On the hunt for an electric percolator

[combo52]

There are lots of ways to make coffee at home

This is an interesting topic and there are lots of interesting coffee makers. If you’ve never used a vacuum coffee maker you should consider one of those as they were widely reported to make the best coffee

And don’t forget an old Corningware coffee maker they were durable and worked very well,

John

 

[delco1946]

Thanks everyone for the tips! I’m “only” 38 so I definitely do not remember the coffee from the 50-70s (hence why I’m so excited!). I’ll play with the settings a bit but will see about the hole size. I grind my own beans so I could also do a coarser grind.

Eddie, can you extrapolate on what you mean regarding the brew process? Conceptually, I understand the intent, but I am not clear what the mild to Strong control knob is actually doing. Does it simply lengthen the amount of time of percolation is running or does it accelerate the heat setting? Eg if I make a small pot of coffee and it’s a heat control, then it seems like I would want to put it on strong for a fast but robust percolation process. If it is a time-based control then I probably probably want it on mild, as I do not want to over extract my beans. Coffee is expensive so I’d rather not waste $20 bucks in coffee to figure all this out haha!

John - Beautiful collection. I kind of figured the vacuum pots might be superior since they don’t recirculate, but I was really wanting something electric so that I could plug it in and wake up with it already operating. Obviously not “needed” but I figured it would be a fun new toy!!!! The vacuum pots seem less common too(?), but I might explore those more after trying the percolator!

eBay picture included.

Thanks- Christopher

 

[ea56]

Christopher,

Oops, I realized after I posted that you were too young to recall how perked coffee from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s tasted.  Back then all ground coffee was packed in metal cans and you used a key that was attached to the bottom of the can to to open the can and you immediately got this wonderful aroma that hit your nose, it was lovely!  The coffee stayed much fresher packed in metal cans.

 

To answer your question about how the brew selectors on electric percolators work they just extend the brew time on the strong setting and shorten it on the medium to mild settings.  I’s suggest you start out on the medium setting. If you think you’d like a stronger brew adjust the control accordingly.

 

Hope you’ll enjoy your GE Potbelly Perc.

 

Eddi

 

 

[circlew]

Eddie, I've recently seen coffee in metal cans. I saw Chase & Sanborn, and also Hills Brothers packed like that. That was at Menards.

 

[ea56]

Tom,

Thanks for sharing this, even if I don’t drink coffee anymore.  I think that to old fashioned vacuum sealed cans kept coffee much fresher than the plastic cans they now use.  Most brands of pre ground coffee used to be pretty good and the quality was consistent,  up to the 90’s anyway.

 

Eddie

 

 

[circlew]

I agree, Eddie. Plastic doesn't keep air out nearly as well as metal.

 

[delco1946]

My new percolator arrived and it is beautiful and works well however I have learned the downside of an electric percolator. You really have very little control over strength of brew. I guess a Chemex makes much stronger coffee which I like versus old-fashioned weak diner style coffee. Unless I start wasting coffee and putting a lot more in I don’t think I’ll be able to get my coffee as strong as I like it in this. This would be the benefit of a stove top model, you are incomplete control.

Despite the brew being a little on the weak side, it has really good flavor, better than I was expecting, as I felt percolators were known for over percolating and burning coffee.

 

[ozzie908]

Corning ware coffee pots

John I have a similar Pyrosil pot like your tall one and as much as I tried I could not get the bugger to perc at all I had it on the hob via an induction converter plate and nothing it got hot but not a single perc did it do?? Do these things need to be really hot to do anything??

Austin

 

[ea56]

My rule of thumb for brewing coffee in any percolator is to measure the coffee using a flatware tablespoon/soup spoon (not a standard coffee measuring scoop) and allow 1 slightly rounded spoonful per cup plus 1 for the pot, ie: if brewing 8 cups of coffee use 9 slightly  rounded spoonfuls.  

