My 'Mr. Coffee' finally konked out for the
last time. (Repair parts weren't in my stockpile
and would cost a significant fraction of a new
coffee maker, considering shipping and taxes.)

On disassembly, I discovered two brown silicone
tubes that pipe the water to and from the
heating element. I removed the checkvalve
from one and slid them both over the handles
of my electronics needlenose pliers, using
alcohol as a lubricant.

Trimmed to size, they give me a very comfortable
grip, just like the expensive quality pliers.

--Winston

Winston wrote:
My 'Mr. Coffee' finally konked out for the
last time. (Repair parts weren't in my stockpile
and would cost a significant fraction of a new
coffee maker, considering shipping and taxes.)


Winston,

Now that you have seen the inside of a Mr. Coffee, might I suggest
that you get yourself a Bunn coffee maker. When you take one of those
apart, you find a stainless steel tank and industrial quality
components.

The machine is built to last however so the only time you take it
apart is for a very deep cleaning, and while you probably will never
need them, parts are available.

Also you get a full pot of coffee in three minutes.

Roger Shoaf

On Mon, 6 Dec 2010 07:36:39 -0800 (PST), RS at work
wrote:



Winston wrote:
My 'Mr. Coffee' finally konked out for the
last time. (Repair parts weren't in my stockpile
and would cost a significant fraction of a new
coffee maker, considering shipping and taxes.)


Winston,

Now that you have seen the inside of a Mr. Coffee, might I suggest
that you get yourself a Bunn coffee maker. When you take one of those
apart, you find a stainless steel tank and industrial quality
components.

The machine is built to last however so the only time you take it
apart is for a very deep cleaning, and while you probably will never
need them, parts are available.

They're probably very nice machines, but...


Also you get a full pot of coffee in three minutes.

Patience is a virtue. 8-9 minutes isn't a bad wait.

Yabbut, can you buy a new one for $8 every 5 years, when it gets too
dirty to clean up nicely, or you break the carafe? (Entire Proctor
Silex unit $8 at BigLots, carafes for them are $16.)

LJ--who had to give up coffee 4 months ago due to allergic reactions
to it, damnit.

--
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
--Jack London

Larry Jaques wrote:

(...)

LJ--who had to give up coffee 4 months ago due to allergic reactions
to it, damnit.

Jeeze Larry! That is AWFUL! Seriously.

--Winston

On Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:31:14 -0800, Winston
wrote:

Larry Jaques wrote:

(...)

LJ--who had to give up coffee 4 months ago due to allergic reactions
to it, damnit.

Jeeze Larry! That is AWFUL! Seriously.

TELL me about it. I finally figured it out. Every time I had a cup, a
few minutes later, one or more of my muscles got spasms, like someone
was sticking me with a hat pin. Shoulder, thigh, quad, random muscle
aches, plus every-muscle-aches in the morning.

My only sin now is cussing, and I'll be damned if I'll give it up!
Gave up drinkin', druggin', smokin', womanizing, sugar (most days) and
you folks wonder why I'm a curmudgeon? /snivel

If anything, coffee is the thing I miss the most.

--
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
--Jack London

On Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:35:18 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:31:14 -0800, Winston
wrote:

Larry Jaques wrote:

(...)

LJ--who had to give up coffee 4 months ago due to allergic reactions
to it, damnit.

Jeeze Larry! That is AWFUL! Seriously.

TELL me about it. I finally figured it out. Every time I had a cup, a
few minutes later, one or more of my muscles got spasms, like someone
was sticking me with a hat pin. Shoulder, thigh, quad, random muscle
aches, plus every-muscle-aches in the morning.

My only sin now is cussing, and I'll be damned if I'll give it up!
Gave up drinkin', druggin', smokin', womanizing, sugar (most days) and
you folks wonder why I'm a curmudgeon? /snivel

If anything, coffee is the thing I miss the most.

Have you tried....Monsters?

Taste good...triple the Caffiene....muahahahaha!


--
"Confiscating wealth from those who have earned it, inherited it,
or got lucky is never going to help 'the poor.' Poverty isn't
caused by some people having more money than others, just as obesity
isn't caused by McDonald's serving super-sized orders of French fries
Poverty, like obesity, is caused by the life choices that dictate
results." - John Tucci,

Larry Jaques wrote:
If anything, coffee is the thing I miss the most.

