Neighboorhood Find

[ea56]

I have been collecting coffeepots and coffeemakers of all kinds for most of my adult life. During the past several years I have been on the quest to find the perfect coffeemaker, that makes great coffee quickly, with as little mess and difficulty as possible. I’ve tried every method, vacuum, drip, auto drip, percolator, both electric and stovetop, french press, you name it, I’ve tried it and spent a kings ransom in the quest.

Then a month ago. I was on my daily 1 hour walk, and had just walked around the corner from our home and low and behold, there was a stack of discarded household items, with a FREE sign on it. In this stack was a vintage Mr. Coffee, with a patina of dirt on it. Well, I continued on my walk and I couldn’t get that Mr. Coffee off my mind. I told myself that I would take a route back that brought by this stack again, and if it was still there then I was meant to have this Mr. Coffee. Well, as luck would have it as I turned the corner on the street where the stack was the garbage truck was headed right towards my coveted Mr. Coffee. I managed to beat the garbage truck to the Mr. Coffee and it was mine!

I took it home and cleaned it up. It still had the original stickers on it and appeared to have been hardly used. I have been using this Mr. Coffee SRX20 for the last month and it is the best coffeemaker I’ve ever owned! The timer works perfectly and it makes the best coffee ever, consistently at about a cup a mniute, and it keeps the coffee piping hot. I recall that when we first moved to our home in 94’ we had a Mr. Coffee like this, but without the timer, and when it stopped working I could never find another coffeemaker that pleased me as well. This must have been kismet!

And as an aside, I even tried a Bonavita, and was very dissapointed and returned it. The coffee wasn’t nearly a hot as the Mr. Coffee and it was weak, even using 1 heaping standard coffee measure per cup. My found Mr. Coffee makes great, rich, strong coffee using 6 scoops for 8 cups.

Hope this Mr. Coffee has a long life.
Eddie

 

[wayupnorth]

Ironically, I have a Proctor Silex that is identical to your Mr. Coffee. Back in the 80's, my old Proctor Silex with an analog clock was recalled and they sent me this brand new model that is used daily ever since.

 

[lordkenmore]

Congratulations on your find!

 

I hope, too, it has a long life...but when replacement time comes, at least you know you like this coffee maker so you have a specific coffee maker to look for. It might even be worth the hassle/cost of eBay since it's a known design, not something "rumored to be good."

 

I, myself, have probably bought an insane number of coffee makers... At one time, I liked variety of methods (drip, French press, etc). Plus I suppose it can be argued it makes sense having different capacities.  A small coffee maker is ideal for me day to day, since I live alone, but it would be more than a bit limiting if I were to have that Candlelight Supper.Then, thanks to this site, I got interested in old percolators. I ended up with shelf in the living room filled with ones that have never been anything but decoration since I got them...plus at least 3 more that I actually used for a period.

 

[gusherb]

I have been a coffee maker fanatic my whole life, despite never being much of a coffee drinker. I have become an espresso addict and am in the market for a decent but not too pricy espresso machine. 

 

Over my life I've had more coffeemakers than I can count, but I ended up settling on Bunn as my preferred pourover  brewer that doesn't break the bank. My first Bunn was one of the GR brewers purchased in '03 and involved in the big recall a couple years later. I sent it to them to have the recall work done and got it back looking refurbished, and working better than it had before. My current Bunn is a VP-17 that I've had since 2008, and gave the GR to my aunt. 

 

I tried the Bunn Phase brew and the NHS. The Phase Brew was a half baked design and wound up being plagued with heating element failures and other problematic design flaws, the NHS IIRC is made in China and not the same quality as the BX & GR models. 

 

I've been ogling the Technivorm for years but haven't been able to stomach the $300 price point for something I'll only use at parties. 

 

[mjg0619]

That's the same model of Mr. Coffee that my beloved Gram had and that now sits proudly on my kitchen counter. I agree that it's the BEST coffee maker that I've had. My parents always had a Bunn when I was growing up.

 

[appnut]

Outstanding Eddie. 

 

[frigilux]

Great find, Eddie! Hope it gives you years of strong, hot coffee. Always nice to find something unexpectedly.

 

[polkanut]

Congrats on your find!  I hope it serves you well for a long time.

 

This is our daily driver.  It is a Norelco Dial-A-Brew model HB 5150.  It is the best drip coffee maker we've had in daily use for a long time.  We have two more stored away for the day when this one finally gives out.  We've been using this particular machine daily for about the last 5-6 years.  We found it at a church rummage sale for $4.00.

[this post was last edited: 11/17/2017-07:37]

 

[iowabear]

I had a very similar looking model for many years!  I actually got it from my mother who upgraded to something different.  I'm not sure what year it was actually made.

 

It was very easy to read the clock and program, a pleasure to use compared to many I have owned.  It never did stop working but the exterior got so sun-faded and yellow-looking my ex insisted that it go!

 

Gone through many since that time, now I have a Cuisinart DCC-1100.  It's OK, no complaints but nothing special.

 

[launderess]

IowaBear!

Have those same drinking glasses!

Ours came as a set with tumblers and so forth. The large ones are great for iced tea or other beverages one wants a "big gulp"! Saves having to get up and go back to kitchen for refills.

L.

 

[petek]

Hmmm I saw a Mr Coffee at our local Bibles for Missions thrift today but I didn't really take a good look at it.. Maybe it'll be there tomorrow or TUesday when I go again in my quest for typewriters. LOL

 

[johnrk]

I Agree With Laundress-

those are great tumblers! I have the large size and the smaller size. Heavy, just terrific. I think I bought mine about 30 years ago when Tuesday Morning was new, they were from France. I think they're all over the place these days. Still a great choice that goes with so many sets...