 

Also, if found that if the holes in the basket are on the smaller side I forego using a disk paper filter and instead just wet the inside of the basket before putting the ground coffee into it, this helps to keep small coffee ground getting into the brew and allows for a stronger brew.  I personally feel that paper filters tend to absorb some of the coffee flavor that I’d rather end up in my cup of coffee, not in the discarded filter.

 

A little trial and error and you should find that you’l  be able to brew a  nice, strong, rich pot a’ Joe.

 

Eddie

[this post was last edited: 10/4/2024-11:46]

 

[delco1946]

Eddie - I add more coffee than that ( heavy handed here ), and it’s on the strongest setting, but it just doesn’t perc long enough to truely extract all the flavor.

I’m almost wondering if I could take off the bottom and make any adjustments to lengthen the perc time. I love that it’s electric and I’ve been able to wake up to made coffee thanks to my stoves timer setting which is fun.

The holes seem rather fine, so I’m also going to start trying a finer grind to see if that maximizes extraction during such a short perc time.

I also just got an antique toaster off eBay and it’s from the 1930s, I’ve already taken that apart to improve its operation so I figured I should only take one appliance apart at a time. Thanks for all the moral support!

 

[ea56]

Christopher, the thermostat may not be functioning properly,  and if that’s the case there isn’t much you can do about it unless you can somehow locate a new replacement thermostat which is highly unlikely.  

 

Try filling the perc with plain water, set the control to strong and let the cycle complete.  Have an instant read thermometer on hand and as soon as the perc cycles off take the temp of the water, it should be at least 190 F, if it isn’t that’s why your coffee isn’t brewing strong enough for your taste.

 

There maybe an adjustment screw inside the bottom of the perc that can be fooled around  with to attempt making the perc cycle for a longer time, but to doubt it.  The only electric coffee maker that I’ve ever seen that has a screw for adjusting the temp are the Sunbeam Coffeemaster vacuum pots.

 

Good Luck!

 

Eddie

 

[jakins]

Thermostat adjustment

My favorite Percolator is the P50 I have two, The Universal and the GE badges. Here are some pics of the adjustment screws there may be something like it on the Potbelly percolator

 

[snail]

Hey another millenial!

I'm 34 and my other hobby is bodybuilding so I don't fit the mold either lol. Once I finish my hotpoint stove project with its timed outlet I plan to get a vacuum siphon machine. In my experience the percolator uses a lot of coffee and the coffee tastes pretty bitter to me. I see glass and metal siphon style machines on ebay. I think the metal ones would be safer to ship but I like the look of the glass ones. Looks like siphon machines often have a rubber gasket and we all know how rubber ages so.. something to consider.

 

[jakins]

as I said

I do love my P50 Percolator but it is not my daily driver. My Daily coffee is made in a Yama Siphon Coffee maker. 8 cup same size as most of the vintage siphon makers.
if You want vintage you can go with the Cory all glass coffee makers. the all glass is a bit fiddley but if you want vintage there is no rubber to worry about. Cory Made 3 sizes of the all glass a 4cup, an 8 cup, and a 12 cup I have found the 8 and 12 cup Pots. the cory 8 cup s are the dcl and dcu the 12 cup is DIL and DIU. the YAMA can be found on amazon. The Cory Ad I found at a flea market about a year ago

 

[ea56]

Re:#32

You can’t beat the Yama vacuum pot with a Cory glass rod for siphon coffee!  Excellent flavor and easy cleanup, no filters to wash.  The best  vacuum pot for a daily driver.

 

I’ve had vintage Cory and Silex vac pots with rubber gaskets and they can be very iffy.  The rubber ages and then it either won’t make an air tight seal so the coffee won’t travel back down to the lower pot, or worse yet the old rubber can impart a rubber taste to the coffee and boy it’s a terrible cup of Joe.  I always wanted one of the all glass Cory’s, but never managed to score one.  Now that I’ve had to give up coffee it’s a moot point.

