boiler and warmer and the Zojirushi Commercial water boiler and warmer.on Best Buy right now.