Dayum. That is no fun at all.

--Winston

In , on Mon, 06 Dec 2010
09:23:05 -0800, Larry Jaques, wrote:

Patience is a virtue. 8-9 minutes isn't a bad wait.

It is a bad wait in that it's already been extracting
bitters for many minutes.

Yabbut, can you buy a new one for $8 every 5 years, when it gets too
dirty to clean up nicely, or you break the carafe? (Entire Proctor
Silex unit $8 at BigLots, carafes for them are $16.)

There's a saying that you get what you pay for.
The double wall stainless caraffe with the BTX-B (in
the travel trailer) is unbreakable.

LJ--who had to give up coffee 4 months ago due to allergic reactions
to it, damnit.

Maybe try some Monsooned Malabar once? Low caffeine,
low acidity.

On Tue, 7 Dec 2010 11:31:19 -0700, Steve Ackman
wrote:

In , on Mon, 06 Dec 2010
09:23:05 -0800, Larry Jaques, wrote:

Patience is a virtue. 8-9 minutes isn't a bad wait.

It is a bad wait in that it's already been extracting
bitters for many minutes.

Yabbut, can you buy a new one for $8 every 5 years, when it gets too
dirty to clean up nicely, or you break the carafe? (Entire Proctor
Silex unit $8 at BigLots, carafes for them are $16.)

There's a saying that you get what you pay for.

So, you're sure that Nike Air Force One tennis shoes are worth $1,500?
What more do you get for that price than I get from my $35 Reebok
Classics? Hell, they don't even have a sponge sole for comfort!


The double wall stainless caraffe with the BTX-B (in
the travel trailer) is unbreakable.

Unbreakable, perhaps, but unusable, too. I've never had a decently
hot cuppa served from an insulated carafe, even if preheated with hot
tap water just prior to brewing. I hope your coffeemaker doesn't put
out that ghastly hot water. It could burn someone's thighs. Heavens!


LJ--who had to give up coffee 4 months ago due to allergic reactions
to it, damnit.

Maybe try some Monsooned Malabar once? Low caffeine,
low acidity.

Is it a strong, full-bodied coffee? If so, I'd like to try it.
Once.

--
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
--Jack London

In , on Tue, 07 Dec 2010
19:48:33 -0800, Larry Jaques, wrote:

On Tue, 7 Dec 2010 11:31:19 -0700, Steve Ackman
wrote:

In , on Mon, 06 Dec 2010
09:23:05 -0800, Larry Jaques, wrote:

Patience is a virtue. 8-9 minutes isn't a bad wait.

It is a bad wait in that it's already been extracting
bitters for many minutes.

Yabbut, can you buy a new one for $8 every 5 years, when it gets too
dirty to clean up nicely, or you break the carafe? (Entire Proctor
Silex unit $8 at BigLots, carafes for them are $16.)

There's a saying that you get what you pay for.

So, you're sure that Nike Air Force One tennis shoes are worth $1,500?

Obviously, if Nike is getting that for them, they're
worth that much to *someone*. Note I didn't say you
actually get what you pay for, only that there's such
a saying.

What more do you get for that price than I get from my $35 Reebok
Classics?

If nothing else, the name. I assume there must be
something else, but...

Hell, they don't even have a sponge sole for comfort!

I know nothing about Reeboks. I've bought New Balance
for as long as I can remember. Matter of fact, I still
have a pair from when they were manufactured in the USA.

The double wall stainless caraffe with the BTX-B (in
the travel trailer) is unbreakable.

Unbreakable, perhaps, but unusable, too.

So you've used the carafe that comes with the
BTX-B. There are actually two different styles
that have come with that coffee maker. Which one
did you find unusable?

I've never had a decently
hot cuppa served from an insulated carafe, even if preheated with hot
tap water just prior to brewing.

I can only assume the coffee wasn't brewed at the
correct temperature to begin with, or it sat in the
carafe for way too long. We're talking about Bunn
here, where the brew water is 195F - 205F.

I hope your coffeemaker doesn't put
out that ghastly hot water. It could burn someone's thighs. Heavens!

