When is it cheaper to rent a Water Cooler by the week than by the day?

From day 6. 6 days at the $8 day rate would be $48, but the weekly rate caps it at $40.

When is it cheaper to rent a Water Cooler on the 28-day rate?

From day 26. At that point the week-and-day composition reaches the $160 28-day rate, and the price stops climbing for the rest of the cycle.

Break-even duration

Equipment rents on three rates — a day rate, a week rate and a 28-day rate — and the cheapest one changes as the job runs long. This finds the two days where it changes, on a real listing’s real published rates.

Water Cooler

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Christian Nelson · Household / Everyday Items

Day: $8
Week: $40
28 days: $160

Daily stops winning on

day 6

6 days at the day rate would be $48. On the week rate it is $40.

Weekly stops winning on

day 26

26 days at the day rate would be $208. On the 28-day rate it is $160.

The working

Whole weeks bill at the week rate; the leftover days bill at the day rate but never add up to more than one extra week; and a whole 28-day cycle never costs more than the 28-day rate. That is the rule, applied one day at a time.

Rental price by duration for Water Cooler, days 1 to 35
Days	At the day rate	On the ladder	Difference	Rate in play
1	$8	$8	—	day
2	$16	$16	—	day
3	$24	$24	—	day
4	$32	$32	—	day
5	$40	$40	—	day
6	$48	$40	you save $8	week
7	$56	$40	you save $16	week
8	$64	$48	you save $16	week
9	$72	$56	you save $16	week
10	$80	$64	you save $16	week
11	$88	$72	you save $16	week
12	$96	$80	you save $16	week
13	$104	$80	you save $24	week
14	$112	$80	you save $32	week
15	$120	$88	you save $32	week
16	$128	$96	you save $32	week
17	$136	$104	you save $32	week
18	$144	$112	you save $32	week
19	$152	$120	you save $32	week
20	$160	$120	you save $40	week
21	$168	$120	you save $48	week
22	$176	$128	you save $48	week
23	$184	$136	you save $48	week
24	$192	$144	you save $48	week
25	$200	$152	you save $48	week
26	$208	$160	you save $48	28-day
27	$216	$160	you save $56	28-day
28	$224	$160	you save $64	28-day
29	$232	$168	you save $64	day
30	$240	$176	you save $64	day
31	$248	$184	you save $64	day
32	$256	$192	you save $64	day
33	$264	$200	you save $64	day
34	$272	$200	you save $72	week
35	$280	$200	you save $80	week

Rental rates only. Protection and the marketplace service fee are added on top — see the checkout figure below.

What checkout will quote you

Rental · 26 days: $160
Rental protection (RPP): $24
Service fee: $16
Estimated total: $200

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The numbers come from one operator’s published rates, so the tool needs to know whose.

Where these numbers come from

The rates are the operator’s own, read live from their listing. The arithmetic is the same best-price billing engine that produces 2Quip invoices — not a second copy written for this page — run on the industry-standard terms: a 28-day cycle, whole weeks at the week rate, leftover days at the day rate capped at one more week.

An operator can agree different terms on an individual rental, and a long rental bills per 28-day cycle rather than in one lump. So treat this as what the rate card says, and the operator’s quote as what you are agreeing to.