I was tempted to ding the product by one star since there were no instructions in the box about how to install the spigot. Luckily, enough other purchasers posted detailed instructions on how to correctly install the spigot that I got it taken care of. No leaking, looks great. I'm using this with 5 gallon water jugs. I love the design and it looks fantastic with a black stand.

I purchased this to use with the 5 gallon glass water jugs i get from Mountain Valley Spring Water. At first it was great- easy to assemble with no leaks. After using it for a few months I took it apart to clean it and found that the smooth porcelain finish had been worn away on the inside, leaving the porcelain rough where the water had been. To my horror there was a layer of fine, white chalky residue (like fine sand) in the bottom of the crock which I assume came from the inner finish of the crock wearing off- which I had been drinking this whole time in my water. I couldn't find an answer online about if this was normal, but I know it can't be good. Has anyone else had this experience?

I wish I could give this above a 3 star rating. The reason I wouldn't consider a higher rating for this is because I've found a rust spot inside only after a few months of use. When I bought this water dispenser I was looking for something simple and easy to use. This one mostly fit what I wanted, but it does have some issues I took care of. I did buy a new spigot because I liked the aesthetics and function of another style. I didn't try the one that came with this dispenser so I can't comment on whether or not it leaked.

Pros: It's easy to assemble and use. The walls are very thing so the spigot must be tightened securely. The spigot and gaskets also seem to be designed for a thicker walled glass or porcelain crock dispenser, but they do work with this one.

No electronics to go bad like some units with hot/cold water.

It's fairly cheap depending on where you put it. Add a stand like I did and you add about $40 to the price.

Cons:
The metal walls are very, very thin, and the edge the white plastic ring sits on is not rolled over, and is sharp. (Be careful when cleaning. This caused me to remove a star from the rating). I would have liked to have seen this edge rolled over to prevent this. I have read at least one review where this resulted in the white plastic ring cracking. I addressed this issue by purchasing door guard trim and placed it on the top metal edge. I was concerned at first about using automotive rubber, but the water level never reaches the rubber trim. The water level always sits at the neck of the water jug, an inch or so below the trim.

It's too light. This might not seem like an issue, but the dispenser slides about too easily when trying to insert a new water jug, or even when getting water when the water level is low. I once again addressed this issue with the rubber door trim. It was almost too tall to fit on the bottom edge, but it fits. Now it doesn't slide about on the 30in tall stand I bought.

It stopped being cheap. Setting this up like I wanted cost about as much as a water dispenser with hot/cold water. This is not how everyone will set this up, but I did read many reviews where people replaced the plastic spigot for a metal one, and bought stands as well. For me the total cost was $34.44 (dispenser) + $39.98 (stand) + $13.95 (metal spigot) + $3.49 (spare plastic ring) +$11.72 (door guard trim) = $103.58

Rusting already? I received this dispenser 17 December 2016 and as of today (25 March 2017) I have found one small rust spot inside the dispenser. . .Not too thrilled about that.

Extra stuff I bought that I talked about in my review:

Wooden Stand
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006WCLGJO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Door Guard Trim
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BWKCUAO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Metal Spigot
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IX87W1Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Spare Plastic Ring (It's thicker and doesn't fit with the rubber trim installed)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZK9ANQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I purchased this to use to brew Kombucha and it is perfect! I ordered two SCOBYs from Kombucha Kamp and already had a really nice baby SCOBY after three days.

The glaze is beautiful and it looks really nice on my counter top. I went ahead and ordered a stainless steel spigot. I think it looks nicer than the plastic one that comes with the container. It also comes with the plastic ring on top which I use to hold down my fabric top cover.

If you want to start brewing Kombucha, this is the perfect solution.

We use this in our home instead of paying a rental fee for a water cooler that is always running and increasing the electric bill. I prefer this because it costs nothing to use and isn't made of plastic. We keep 5 gallon water bottle on it and it works great! It has never leaked and seems very sturdy. It is definitely worth the price considering the monthly fee and the electric cost for a cooler rental. It's easy to clean and there are only a few parts. We have owned this for about 6 months now. If we are having people over and want a cold water dispensed from it, we just load it up with ice. Otherwise we make ice from the water we have delivered.