One of them is set to keep the water at 197F. The
other... I haven't actually measured, but I assume it's
in the neighborhood of 195F.
I don't know if that's hot enough for you, or if
you'd burn your thighs on it. You'd have to give it
a try and decide for yourself. Seems you're
simultaneously afraid of burning your thighs and
complaining about coffee being not hot enough to drink.

LJ--who had to give up coffee 4 months ago due to allergic reactions
to it, damnit.

Maybe try some Monsooned Malabar once? Low caffeine,
low acidity.

Is it a strong, full-bodied coffee? If so, I'd like to try it.
Once.

It's as strong or as weak as you brew it. Yes, it's
definitely full-bodied (assuming it's roasted
correctly). I'd send you some if I had it.

RS at work wrote:

Winston wrote:
My 'Mr. Coffee' finally konked out for the
last time. (Repair parts weren't in my stockpile
and would cost a significant fraction of a new
coffee maker, considering shipping and taxes.)


Winston,

Now that you have seen the inside of a Mr. Coffee, might I suggest
that you get yourself a Bunn coffee maker. When you take one of those
apart, you find a stainless steel tank and industrial quality
components.


Except for their timer board. I knew a company who got most of their
business replacing timers in them, in restaurants.


The machine is built to last however so the only time you take it
apart is for a very deep cleaning, and while you probably will never
need them, parts are available.

Also you get a full pot of coffee in three minutes.

Roger Shoaf


--
For the last time: I am not a mad scientist, I'm just a very ticked off
scientist!!!

Michael A. Terrell wrote:



Except for their timer board. I knew a company who got most of their
business replacing timers in them, in restaurants.



The pour over models do not have a timer board. The water you pour in
the top displaces the already hot water in the tank. The only control
os a couple of thermostats and a couple of switches, and the
commercial model also has a temp adjustment pot.

Roger Shoaf

RS at work wrote:

Michael A. Terrell wrote:



Except for their timer board. I knew a company who got most of their
business replacing timers in them, in restaurants.



The pour over models do not have a timer board. The water you pour in
the top displaces the already hot water in the tank. The only control
os a couple of thermostats and a couple of switches, and the
commercial model also has a temp adjustment pot.


Why would a restaurant use a 'pour over model'?


--
For the last time: I am not a mad scientist, I'm just a very ticked off
scientist!!!

"Michael A. Terrell" fired this volley in
:


Why would a restaurant use a 'pour over model'?

They are less expensive and more reliable than the automatic feed versions,
although those are pretty good if you have adequate filtration in the water
line.

LLoyd

RS at work wrote:

Winston wrote:

My 'Mr. Coffee' finally konked out for the
last time. (Repair parts weren't in my stockpile
and would cost a significant fraction of a new
coffee maker, considering shipping and taxes.)



Winston,

Now that you have seen the inside of a Mr. Coffee, might I suggest
that you get yourself a Bunn coffee maker. When you take one of those
apart, you find a stainless steel tank and industrial quality
components.

The machine is built to last however so the only time you take it
apart is for a very deep cleaning, and while you probably will never
need them, parts are available.

Also you get a full pot of coffee in three minutes.

Roger Shoaf

We've been using the household type Bunn cofeemakers at home and at our
small office for over 15 years and I do appreciate being able to make a
full pot of coffee in 3 minutes.

One thing though, I try and not think too often about how many KWH per
year I'm wasting by their keeping the water at brewing temperature all
day and night. I did try using little "plug in" timers to turn them off
overnight but those damn timers only lasted a few months before they
either konked out or started making annoying whirring noises.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10e12 furlongs per fortnight.

jeff_wisnia wrote:

One thing though, I try and not think too often about how many KWH per
year I'm wasting by their keeping the water at brewing temperature all
day and night. I did try using little "plug in" timers to turn them off
overnight but those damn timers only lasted a few months before they
either konked out or started making annoying whirring noises.


They have a combination insulation/heating blanket for the keep warm
to make up for the static heat loss, so I doubt it is drawing very
many watts during stand by time.

Roger Shoaf

RS at work fired this volley in news:99574901-
:

hey have a combination insulation/heating blanket for the keep warm
to make up for the static heat loss, so I doubt it is drawing very
many watts during stand by time.


Unless most of the ones I've seen have been grossly mis-adjusted, they
consume quite a bit of energy by boiling off the water in the holding
tank.

