Ask anyone in an Australian office where the tea comes from and they'll point you to the zip tap. "Zip tap" has become the everyday name for a plumbed-in boiling water tap — Zip Water (Zip Industries) is the Australian company whose Zip HydroTap made instant boiling, chilled and sparkling filtered water a fixture in staff kitchens, and like Esky or Biro, the brand name now stands in for the whole category of filtered water taps. But if you're fitting out a cafe, catering operation or function venue, the real question isn't "which boiling water tap?" — it's whether you need one at all. This guide explains how a zip tap works, what drives the installed cost, who it genuinely suits, and when a benchtop hot water urn or water boiler does the same job for a fraction of the outlay.
What Is a Zip Tap and How Does It Work?
A zip tap — generically, an instant boiling water tap — is a permanently plumbed kitchen tap connected to an under-bench heating and filtration unit. The under-bench water system draws from your mains supply, passes the tap water through a water filter, and holds a small insulated tank at near-boiling temperature so it's ready on demand. Press the tap and you get instant filtered boiling water; most systems also dispense chilled drinking water, some offer ambient (room-temperature) delivery, and premium sparkling water taps chill and carbonate on demand as well.
The key components are:
- The tap itself — bench-mounted, often with safety-lock levers to prevent accidental scalds.
- The under-bench unit — an insulated tank with heating (and usually chilling) hardware, sized by how many cups per hour it can deliver.
- Filtration — an inline filter cartridge that removes chlorine, sediment and scale-forming minerals before the water is heated.
- Plumbing and power — a mains water connection, a drain in some configurations, and a dedicated power point under the bench.
Because the water is filtered and held at temperature continuously, an instant boiling water tap delivers a consistent, pure-tasting cup with zero wait — dispensing boiling water at the press of a lever is exactly why the format dominates office kitchens and staff breakout areas.
What Does a Zip Tap Cost in Australia?
There's no single zip tap price, because the installed cost is really four costs stacked together:
- The unit. The tap plus under-bench system is the largest line item, and pricing scales with capacity (cups per hour), tank size, and whether you want boiling only or boiling + chilled + sparkling.
- Filtration. The system ships with a water filter, but cartridges are consumables — they need replacing on a schedule, typically every 6-12 months depending on water quality and usage.
- Installation. Professional installation is unavoidable: a licensed plumber has to connect mains water, and an electrician may be needed for a dedicated under-bench power point. If your bench doesn't already have provision for it, add cabinetry work.
- Ongoing servicing. Beyond filters, plumbed systems benefit from periodic servicing to manage scale and keep the heating unit efficient — a recurring cost for the life of the unit.
All up, a plumbed boiling water tap is a significant upfront investment — typically several thousand dollars installed once you include the under-bench unit, filtration and plumbing, with filter and servicing costs continuing every year after that. For a busy office that drinks forty coffees a day at the same bench, that investment usually earns its keep. For other operations, it's worth pausing before you commit — because the cheaper alternative covers more use cases than most buyers expect.
Who Is a Zip Tap Best Suited To?
A plumbed instant boiling water tap makes the most sense when all of the following are true:
- Fixed location. The tap lives where the plumbing is. Offices, staff rooms and front-of-house coffee stations with a permanent bench are ideal.
- All-day, low-volume draw. Dozens of individual cups spread across the day — not fifty cups in a ten-minute morning-tea rush.
- Presentation matters. In a client-facing boardroom kitchen or premium tearoom, a sleek bench-mounted tap looks the part.
- Filtered water is a priority. Built-in filtration improves the taste of both boiling and chilled water and protects the unit from scale — a genuine advantage in hard-water areas.
If that describes your site, a quality plumbed system from an established brand is a sound long-term buy. But notice what's missing from that list: catering, events, function rooms, mobile operations, and anywhere that needs large volumes of boiling water delivered fast or moved between locations. That's urn territory.
Inside the Zip HydroTap Range: Models, Finishes and Options
If a plumbed system is the right call for your site, it helps to know what the Zip range actually covers — with one note up front: we don't stock Zip products at Commercial Kitchen Store, but as the category leader their line-up is the reference point most buyers compare quotes against. The current-generation Zip HydroTap G5 platform spans several tap designs — Classic Plus, Arc Plus, Elite Plus and the Celsius family — in configurations stepping up from boiling-only to all-in-one units that deliver instant boiling and chilled plus sparkling water from a single water system. The Zip Celsius Plus All-In-One goes furthest, pairing filtered delivery with a kitchen mixer (a pull-out option is available) so the one unit also handles unfiltered hot and cold water for rinsing — replacing standard tapware at the sink entirely.
Two more things Zip HydroTaps are known for. First, filtration: Zip's MicroPurity system uses 0.2-micron filtration to remove sediment, chlorine taste and microplastics — the basis of its pure-tasting water claim. Second, finishes: designed in Australia, the range offers multiple finish options for the tap — matte black, brushed nickel, brushed chrome, gunmetal and classic chrome — so a boiling chilled and sparkling unit can match the rest of the benchtop hardware. None of that changes the maths above; it simply shows where the premium price sits.
