Percolator/coffee maker collection

[vintage1963]

Hello all, and happy Friday!

I thought I would share with all of you my coffee maker collection. Up until last week these were all stored in a corner cabinet in the kitchen. I bought this shelf from Amazon and I am quite pleased with the results.

Note on the bottom shelf I have placed a Roto Skillet and an Oster Super Pan along with a Yama vacuum coffee maker.

For fun, can you name the brands seen here?

Have a great day, everyone!

 

[ea56]

Very Nice Collection Ed

thanks for sharing it! Coffee pots have been my weakness for most of my life and they are something that can be collected without needing a warehouse, provided you don’t let it get out of control.

I enjoyed all the various types of coffeemakers I’ve had over the years. Now I have only a few left. I got rid of all but about 10 or so, I gave away several so other people can enjoy then too.

Eddie

 

[lordkenmore]

Nice collection! Thanks for sharing!

I have a smallish percolator collection, acquired when I was in a percolator phase thanks to this site. 2 or 3 were ones I got to actually use. Others were perhaps gotten to be used "one day", but I'm pretty sure some I figured would likely forever be display (at least on my watch). I don't really like the idea of using a percolator with aluminum inner parts. My "display" is terrible--on top of bookcases in my living room. One day it would be nice to have nicer display more at eye level.

I also have other types of coffee makers. In the past, I liked using different types of coffee makers--each had good points and bad points.

My mother had multiple coffee makers, although it wasn't a collection, at least not in a sense like my living room percolators. She had a daily driver coffee maker, but also had coffee makers for special occasions (French press, espresso machine, and a large Party Perk in case of having a large gathering).

 

[lordkenmore]

>collected without needing a warehouse, provided you don’t let it get out of control

But what's the fun of a collection that's not out of control? LOL

 

[gansky1]

Nice collection, you have a few I've never seen before.  Thanks for sharing.

 

[58limited]

Very nice collection.

 

[justjunque]

Nice collection, Ed!
I don't know enough about them to be able to identify any.
Although, I believe I see a Corning or Corelle blue flower on one of them.
I'm going to be acquiring at least one electric percolator some time soon.
But, knowing me, I won't stop at one.
The brands I'm currently considering are:

GE Immersible, because it's the one I remember my parents having back in the '70s.

Universal Coffeematic, model 4460, because someone nearby is selling a nice looking one fairly cheap.
It doesn't have the lid for the inner basket, which I believe it should have. But, perhaps I can find one eventually.
The rest of it seems very nice.

Sunbeam Coffeemaster, model AP10, because I like the looks of it, and the design of the light that turns off when the coffee is ready.
Also, I recently acquired a chrome Sunbeam Mixmaster, and I thought the two of them would get along well.

Any words of wisdom/advice on any of the above?
I wouldn't be surprised if I end up with one of each when all is said and done.

Barry

 

[justjunque]

Well, it's official.
I'll be getting the GE Immersible. I had placed an offer for it, and it was accepted.
I'm sure it won't be my only one, but it will be my first.
It seems kind of fitting; since, like I said, my parents had this same kind when I was just a lad.
It won't be a daily driver. But, as long as it works as well as the seller stated, I do plan on using it; maybe on weekends.
What should I use to clean the inside of it? I'll want to do that before making coffee in it.
Is there something that will make it nice and bright inside?
I believe the basket, lid, and tube are aluminum. Is there something that would brighten that up too?

Barry

 

[ea56]

If the coffeemaker itself is stainless steel you can use dishwasher detergent to clean the inside, either powder or pods. But don’t use DW detergent on an aluminum pot or aluminum stem and basket, it will blacken it and be very difficult to remove. Cream of Tartar can be used safely on aluminum or stainless steel, but it won’t clean the SS as effectively as the DW detergent.

So, to clean the aluminum stem and basket, fill the pot to max level, add 2 tbs.of Cream of Tartar to the basket and run a full brew cycle, then unplug and let the solution set in the pot for about 30 to 60 mins., then pour it out and rinse well.
.
If the pot is stainless steel and the basket is aluminum, run a full pot of water with a DW detergent pod or 2 tbs of powder, WITHOUT the stem and basket, by allowing it to heat until it shuts off. Then let the solution set in the pot for 30-60 mins, then rinse well. Now run an cycle with Cream of Tartar and water withe the aluminum stem and basket in place. This should get you new acquisition sparkling clean.

I’ve done this many.many times over the years with success, and most of us have these items in our kitchens already, so no extra expenditures are required for any other product.

