"Party Perk" find...

[lordkenmore]

I acquired this large "party perk" percolator the other night. Not that I need a large percolator... But it grabbed my interest when I first saw it, and I couldn't resist when it went on clearance the other night. (Does this sound at all familiar to others here?!?)

Some photos. The percolator's condition isn't the best--I probably would not have bothered if it were not for one point that interested me. Although it does look better in person, I think, than in the photos. But there is no denying that on display, it will probably work better on a high shelf in a dark corner!

 

[lordkenmore]

And the "Hi Fi" by the spigot is why this was irresistible. I have an interest in audio equipment. (That light is not on, by the way. It's just reflecting light.)

 

[lordkenmore]

Inside photo. It seems "clean" but "stained." I imagine it's pure aluminum, too--just looking in it gives me Alzheimer's!

Second photo shows the basket/stem.

 

[lordkenmore]

Finally, a picture shwoing the glass bulb. Not very good photo, but the best of the ones I took. Old, not very good camera in service here...

 

[kevin313]

It's great! How many cups? 35?

I've not seen the Hi-Fi brand before - an interesting name for a coffee maker, but it was a popular term at the time. Today it would be called an "iPerk"!!

 

[lordkenmore]

I'm wondering, too, how many cups it makes. There are no markers inside that I can see, which seems odd. I'll have to look again--markers might be hiding under the stains, although usually it seems like the markers have something that really stands out (e.g., raised line). Of course, I could measure capacity and calculate from there the number of cups.

The actual maker was the Labelle Silver Company. "Hi Fi" must be a model, or else just something random to make it sound modern... Yes, today it would probably be iPerk.

I tested it yesterday, and it seems to cycle properly. Only problem is that it appears that red light doesn't work. Although...the chances of me actually using this are probably pretty low. I cringe at all that aluminum, and I don't ever need coffee in that quantity.

 

[lordkenmore]

Once again, an appliance makes a fool of Lord Kenmore...

Just finished another cycle of heating some water in the percolator "just to make sure" the light doesn't work. Well, it does. Not sure if it was cranky yesterday, or if it was trick of late afternoon sun coming in the window "washing" out the light. The light isn't the brightest thing I've ever seen. (Hmmm...not the brightest...sort of like Lord Kenmore, come to think of it...)

 

[rp2813]

My story is similar.  I saw a vintage Regal 30-cup urn in its original box and grabbed it, even though I couldn't imagine when I'd need to make that much coffee.  I did end up using it once, for about half a batch.

 

I couldn't resist the high Danish modern design, and it's stainless steel, which is a big plus.

 

 

 

[lordkenmore]

Stunning urn, Ralph!

And yes, I think stainless steel is a huge plus.

 

[polkanut]

John, aka Lord Kenmore

If you have some dishwasher detergent in the house fill the pot with cold water like you would for coffee, and then put the stem and basket in place.  Place enough detergent in the basket to cover the bottom, and perk as you would a batch of coffee.  Let the detergent/water blend sit in the pot until it's tepid.  You will be pleasantly surprised at how much staining is removed by doing this.

 

[rp2813]

Tim, I've had great luck using the dishwasher detergent process with Corningware Electromatics, but have never tried it on aluminum.  I thought it would cause oxidation as opposed to a cream of tartar solution.  Is the goal of detergent to achieve uniformity rather than restore the innards to their original look?

 

[lordkenmore]

>Tim, I've had great luck using the dishwasher detergent process with Corningware Electromatics, but have never tried it on aluminum. I thought it would cause oxidation as opposed to a cream of tartar solution.

That's my impression, too. There are stories of aluminum bakeware changing looks because of a dishwasher. Although I do wonder if dishwasher detergent would have an advantage in actual cleaning power to lift stains. Perhaps--and note I say perhaps (as in I'm only speculating, and not suggesting anyone try this on that pretty aluminum percolator that was Grandma's pride and joy!)--a two step process might help: detergent to actually clean, and then cream of tartar to remove oxidation.

It's somewhat of a moot point for me: I don't know that I have any dishwasher detergent. If I do, it's an opened box that is old and probably lost cleaning power.

 

[rp2813]

. . . it's an opened box that is old . . .

That's all I use on my Electromatics!  An old box of non-phosphate Finish.

 

Here are before and after shots:

 

[ea56]

I always use dishwasher detergent to clean my percolators. It works like a charm. And the new paks work just as well as the old powdered detergent. I fill the pot to max level, put the detergent in the basket ( about 2 tbs., more if its a larger pot), or place 1 pak in the basket. Plug in the pot let it cycle until the perking stops, unplug the cord and let it set for about 30 mins Pour out the dirty water, and it will be dirty and then refill to max level with fresh cold water and run thru another cycle to get out the residual detergent and your back in business. For an aluminum pot I use the same procedure only with cream of tartar instead to prevent the aluminum from darkening . I like LordKenmore's suggestion of using the dishwasher detergent first, then following up with cream of tartar for aluminum pot and I'll try that next time I have to clean one.

The best electric perk I have is an 8 cup Farberware that was made in Yonkers, NY, old of the old ones. I found it about 10 yrs. ago at the Goodwill Thrift Store. It was a mess! The person that owned it before must have never cleaned it, just rinsed it and brewed pot after pot. Since it was only $3.99 and I knew the dishwasher detergent would get it clean I bought it. After a through cleaning it was just like new only better, because the new Chinese Farberware junk is really good for nothing. The thermostats fail with weeks or sometimes days of use and then you have a useless percolator. Always look for the older Farberware's with the knowledge that you can clean them to look and work like new.
Eddie