When a Hot Water Urn Beats a Zip Tap
A benchtop hot water urn is a freestanding stainless steel tank with an element, a thermostat and a dispensing tap. Fill it, switch it on, and it heats 8 to 30-plus litres of water and holds it at serving temperature. No plumber, no under-bench cabinetry, no installation — just a standard power point.
Choose an urn or benchtop water boiler over a plumbed tap when:
- You're catering functions and events. Morning tea for eighty people means litres of hot water available simultaneously — a 20-litre urn handles the rush; a boiling tap rated in cups-per-hour queues everyone up.
- The service point moves. Buffet lines, off-site catering, market stalls, church halls, sports club canteens — an urn goes wherever there's a power point. A plumbed tap goes nowhere.
- Budget is finite. An urn is a fraction of the cost of a plumbed system, with no installation bill and no filter subscription.
- You need a fallback or overflow unit. Plenty of venues run a plumbed tap for daily staff use and pull out urns for functions — the two aren't mutually exclusive.
The trade-offs are real but manageable: an urn needs filling and a heat-up window before service (allow roughly 30–45 minutes for a full 20-litre tank), it takes up bench space, and it doesn't filter the water. For scheduled service — which is what catering is — none of those are deal-breakers. If you're planning a self-serve tea and coffee station, our buffet catering equipment checklist covers how urns slot into the wider setup.
Zip Tap vs Benchtop Urn: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Plumbed boiling water tap | Benchtop hot water urn / boiler |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Significant — unit plus professional plumbing and electrical installation | Low — purchase price only, plugs into a standard power point |
| Installation | Licensed plumber required; under-bench space and dedicated power needed | None — fill and switch on |
| Mobility | Fixed to one bench permanently | Fully portable; move between rooms, venues or events |
| Delivery style | Instant, cup at a time — rated in cups per hour | Bulk — the full tank is available at once for peak rushes |
| Best-fit volume | Steady all-day individual cups | High-volume bursts: functions, morning tea, buffet service |
| Water filtration | Built in | Not included — fill with filtered water if desired |
| Ongoing upkeep | Scheduled filter replacement and periodic servicing | Regular descaling and cleaning, done in-house |
| Preparation time | None — always ready | Heat-up window before service (roughly 30–45 minutes for a full large tank) |
Hot Water Urns and Boilers at Commercial Kitchen Store
Commercial Kitchen Store doesn't stock plumbed boiling water taps — but if the sections above pointed you toward an urn or benchtop boiler, that's exactly what we do stock, alongside the rest of our coffee and beverage equipment range. Two proven options at the popular 20-litre size:
Sizing rule of thumb: a standard cup is roughly 200–250ml, so a 20-litre urn yields in the order of 80–100 cups per fill. For smaller meeting rooms an 8–10 litre unit is plenty; for large function service, run two urns so one can reheat while the other pours. And if hot water is just one part of a bigger beverage station build, our commercial coffee machine buying guide covers the espresso side of the bench.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a zip tap?
A zip tap is the common Australian name for a plumbed-in instant boiling water tap. Zip is the Australian brand that popularised the category with its HydroTap, and the name is now used generically for any bench-mounted tap connected to an under-bench unit that filters, heats and dispenses boiling water on demand.
How much does a zip tap cost in Australia?
Pricing varies by capacity and configuration, but a plumbed boiling water tap is a significant upfront investment — typically several thousand dollars installed once you include the under-bench unit, filtration and professional plumbing. Ongoing costs include scheduled filter cartridge replacement and periodic servicing.
Do zip taps need ongoing servicing?
Yes. The inline filter cartridge is a consumable that needs replacing on a schedule — commonly every six to twelve months depending on water quality and usage — and plumbed systems benefit from periodic servicing to manage scale and keep the heating unit running efficiently.
Can a hot water urn replace a zip tap?
For catering, events and high-volume service, yes — often it's the better tool. A benchtop urn delivers a full tank of hot water at once with no plumbing or installation, at a fraction of the cost. A plumbed tap remains the better fit for fixed office kitchens with steady all-day, cup-at-a-time demand.
How long does a hot water urn take to heat up?
Allow roughly 30 to 45 minutes for a large urn to bring a full tank to temperature — the 20-litre Caterlite boiler, for example, lists around a 40-minute heat-up time when full. Once at temperature, the thermostat holds the water hot for the duration of service.
Do zip taps dispense sparkling water?
Premium models do. Within the Zip range, HydroTap configurations step up from boiling-only through boiling plus chilled and sparkling water, all dispensed from the one tap. A Zip water tap with a boiling and sparkling tap configuration sits at the top of the price band, so only pay for carbonation if your team will actually use it.
Does Commercial Kitchen Store sell Zip taps?
No — we don't stock Zip taps or other plumbed filtered water taps; Zip sells its systems through authorised dealers with professional installation. What we do stock is the benchtop alternative: hot water urns and water boilers that plug into a standard power point, which suit catering, events and mobile service better than a plumbed tap.
Get the Right Hot Water Setup for Your Operation
Whether you land on a plumbed tap for the office or an urn for the function room, match the equipment to how your operation actually pours — location, volume and budget decide it. Browse our full coffee and beverage equipment collection to compare urns, boilers and everything around them, or contact the Commercial Kitchen Store team for spec-level advice on sizing the right unit for your venue.