I would never use an SOS or Brillo pad inside any coffee percolator. You’ll end up with tiny scratches that will forever hold coffee oils and stains.

I believe that the GE you bought is all aluminum, so forget about using the DW detergent, stick with Cream of Tartar. If its really dirty you may need to run two or three cleaning cycles to get it clean, Good luck and enjoy your new perk.
HTH,
Eddie

 

[justjunque]

Thanks, Eddie!

I was under the impression that the main body was stainless steel, with aluminum stem and basket.
But, I haven't been anywhere near one of these since I was a child.
It may be all aluminum.
I don't know if I'll be able to tell once I see it in person.
Maybe I should just stick with the cream of tartar, to be safe.
I did see a video where the guy ran his through a cycle with baking soda. Rinsed it out, and ran a cycle with vinegar.
Do you think the cream of tartar would be better?

Barry

 

[ea56]

Barry,

I think that the Cream of Tartar works pretty good, but using baking soda first then vinegar may work too, I’ve never tried it. But baking soda may darken aluminum, if if did the vinegar would perhaps remove the darkening. That’s why I’d try the cream of tartar first.

If yours is like the one we owned in the early 80’s its all aluminum. We really liked ours and it was our daily driver until she went kaput. I liked that I could wash it in the sink fully submerged, made it easy to keep sparkling clean. But many regular electric percolator users years ago never regularly washed their perks and just rinsed them between each pot. I always washed out ours after each use. It’s really important to keep the well the the stem goes into clean, for proper brewing.

Eddie

 

[lordkenmore]

>I recently acquired a chrome Sunbeam Mixmaster, and I thought the two of them would get along well.

Hopefully, yes...but there is the risk of Sunbeam sibling rivalry.

One possible situation:

AP10: I'm the loved appliance.

Mixmaster: No, I am!

AP10: I'm loved more!

LOL

 

[lordkenmore]

More seriously...

I have a couple of Sunbeam percolators, and I really like the styling. Indeed, I had a real struggle with buying one of them. "I don't need another percolator--and I already have a Sunbeam!" Needless to say, the practical side didn't win that argument! LOL

 

[vintage1963]

Very Nice Collection Ed

Many thanks, Eddie!

This has turned into a nice little hobby for me. It's always a thrill to get that package in the mail knowing there is another percolator/coffee maker waiting to take its place on the shelf.

 

[vintage1963]

John,
I would love to see pictures of your collection. Feel free to share!

 

[vintage1963]

Barry,

I have also looked at a few of the GE Immersible percolators but haven't bought any as of yet. They are a nice looking unit and I am sure they perform well. Let us know how you like it.

 

[turquoisedude]

Wonderful display, Ed!  I zoomed in on that GE Vacuum brewer... LOL     Those have to be my all-time favourite vintage coffee maker!

 

[justjunque]

And then there were two.

John,
Loved the sibling rivalry post! I hope I don't have that problem!
I'm hoping for more of a teamwork scenario.
The Mixmaster flawlessly mixing a cake batter of some sort, while the AP10 happily perks some hot delicious coffee to go along with it!

I can completely relate to the inner conflict.
I haven't even received the GE yet, and I've made arrangements with the local seller of the Universal Coffeematic to meet up on Saturday to purchase that one.
After a barrage of questions, they have assured me that it works fine with no problems.
Give it time. I'm sure I'll be adding the Sunbeam at some point as well.
When I originally posted that I was trying to decide which to buy out of those three, I was really trying to fool myself into believing there was any chance of that.
I knew I wouldn't stop at one!
We all need a support group of some kind!

Barry

 

[lordkenmore]

I would love to see pictures of your collection.

Earlier I had time, and took a few photos. They aren't the best photos--I'm not the best photographer, and the digital camera isn't very good. And it started acting up (unfortunately before I was fully done). These are not arranged as they usually are--I don't have an ideal setup, so I just temporarily put the coffee pots on top of a bookcase. I kept thinking it would be nice to have a good permanent display, like the one above.

Currently none of these coffee pots are actually in use--right now, I use a small, cheap, modern French press pot. Vintage might be more fun, but the current coffee pots is more practical for a single person making just a cup here and there...

 

[lordkenmore]

Cornucopia of Corning

...or I had no idea I had so many CorningWare pots until I gathered them in one place. LOL

These have always been mostly display--most are too big for the single person, and I'm thinking most are affected by that potential glue failure problem that could cause a coffee maker full of really hot coffee to crash onto my feet...