Our Bunn pour-over will boil off nearly a third of volume of the holding
tank in twelve hours of no use. Others I've seen appear to suffer the
same problem. I'm not sure what happens when they go dead-dry. We
refill them often enough that it's never occurred. Hopefully, the
thermostat is on the same surface as the heating element, so it can sense
when it's too hot.

Now... I understand it doesn't keep the water at a "rolling boil", but
every time that element comes on, the water boils a little.

At 540C/g, that works out to some serious energy over the period of a
year.

LLoyd

RS at work wrote:


Winston wrote:
My 'Mr. Coffee' finally konked out for the
last time. (Repair parts weren't in my stockpile
and would cost a significant fraction of a new
coffee maker, considering shipping and taxes.)


Winston,

Now that you have seen the inside of a Mr. Coffee, might I suggest
that you get yourself a Bunn coffee maker.

You are absolutely right, Roger.

There used to be a commercial brewer distributor
downtown that sold used Bunn-o-matics for very
reasonable money. I shall have to investigate
that. Thanks!

--Winston

Winston wrote:


You are absolutely right, Roger.

There used to be a commercial brewer distributor
downtown that sold used Bunn-o-matics for very
reasonable money. I shall have to investigate
that. Thanks!


I doubt you need a commercial model. The home model just has a
smaller tank and plastic exterior but the guts are industrial
quality. You can't make sucessive pots as fast with the home unit,
but that is usually not an issue for home or office use.

Roger Shoaf

In , on
Mon, 6 Dec 2010 07:36:39 -0800 (PST), RS at work,
wrote:

Winston wrote:
My 'Mr. Coffee' finally konked out for the
last time. (Repair parts weren't in my stockpile
and would cost a significant fraction of a new
coffee maker, considering shipping and taxes.)


Winston,

Now that you have seen the inside of a Mr. Coffee, might I suggest
that you get yourself a Bunn coffee maker.

Perfect suggestion.

When you take one of those
apart, you find a stainless steel tank and industrial quality
components.

The machine is built to last however

.... if it jumps out of the sink in your travel
trailer, landing on the floor, "last" is not all that
long.

so the only time you take it
apart is for a very deep cleaning, and while you probably will never
need them, parts are available.

I bought a refurb'ed Bunn A10-series in 2002. I've
replaced both thermal fuses. One at about year 4 and
the other around year 6. Radio Shack online. They
were... I don't know... a buck a piece?

The A10 has an (internally) adjustable thermostat.
Going from 500' elevation to 5500' means a drastic
reduction in boiling point. At low elevation my
preference is to set it to 205F... which is completely
impossible at 5500'. I have it set to 197F here.
The B series (what you see in big box stores) has
a fixed thermostat.

Also you get a full pot of coffee in three minutes.

Three minute coffee as a convenience is the least
of the advantage. The quality of the coffee is much
improved over a Mr. Coffee. That's true of any method
using the "optimal" parameters for coffee brewing.

The temperature should be in the 195-205F. range.
Hotter extracts more bitters (caffeine being one of
those). Cooler fails to extract many of the body
components.
Optimal brew time is 3 to 5 minutes. Longer
extracts more of the bitters. Shorter... well, just
plain isn't enough time to extract much of anything.

Coarse grind / light roast can somewhat make up for
too hot or too long brew times.
Fine grind / dark roasts can better withstand too cool
or too short brew times.

It's all about getting a nice balance between the
sugars, acids and bitters. Many people think of a
bitter cup as "strong" so reduce the amount of
grinds they use. This is exactly the wrong direction
to go. The beginning of the brew process gets the
very soluble compounds; mainly the sugars. Only after
the bulk of easily dissolved compounds are extracted
do the less soluble compounds start to extract.
The more grounds you start with, the more time
it takes for the extraction of bitters to start.

So, if your coffee is "strong" aka, bitter, use
the correct amount of grinds, 17:1 water to grinds by
weight(*), cooler brew temperature, shorter brew time,
coarser grind, lighter roast... in whatever combination
floats your boat.

(*) For a typical 50 oz. coffee pot, that amounts to
2.9 oz. of grinds. With our 48 oz. pot, I generally
go with 76-79 grams.

For less caffeine, use 100% arabica. For even less
caffeine, try Monsooned Malabar specifically.
If you don't care about flavor, and just want the
caffiene jolt, go for blends high in robusta.

