A system which allows easy manual connection of the water bottle of a water cooler, with its bottle placed in an upright position at the bottom of the cooler (bottom load water cooler), to the remaining water system of the said water cooler and the related bottom load water cooler system. With the said system, connecting or disconnecting the water bottle of such water cooler system is a task as simple as manually turning a rotational handle clockwise or counter clockwise. This allows replacing the water bottle of such water cooler without touching any of its water pipes, which not only simplifies the process, but more importantly also eliminates chance of contamination of the drinking water system during the process. The system further utilizes a universal water bottle sealing cap with air filters to suppress bacteria growth in the drinking water bottle due to intake of polluted air. A reversible pressing system allows automatically adjustment for water bottles of different height and allows using the same type of water bottle as those used on conventional water cooler with its water bottle sitting on top of it in an inverted position (top load water cooler). All these features make it simpler and safer to enjoy the benefit brought by the bottom load water cooler system and bring the hygiene standard of such system to a higher level.

A carbonated drink dispensing system includes a carbonation tank, a CO.sub.2 cylinder configured to deliver CO.sub.2 to the carbonation tank at a pressure of between 50 psi and 60 psi, a low-pressure pump configured to pump water into the carbonation tank, and a level sensor configured to determine when the water in the carbonation tank has reached a pre-determined level. The low-pressure pump is configured to stop pumping water when the level sensor determines that the water in the carbonation tank has reached the pre-determined level. The low-pressure pump starts pumping water again after a time delay.

Bottom-loading bottled water dispensers are disclosed that include hot water sanitizing capabilities (and, optionally, UV light sanitizing features). The dispensers include a water bottle that is operably connected to a pump that is configured to extract water from the bottle and force the water through one or more tubes and into a cold tank. The cold tank includes an evaporator that is configured to chill the water in the cold tank. The dispensers further include a hot tank that is fluidly coupled to the cold tank through one or more tubes, with the hot tank being attached to a heating element that is configured to heat the water in the hot tank. In addition, the dispensers include an electronic control board that is configured to heat a volume of water contained in the cold tank above a defined threshold temperature and for a defined period of time that is effective to sanitize the internal surfaces of the cold tank.

A carbonated drink dispensing system includes a carbonation tank, a CO.sub.2 cylinder configured to deliver CO.sub.2 to the carbonation tank at a pressure of between 50 psi and 60 psi, a low-pressure pump configured to pump water into the carbonation tank, and a level sensor configured to determine when the water in the carbonation tank has reached a pre-determined level. The low-pressure pump is configured to stop pumping water when the level sensor determines that the water in the carbonation tank has reached the pre-determined level. The low-pressure pump starts pumping water again after a time delay.

A method for incrementally filling a water receptacle may include the steps of determining a fill-level of the liquid within the liquid storage receptacle and incrementally filling the liquid storage receptacle in response, wherein: if the fill-level of the of the liquid within the liquid storage receptacle is below the first predetermined threshold, filling the liquid storage receptacle until the volume of liquid is equal to a first predetermined threshold, then cooling the liquid within the liquid storage receptacle until the liquid reaches a predetermined temperature, then, if the fill-level of the liquid within the liquid storage receptacle is equal to or above the first predetermined threshold but below the second predetermined threshold, filling the liquid storage receptacle until the volume of liquid is equal to the second predetermined threshold, and then cooling the liquid within the liquid storage receptacle until the liquid reaches the predetermined temperature.