Photo #1: Electric percolators. I actually used the small one on the right for a period when I was less paranoid about the handle glue! I used it about 9 years ago. It made probably the best percolator coffee I've had.

Photos #2: Stove-top models. (The one on the right should have a safe handle, and I'd like to try it--but IIRC it's too small to fully fit on any electric burner I've had access to.)

 

[lordkenmore]

Regal Poly Perks

I found the gold Poly Perk (and IIRC the cups) maybe 20 years ago or so at a local monthly rummage sale business. It was fun to play with, although as I recall it didn't make very good coffee. I quickly lost interest in using it, although it was handy one time when I was snowed in maybe 15 years ago. I only had some bad canned coffee, and I used the Poly Perk. The coffee wasn't great, but it was drinkable, and it was fun playing with Poly Perk again.

Past coffee quality, I wouldn't want to use one of these regularly today--I'd be more than a little concerned about brewing coffee in a plastic coffee maker (chemicals like BPA which might leech out).

I also have a small Regal water kettle (it looks a lot like the gold Poly Perk, except it has a thermostat lever).

 

[lordkenmore]

Sunbeams

I really like the styling of these.

 

[lordkenmore]

A Farberware. Not the nicest looking (although it looks worse in a photo than it does real life). But it's worth posting because it was the percolator I got after some AW.org thread interested in percolators. It's too big for me, but I was surprised by how good the coffee was. Not the best coffee possible, but a lot better than I'd thought possible, and also a lot better than poorly made drip coffee. I used percolators pretty heavily for a period after getting this, although I used smaller percolators (including a small Farberware).

This was a Goodwill find, and probably had a long life. It's impressive that, while looking worn, it still works.

 

[lordkenmore]

Drip coffeemakers owned by that drip, Lord Kenmore.

The Braun is interesting--4 cup model. It's the only one I've ever seen.

The glass appears two different coffee pot parts (top bowl and caraffe) put together by some previous owner.

The red cup top drip maker is one of the few I've actually owned since new.

 

[lordkenmore]

Will this photo show run forever? comes mutters from the audience.

 

[lordkenmore]

Final one is a pretty bad photo taken once the camera really started acting up. But it's interesting enough that I thought I'd share, anyway. A small Hamilton Beach drip maker. It might be new, never used--although I got it at Goodwill, and it might have been a clearance item.

It has a sticker saying it's US made, and urging us to buy US made.

Fast forward to today, and a thrift store is the only way to buy US made coffee makers from most small appliance makers...

 

[justjunque]

Thanks, John!

Great collection and photos!
But...leave our mutters out of this. Lol
Personally, I was hoping for even more!

Two comments:
Those Sunbeams are beautiful. I'm definitely going to be bringing one of those home at some point.

Re: the small Braun.
I couldn't swear to it, but there was a little four-cup coffeemaker in the kitchenette of a hotel room we stayed in. It may have been a Braun. Perhaps that's where this originally resided?
I have the ten-cup version of that same coffeemaker, and used it exclusively for what seems like a lifetime. Finally, the switch went kaput, and we've put our Krups that we got as a wedding gift into daily use.

Thanks again for sharing your collection!

Barry

 

[lordkenmore]

You're welcome, Barry! Glad you liked the photos. If I can get the camera to function again, I may add some more.

 

[lordkenmore]

The Braun

It is fun to think that this might have been the type of coffee maker chosen for a fine hotel!

I've assumed this was possibly Braun's answer to Krups, which had a small cup coffee maker for years.

One reason I got this is probably at least partly memories of a big Braun my mother had, which I recall was a very good coffee maker. I sometimes have thought of getting one of the bigger models--but it's something I'd actually use at this point, and that argument has kept me from caving to temptation. (One thing that helps: the prices at Goodwill, and the fact a large Braun never lingers to clearance day.) Plus, if I were to use a larger coffee pot, it would be for company--and there might be something to be said for using a percolator, which could be more fun.

The Braun works well as I recall. It's not the best coffee--but it's good, and it's a great balance between convenience and quality coffee. I keep thinking I might use it again...but there is the pain of having to get filters...

Someone did a video on the Braun:

 

[lordkenmore]

Those Sunbeams are beautiful

They really are. It was a HUGE struggle whether to buy the second one. I already had one. They aren't the same model, but I was happy with the first one I had. But I liked the style so much... And the second one I got had a nicer glass bulb. The first one has one of those universal replacement bulbs, and while I don't know the second has an original bulb, it at least looks nicer.