What's the measure word for big water-cooler bottles?

[drungood]

My roommate always ordered these, but now that he's left I need to order them myself...

[imron]

Consider: 一桶水

[skylee]

Consider drinking boiled water instead.

[imron]

But tap water in Mainland China has all sorts of other heavy metals and pollutants in it. At least if you order a bottle, you can try and pretend that they didn't just used boiled tap water.

[Kenny同志]

Can a water cooler/dispenser heat water?

[imron]

In china they can, but they typically don't *boil* water, especially not for 3 mins, which is typically the recommended time to kill all the nasties.

Edit: See my comment below for slight correction on this.

[Kenny同志]

Yeah, I know that. They keep the water at a temperature a bit below its boiling point by heating it constantly. But typical water dispensers used in Australia don't have this feature?

[Mindmaxd]

I think boiled it better,大桶水soomtimes not good,remember to clear your water dispenser at regular intervals.

[ouyangjun]

The boiled water is definitely not better... there are all sorts of heavy metals in the water in China. Best to buy from a quality source (or install a reverse osmosis system). Boiling the water does not get rid of the heavy metals, what actually happens is that as you boil off the "healthy water" the contaminated water of heavy metals becomes more concentrated.

• China’s water sources are amongst the most polluted in the world. A World Bank study found that 13 of the 15 major cities (including Shanghai) along the 7 main water source rivers in China are affected by severely polluted water.
  
• The most common pollutants in Shanghai drinking water are high levels of chlorine, bacteria, and lead and toxic heavy metals. Shanghai’s water authorities have publicly acknowledged that tap water potability is compromised largely by secondary contamination from old piping. The heavy use of chlorine is necessary for disinfection, but is also unhealthy and can create carcinogenic byproducts[1] ([1] Interview with Chen Guogang, Senior Engineer (Shanghai Water Supply Administration) on ICS.http://www.icshanghai.com/html/2010/08/02/2856.html)
  

[imron]

They keep the water at a temperature a bit below its boiling point by heating it constantly

A quick google search says most maintain a temperature of around 80-90 degrees.

Edit: Actually, the comment in my post above is incorrect. At 80-90 degrees, it should also kill all the nasties if it's kept at that temperature for several minutes.

But typical water dispensers used in Australia don't have this feature?

Typically I would say no (though there may be exceptions). Hot water isn't really drunk as commonly as it is in China (you practically never have people drinking 白开水) so water coolers will have room temperature or cold dispensers, but rarely/never hot (at least in my experience anyway). For tea/coffee/other beverages that require hot water, there will be separate kettles or large hot water boilers.

[liuzhou]

Consider beer instead.

[imron]

Well, beer still consists largely of water, but at least the alcohol makes you forget about that, and also about all the formaldehyde used in the brewing process.

[Glenn]

This thread is really making me want to go to China.

[Kenny同志]

Thanks Imron.

[abcdefg]

#1 -- Back to the original question, I ordered another jug of water yesterday afternoon here in Kunming. And as one 昆明人 to another, I'll give you the lowdown.

请送过来一桶矿泉水 worked just fine, as it usually does. The bottled water company conveniently has my phone linked to my address in their system, and when I call they confirm where I want it delivered. Then I give the delivery guy one of my water coupons when he exchanges a new jug for the empty one on my 饮水机。

[Kenny同志]

Hehe, the message would certainly work but it doesn't sound good for grammatical reasons. Next time you can try 麻烦送桶水过来 if they know who you're and where you want it delivered to, or to save the potential need of more messages, 麻烦送桶水到xx楼xx号（室）.

[abcdefg]

#16 -- Yes, Kenny. 麻烦送桶水过来 does sound much better, more like a native speaker would say it. Thanks for the correction. Luckily, I get a live operator and don't have to leave a recorded message. She probably knows by now that "It's that foreign guy calling again."

My Chinese is at that that dangerous point where if I say something in conversation and it "works," by which I mean the other person understands what I was trying to communicate, I tend to forget about trying to make it better. That's a mistake, and will always leave me talking some strange brand of "Laowai Chinese."

Appreciate your kind reminder. It's so easy to get lazy.

[Kenny同志]

No worries.