 

I’d stay away from vintage Sunbeam Coffeemaster vac pots.  I’ve owned 5 and all of them eventually reached the point where they weren’t dependable.  The most common problem is the thermostat failing.  Then when on the keep warm setting the coffee would all of the sudden come to a rolling boil blowing boiling hot coffee all over the counter or the coffee wouldn’t stay hot.  There are a couple of small screws that can be adjusted but they are very difficult to reach and you need tiny wrenches in order to re tighten the screws after the re adjustment or the adjusted setting won’t hold.  They are beautiful coffee makers and make great coffee when they work properly but just too much trouble for a daily driver.

 

Eddie

 

[delco1946]

Hi Tom! Nice to meet another millennial and from the PNW, too! I don’t often get up to Seattle or the surrounding area, but maybe I’ll hit you up the next time I’m in the area!

I am very excited to report that I finally took my potbelly percolator apart, and the bi metallic strips have small threaded screws to make adjustments. Certainly not easy for the average consumer but once you have a disassembled, that’s a pretty straightforward process. I carefully took the base off and reassembled it without the chrome, beauty ring, and plugged it back in so I could see which switches were triggering and when, to better understand, what adjustments I should be focusing on.

There is an inner switch that trips first which takes it off the rolling, boil to avoid burning your coffee and then for the duration of the percolating process it’s on a slower boil. Finally, the outer switch trips after a certain duration of time and temperature have been met, forcing all electricity to go through multiple resistance heater units and keeping the coffee warm. 1.5 easy turns of that outer switches’ screw (counter clockwise) is preventing that switch from opening for a longer period of time and now I am getting much longer brew times .

 

[ea56]

Very impressive Christopher! I never knew before that some of the older electric percolators had adjustable thermostats. Mt experience with the Farberware electric percolators and their thermostats was once they went bad the only remedy was to replace them, they didn’t have any way to adjust them from what I could see when I took them apart.

Glad you now have your GE Potbelly brewing to your satisfaction.

Eddie

 

[launderess]

Cory vac pots without rubber gaskets

Were only produced for short time to cope with shortages of rubber during WWII. Once supplies increased and or war time restrictions on rubber ended, so did production of said pots IIRC.

Some swear by while others swear at gasket-less Cory vac pots. Some had difficulty getting a proper seal between glass globe and pot.

While have read about Cory or Silex other vac pot gaskets becoming brittle or whatever with age, haven't seen that problem. In fact have a box full of gaskets that outlived their vac pots (don't ask) and they're all supple as ever.

It may be there is "rubber" and there is rubber gaskets. The gasket for one's Flavor Seal vac pot (maybe made by Cory) is deteriorating something awful. Just nabbed a Yama vac pot for very little money but haven't unpacked. Hopefully the things arrived intact.

Several months ago also nabbed a Cory and GE vac pot set (complete). Damn fool at UPS store simply packed everything together (including parts and other bits inside upper globes), and you can guess what happened. Everything shattered to bits.

In general haven't had much luck with glass vac pots. Using such things first thing in morning to make coffee when not always paying attention is problem. One false move and usually it's the upper globe that's for it. Hence all those gaskets lying about spare.

 

[launderess]

Sunbeam CoffeeMaster

Love my C50 bought almost NIB off fleaPay many years ago now.

Don't use it often in fact it has sat sitting on counter for ages. Am leery of wearing down plating inside lower bowl during cleaning for a start.

 

[justjunque]

Hey, Christopher.
Glad you found yourself a vintage percolator, and have it working the way you like!
Sorry for commenting on a thread that's been sort of dormant for a while, but I haven't been around for a while.
Since I have a small collection of percolators, this thread caught my eye.
Then, to my surprise, the Universal pictured in Chad's first reply to your post is mine! I posted that picture when I first brought it home from the thrift store.
I never got around to using it, because I could never figure out how to address an issue with the bottom cover not fitting properly. Unlike you, I'm not at all handy with working on things. Additionally, I've since stopped drinking coffee because of health issues. I may eventually go back to it, since I don't know that eliminating it really had any effect on my problems.
I hope you're still enjoying your percolator!

Barry