Central Queensland University Safety Alert
Typical wall mounted instant boiling water units eg: (Zip Miniboil MB 2001 & MB2.5-HB7.5)
It has been brought to our attention that a number of CQU
employees over a period of time have sustained burns to their hands
and arms while discharging hot water from wall mounted instant
boiling water units.
These injuries have occurred for various reasons and have the
potential to inflict serious burns to the users if the units are used
incorrectly or if employees are not paying due attention while
discharging hot water.
There are numerous units positioned throughout the various university buildings it was thought that
a safety alert such as this would give detailed information to all employees about the units and
hopefully eliminate any potential injuries from hot water burns.
The majority of wall mounted instant boiling water units are fed from the town reticulated water
supply. Each unit has two tanks within the assembly. The small upper level tank is connected to the
town water supply and internal pressure will vary depending on various conditions external to the
unit. This tank then feeds (via a float valve system) to a larger tank that is heated by an element.
Unlike the top tank, this tank is not under pressure. The hot water is discharged via gravity feed
from the larger tank to a front tap assembly and to the drinking vessel as required.
The tap assembly (RED handle) at the front of the unit is
responsible for the release of hot water from the unit and has two
settings. For this safety alert we will call them setting 1 and 2.

Setting 1 is distinguished by a half rounded section at the
bottom of the tap handle that allows the assembly to be pulled
forward in a down wards motion and while maintaining
control. The hot water will discharge from the spout and once
released, the handle will spring back to the upright position
shutting off the supply.
Setting 1

Setting 2 (with the handle reversed) is distinguished by a right
angle section at the bottom of the assembly that allows the hot water to be discharged with very
little movement of the handle. If the handle is pulled too far forward it can spring down into a fully
locked on position discharging a continuous full stream of hot water. To stop the flow of hot water
the handle must be lifted to an upright position.
Additional care should be taken when using hot water facilities as the possible injuries sustained
can be long term and very serious. The RED tap handle assembly on these models of instant hot
water units should be placed in the first position so that the hot water will be discharged slowly into
the drinking vessel. If the handle is released it will automatically flick upwards shutting off the
supply. Remove any obstruction such as spoons from the drinking vessel before placing it on a
slight angle away from you under the hot water outlet. These actions should reduce the potential for
splashes of hot water occurring to the user.
If burns occur immediately flood the affected burn site with cool water and seek first aid treatment.
HS v1.03.03