Do the Billi Quadra Plus Tap systems comply with Legionella safety regulations?

Short answer: Yes! – skip to the bottom line.

Long answer…
When it comes to water storage and dispensing, safety is a top consideration for our customers. FreshGround have been a partnered distributor of Billi taps since 2013. We get a lot of questions about our Billi Quadra Plus Tap systems, and especially whether or not they comply with Legionella safety regulations.

Legionella overview

The legionella risk increases when water is stored at unsafe temperatures. Water stored between 20-45°C degrees poses a high risk of contamination, but the pathogen cannot survive in temperatures exceeding 60°C. So for water heaters, regulations recommend that hot water must be stored at 60°C or above and dispensed at over 50°C.

Quadra plus tap overview

The Billi Quadra Plus Tap system is comprised of a boiling water/ cold water dispenser called the ‘Quadra’ and a mixer tap which is made to dispense into a sink. For landlords and facilities managers, ensuring that their water heaters comply with the regulations

How it works

The Quadra boiling water dispenser is connected directly to the hot water tank, which stores water at 98 degrees. The other part of the system is an open-vent mixer tap which produces its hot water by mixing the 98 degree hot water from the tank with cold mains water. This mixing happens at the point of dispense, where the increased velocity of the water creates low pressure, drawing boiling water up from the tank. There is a lot of science behind this, we recommend further reading for a proper understanding of the fluid dynamics behind it.

Where ‘problems’ can occur

When we say ‘problem’ its not a problem with the product, but sometimes an install will throw challenges at us… The temperature of the hot water from the Quadra tap will always be boiling, but the temperature of the hot water from the mixer tap can change, depending on the water pressure and flow in your area and the distance from the sink. It has occurred that offices who conduct a health and safety audit will contact us with concerns that their mixer tap is unsafe. If for example your mixer tap was 6ft from your tank, the hot water might only run at 40 degrees. We always reassure our customers that there are external variables at play in those sorts of situations. During the consultation and installation process our customers are informed of the differences that distance and local water pressure and flow can cause.

The bottom line

• The Billi Quadra plus tap system only stores its hot water at close to boiling temperatures.
• The mixer tap dispenses only a combination of this near-boiling water and cold water drawn straight from the mains, so there is no standing ‘warm water’ in the equation.
• The temperature of the hot water from the mixer tap can be influenced by water pressure, and distance from the tank. So if your mixer tap is running a bit on the cool side, its likely caused by one of these two issues.
• This tap system is regulation compliant for legionella prevention, as it does not store its water in the unsafe temperature range.
• When you switch the tap off, the water in the line between the tank and spout is not recirculated, it is drained.
• Billi taps carry the WRAS certification.

If you are having problems with your water temperature, we would recommend contacting our service team so they can advise you on how to resolve this.