The key to "great" coffee is all the above, using
coffee roasted no more than two weeks prior and
ground no more than hours prior. Grinding creates
orders of magnitude more surface area, and oxidation
begins immediately.

Bunn takes care of time and temperature, but the
rest of the quality cup is still in your hands.

In , on Tue, 7 Dec 2010 11:22:29
-0700, I wrote:

I bought a refurb'ed Bunn A10-series in 2002. I've
replaced both thermal fuses. One at about year 4 and
the other around year 6. Radio Shack online. They
were... I don't know... a buck a piece?

Oops. Looking back at an old post on alt.coffee,
I find,

I don't recall now what the OEM spec was on the thermal
fuses, and I can't find it in the online manuals, but at
the time I replaced them, 141°C. was the closest Radio
Shack had. This machine never blew a thermal fuse for
the first three years we had it, and then three fuses the
following three years.

Steve Ackman wrote:
, on
Mon, 6 Dec 2010 07:36:39 -0800 (PST), RS at work,
wrote:

Winston wrote:
My 'Mr. Coffee' finally konked out for the
last time. (Repair parts weren't in my stockpile
and would cost a significant fraction of a new
coffee maker, considering shipping and taxes.)


Winston,

Now that you have seen the inside of a Mr. Coffee, might I suggest
that you get yourself a Bunn coffee maker.

Perfect suggestion.

(...)

Snipped and saved 'everything I need to know about coffee'.

Much appreciated, Steve.

--Winston

On Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:37:00 -0800, Winston
wrote:

Steve Ackman wrote:
, on
Mon, 6 Dec 2010 07:36:39 -0800 (PST), RS at work,
wrote:

Winston wrote:
My 'Mr. Coffee' finally konked out for the
last time. (Repair parts weren't in my stockpile
and would cost a significant fraction of a new
coffee maker, considering shipping and taxes.)


Winston,

Now that you have seen the inside of a Mr. Coffee, might I suggest
that you get yourself a Bunn coffee maker.

Perfect suggestion.

(...)

Snipped and saved 'everything I need to know about coffee'.

Much appreciated, Steve.

My GE electric teakettle died last week. I took it apart (special
spanner screwdriver tip required), broke a piece off so I could get to
the contacts, burnished them with a claycoated paper, buffed the blue
terminal and connector, and put it back together. It worked! Alas,
only one more day. I tried to find parts online but couldn't, so I
asked Hamilton Beach, which makes them for Wally World. After almost
3 weeks of delays later, they came back and said that the switch was
not available for those. But for just $29.99, I could buy a
replacement kettle which looked nothing like the artsy one I bought.
That's a full five dollar savings off their online price!

Damn, life is sure unfair lately.

--
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
--Jack London

Larry Jaques wrote:

(...)

Damn, life is sure unfair lately.

I get (and give) lots of neat stuff via my local
Freecycles. http://www.freecycle.org

Prolly lots of electric kettles available free
for pickup if you ask nicely.

--Winston

In , on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:37:00 -0800,
Winston, wrote:
Steve Ackman wrote:
, on
Mon, 6 Dec 2010 07:36:39 -0800 (PST), RS at work,
wrote:

Winston wrote:
My 'Mr. Coffee' finally konked out for the
last time. (Repair parts weren't in my stockpile
and would cost a significant fraction of a new
coffee maker, considering shipping and taxes.)


Winston,

Now that you have seen the inside of a Mr. Coffee, might I suggest
that you get yourself a Bunn coffee maker.

Perfect suggestion.

(...)

Snipped and saved 'everything I need to know about coffee'.

Much appreciated, Steve.

You're quite welcome, though I did neglect to mention
two other methods which are as good as a Bunn but much
less expensive: French Press and Vac Pot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_press_coffee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_coffee_maker

The former produces an oilier, more bodiful cup while
the latter produces a "cleaner" flavor.

Steve Ackman wrote:

(...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_press_coffee

Yes! No matter what kind of beans I use in my
French Press, I get a superior tasting cuppa
out of it, as compared to the same beans in an
automatic coffee maker. I'm on my fourth 'Press,
having worn out two small ones and a bigger one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_coffee_maker

That is another new one on me.
I shall investigate.

Thanks again!

--Winston