This is one of those 'so simple I can't believe I didn't think of it myself' stories.
Wife picked up a Mr. Coffee at a thrift shop- tried to run a pot of coffee through it and it just spit and sputtered for 1/2 hour and the
12 cups we put in dropped 2 cups into the pot. The rest was steam.
It was a nice looking pot, so I tried cleaning it-- then dismantled it. I didn't see anything obvious- so I Googled and found this page-
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I already had the bottom off, so in less than 5 minutes, I popped off the rubber hose with the check valve in it- blew the wad of paper out of the check valve- and reassembled.
Works perfect now.
I wonder how many pots I've tossed that could have been fixed so easily.
Jim, you remind me of a funny story a few days ago. I also had a cheap coffee maker not dripping right even tho I ran vinegar thru it. I was ready to toss it but my wife said let me clean it. Guess what, now it works fine as before. I also think it had to do with the check valve for the water going into the pot. I was humbled.
Well, the good news is- you have a working coffee pot. OTOH, for the rest of your life you'll be hearing- 'I could have fixed that. . . Remember the time. . . "
Plainly the problem was the use of paper cups for coffee. Res ipsa loquitur. You should try using styrofoam cups and see if it clogs again with styrofoam.
Does any one know of a reasonably priced coffee maker that can be plumbed into the house water system?
I'm not looking for a single serving Keurig type nor am I looking to spend high 3 to low 4 digits for an auto-fill coffee maker. Something under $150 would be nice but I just can't seem to find one in that price range.
Of course, it has to have the rest of the desirable features: Programmable, auto-off, correct brewing temp, decent holding temp, etc.
I tossed my B&D Saver Saver coffee maker last week. It never kept the coffee hot enough, it was impossible to fill without spilling water on the counter and it dripped even more water on the counter while brewing. It's called a "space saver" because it hung from the bottom of the upper cabinets. The ironic part was that you couldn't put anything under it - except a towel - because it dripped constantly. The final straw was when they recalled the carafe (send the old one in, wait 10 days for a "safer" one) and the new one added a new leakage point between the glass and the plastic top. Now it drips when you fill the coffee maker, it drips while it's brewing, and it drips when you are pouring yourself a cup of joe. Well, actually, it doesn't leak anymore unless someone at the landfill is using it.
Currently, we're using our spare coffee maker, which I like (an older Gevalia thermal carafe type) but I'd like to put that back on the shelf as a spare and get a new, larger capacity one that I can plumb so I don't have to fill it each time. Any ideas?
On impulse, I paid $35 for an "as-is" Roomba¹ at Goodwill. Turns out all it needed was a $55 battery.
Used it twice. Very entertaining, but if I'm going to waste time watching it, I might as well push my upright that does a better job. Plus, it had a peculiar talent for getting into places it couldn't get out of.
The silver lining is that only two weeks later I met a woman whose medical condition had made her too weak to use her upright.
Not for a plumbed coffee maker. Too extreme for me. You might look for a maker with a removable tank. Takes away the water pouring part. I had an under cabinet B&D with a tank. Very good, never leaked. Easy to fill at the sink. The thermal carafe was crap though, and that's why I finally tossed after about 5 years. They don't make that model any more. You're on you own I think. And it seems half the brands I've had have had a poorly formed spout on the carafe, and drip. The rummage store Mr Coffee we use now might be the best we've had. Big opening to pour water and a good spout on the carafe.
Look for a Bunn commercial model. A-10 is about $325 or so.
Not plumbed in, but my wife would not part with our Technivorm Moccamaster for good coffee. She never has spills with a good pouring container. It has a wide receptacle for the water.
Speed is not an advantage when making coffee. If the water is not in contact with the grounds long enough, you won't get as much flavor. Water temp, filter shape, grounds size, brew time, etc. all have an impact on the quality of my favorite beverage.
The B&D I just tossed has a removable tank. Unfortunately is was a bad design - long and flat. When you filled it for 10 - 12 cups, the water sloshed out of the large fill hole when you inserted the tank into the machine. The water then dripped out the sides of the tank holder onto the counter.
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> The thermal carafe was crap though, and that's why I finally tossed > after about 5 years. They don't make that model any more. > You're on you own I think. And it seems half the brands I've had have > had a poorly formed spout on the carafe, and drip.
The original carafe was fine. No drips. Then we got a recall notice about the danger of the handle falling off and traded it in. The new carafe leaked from the seam between the plastic rim and the glass. You could actually lift the plastic rim up a bit. Don't know if it's supposed the glued on or just tightly form fitted, but the new (safer) carafe was not water tight between the glass and the plastic rim.
The other PITA thing with that coffee maker was that the buttons for setting the clock and programming the unit were backwards. Minutes on the left, hours on the right. What were they thinking?
Oh yeah, it never kept the coffee hot enough for us either.
Well, espresso brews fast. Talking about "best" coffee is like talking about "best" beer. After going through many coffee brewing permutations, I've come to only 4 personal conclusions. Drip is best. Fresh brewed is best, whatever the coffee. Heating after brewing is bad. And I prefer paper filtering. So sometimes I brew one big cup. Usually I don't. I do 8-12 cups, drink one "best" cup, then drink the rest either lukewarm, cold, or nuked. I'm an "all day" drinker. Hasn't killed me yet. In the big drip coffeemakers I've used, haven't noticed a quality difference in the brew, whether I brewed a single big cup or a full carafe. I tried a couple little 2-4 cup drip makers, and they didn't make coffee I liked. Probably the basket size/water flow isn't right. So what you say is all true.
Yeah, you can tell by looking it's not a good tank design for transport/insertion. Mine was tall,deep, and narrow. Easy to hold, no sloshing, easy insert, and never leaked. Of course it didn't really "save space" with everything hanging down far enough that a toaster or something would slide under it. More like a fixed object getting in the way. Wife wanted it.
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