The InSinkErator’s 4N1 Touch is a modern take on the boiling tap. It also offers filtered drinking-water.

“🎄 Celebrate Christmas with ELEHEAR’s sensational sale! Don’t miss out on our festive deals. Shop now and make this season extraordinary!”

The name 4 refers to hot and cold regular water (as in a kitchen sink faucet) along with boiling water and filter cold water.

The InSinkErator Touch 4N1 Touch has a maximum temperature of 99degC, but I call it boiling. Read on to see why this is not a big deal in our full review.

InSinkErator Touch 4N1: Design and finishes

The 4N1 Touch is made in Italy and comes in many stylish finishes and shapes.

Choose from an L, J, or U-shaped tap (mine is an L) in chrome, brushed steel, or velvet black.

The price varies slightly depending on the finish: chrome costs PS1,280, stainless steel PS1,391, and black PS1,447.

The cost includes the entire system and not just the tap.

The retrofit kit is designed to replace your old dumb faucet. All the pipework slides down into a standard 35-38mm hole in your worktops, or sink.

As you can see from my photos (although I cleaned it for the photoshoot), the black model will cause limescale problems if you are in an area with hard water.

The guy who installed my faucet said that InSinkErator is really good at replacing damaged parts with new ones during this period.

The NeoTank hot water tank comes with a 2-year warranty. I will cover this in more detail next.

InSinkErator 4N1 Touch: Installation

If you purchase directly from InSinkErator, you can add a professional installation to your cart for PS180.

You’ll need a plug outlet to power your system, and some space under or next to the sink.

The units below the counter will do the work.

The system consists of a 2.5l NeoTank where hot water is stored. You can adjust the temperature between 88 and 99degC. A cold water filter must be replaced every 6-8months (PS79 for 2-pack).

The tanks are fed by your cold feed, and the tubes that feed them into the taps are separate from the normal hot and cold feeds of your kitchen tap.

A third small component is also included in the system: a 9V battery pack for the touch-button that releases filtered water. This battery is supposed to last for a few years.

In my case, a Butler sink is paired with a single small cupboard. You can see in the photo that it’s not as big as you would like. There’s still room for the dishwasher salt and tablets, but that’s it.

InSinkErator 4N1 Touch: In use

The tap is very easy to use. NeoTank fills and boils for about 10 minutes the first time you use it, but it then automatically tops up the tank as you use and maintains the temperature that you set.

You’re only likely to empty the NeoTank if you use it to fill up two saucepans. So, you can have (almost boiling) water at your fingertips in an instant.

It’s a little slow to pour hot water, thanks to a dedicated handle that is sprung-loaded on the left. This may not be an issue with tea or coffee but it can make it a bit difficult for a large pan of water.

You’d probably scold your self if you saw (almost boiling) water flowing out of the tap at a normal rate.

It’s safe for kids to use the hot water. The lever is equipped with a safety lock, which requires a push. When you release the lever and turn it off, it will spring back.

Both my wife and mum, who are both tea lovers, insisted that the water (almost) boiling tasted “different”. “Like water that has been boiled two times.”

It’s because the water is kept hot in the NeoTank, and not immediately used like it would be in a kettle.

My wife has told me that she is no longer surprised by the taste of coffee.

On the right, you will find the regular hot and cool taps. In the middle there is a button that allows you to filter the water.

It will start pouring cold, filtered water when you push the button. Push it again to stop. The timer is set at 20 seconds so that you won’t accidentally leave it running.

InSinkErator Touch 4N1: Cost of running and energy consumption

It’s hard to determine the exact amount of money you can save or your eco credentials.

You’ll save energy with a boiling faucet if you drink a lot tea or coffee, or if you use your kettle to fill many saucepans.

The amount of water in the kettle varies, so I couldn’t use an energy monitor plug to calculate my calculations.

What I know is that the InSinkErator 4N1 touch used around 1.2kWh for the NeoTank to be filled from the beginning and only a few hundred Watts per day to keep it hot and to top it up.

We’re told that kettles are the largest energy hogs in the home. A 2-litre kettle, on average, has a power rating around 3kWh. However you wouldn’t boil the kettle for an hour.

Let’s say that, on average, boiling a kettle in 4 minutes uses about 0.225kWh… you can see how the maths becomes murky.

Let’s instead focus on a Google search which shows that various consumer watchdog websites state that boiling faucets use approximately 50% of the energy that a kettle uses in a single year.

This is great news about your electricity bill.

It’s obvious that you’ll have to spend a lot of money to install one.

It’s better for the environment and definitely more efficient.