Abstract: An assembly for use in a water cooler designed to hold an inverted water bottle, wherein the assembly includes a reservoir having a cylindrically extending side wall, a shoulder located in the side wall, and a bottom having at least one opening therethrough. The assembly also includes a bottle receiver located at least partially within the reservoir and having a mounting flange, a side wall extending down from the mounting flange to support a water bottle, and an opening at the bottom end of the side wall. A separator body is also provided that has a base extending at least partially over the shoulder on the reservoir, and a probe extending generally perpendicular from the base for engaging a cap of a water bottle. The separator body may include a tube extending down from the base, a bottom portion of which is lockingly engaged with a tube extending from the bottom of the reservoir.