Repair coffee maker?

[mattl]

My 3rd or 4th cuisinart coffee maker just died. It may have been my fault - I forget and left the lid up last night when I set the coffee up for the morning. The design should allow for this, but anyway woke to a half pot of weak coffee, the rest of the water was still in the reservoir.

Thing is I like the coffee maker, I guess that is why I'm on number 3or 4. Anyone ever repair one? I think it's the heating element, the clock and other controls seem to be fine. I will never buy a unit with the clock in the bottom, too much chance of water destroying it, that is one of the reasons I like this unit. It does have a few negatives, for one it uses much more coffee to get the strength right, but I like the look and I know it quite well, been using them for about 15 years. Ant suggestions?

 

[rp2813]

Do you have a picture to post?  How long has it taken for you to go through three or four of these? 

 

I have two Cuisinart coffee makers.  One is a burr Grind & Brew (my daily driver) which takes pleated flat-bottom filters and the other is, I think, more like yours and takes cone filters.   I see those at thrift stores once in a while.  That's where mine came from and it works fine.  I switch it out with the Grind & Brew when I'm going to be gone and Dave's bi-polar sister is staying here with him and needs something simpler to operate.  Both machines use the same type of glass carafe.

 

I killed off two Burr Grind & Brews before I realized it was my own fault.  Neither one lasted more than six months.  It turned out I wasn't cleaning the chute where the ground coffee drops into the filter basket, so the chute got blocked up and backed up, and the motors literally ground to a halt on both machines.   My third machine has been performing fine for the past three years since I now clean the chute regularly (as the owner's manual instructs), whenever I buy a fresh pound of beans.

 

I've changed out heating coils on old school Norelco automatic drip machines, but never on a Cuisinart.  First thing I suggest is making sure there are normal screws holding things together and not some special type that requires a specific tool.  If you can get inside there, you may find that water is causing a short and that the machine will be fine once you allow it to dry out.

 

[mattl]

Here is a picture i grabbed from the net, I too have seen them at thrift shops and may have to do some serious looking. Last time I saw one it was $5 and thought should I buy it, but passed. THe original one I had was all stainless, the newer ones are black plastic in the back.

I guess I'm getting about 5 years of daily use out of them, fair, but should be longer.

 

[rp2813]

Yeah, that's the model I thought it was.

 

$5 is a good deal at a thrift store.  Just a replacement carafe costs $25 new. 

 

I guess five years is all we should expect from modern small appliances such as this anymore.   Just do what you can to keep them going and run vinegar or other cleaner through them periodically. 

 

I like the end product my Burr Grind & Brew renders, so was willing to pay extra for that, along with the convenience of not having to grind my own beans in a separate device.  If you feel your Cuisinart produces a better cup of coffee than other makes, by all means stick with that brand.  If you're willing to switch, I was quite happy with Braun products back when I was grinding my own beans separately, and they were very reliable.  I still have my FlavorSelect model stored away in its box, but let go of my top-rated 80's Aromaster a few years ago.

 

[petek]

We  had a Grind & Brew as well that failed after a year or two. I found another make with an internal grinder for $10 at Liquidation World and bought that, it was actually better in some respects but it also failed within a year. So I went out and bought a new Grind & Brew on sale last year and it failed within the first week iirc so back it went. No more. 

I replaced it with the Hamilton Beach Brew Station and love it. The other half really likes it as well and when my sister came over one day and saw it she wanted one and so I got one for her.  As well in last years CR on coffee makers it got the highest score of all coffee makers they were testing at the time,, slightly higher than that Cuisinart above. It easy to fill, easy to clean, simple,  no carafe to break.. Hope I haven't jinxed it now  LOL 

They're consistently on sale around here for about $39,, not bad. 

 

[mattl]

Pete, tell me a bit more about the Brew Station, might be interested.  Does it have an auto shut off?  How long is it?  I have my pot set for 4 hours, and often have to reset it for another 4.  I need a 12 cup version, I see from the website there is one --what size do you have?

 

With BF coming up and CM there might be some deals to be had,  I'm tired of paying $89 for the pot, something in the $39 range would make it's failure more palatable...

 

[nurdlinger]

I am using my second Cuisinart coffee maker. It's the one pictured in reply #2. The first one functioned for about ten years, I guess. It had one serious illness many years back, and the more recent failure seemed to be the toggle switch. Both times I was not able to discover how to take it the least little bit apart for diagnosis.

The first failure emerged as the inability to pump the water. It would huff and puff for much longer than usual, great gushes of steam came out from under the lid, but only about a third of the water got to the pot. What had happened I later discovered was that the charcoal filter pod had ruptured, and the contents clogged the works somewhere. Many many small brew attempts (water only), plus letting it soak in between, eventually cleared up the problem. I never used the charcoal filter again. But I was stymied trying to take anything apart to investigate. When the toggle switch broke I decided that it was not worth the hassle to attempt a repair. I think the replacement brewer cost fewer dollars ten years later than did the first one, with no apparent loss of quality. I'll tell you for sure in 6-7 years.

 

[jmm63]

I have that coffee maker too but they don't last very long. It does make a great pot of coffee. I'm on my 3rd one in the last 8 years or so. I bought mine at Williams Sonoma and they take it back and replace it with no questions asked. A friend on mine bought a new one at Macy's, and switched it for the broken one and then returned it. His was only a year old so I guess justified in doing so.

 

[rp2813]

Cuisinart doesn't seem to have a very good track record with coffee makers.

 

When my Burr Grind & Brew eventually fails me, I'll be shopping for another make that's better built.  If such a burr grind machine exists.

 

I'm tempted to buy a HB "Scoop" machine, but don't think I'd use it often enough to justify the purchase.

 

[twintubdexter]

my advice...

...rob a bank, go "whole hog" and get a Capresso. I've had this coffee maker for almost 12 years and it's always worked perfectly, at least once a day, sometimes more. The water tank lifts out so you fill it at the sink. The stainless carafe keeps coffee hot for hours. I've never used the milk steamer. Every so often I use "dip it" coffee maker cleaner...good stuff.

I will tell you that a friend had a more deluxe Capresso with a built-in grinder that died. He was going to toss it so I took it home and tried to fix it. It was impossible. The Swiss constructed it so only they could take it apart. Strange recessed screws, not phillips, not torx, just weird screws held it together. Even if I could have opened it I doubt I could have fixed it since the problem was with the electronic board.

I'll bet there are many members that have vintage Sunbeams, Farber and the like that are 70+ years old and are still going strong.

 

[twintubdexter]

dip-it...almost any drip coffee maker's best friend

 

[alr2903]

Im on my second Cuisinart,  exactly as pictured in #639251.  I get mine on Overstock.com.  The first one lasted about a year, I tossed the "maker" and kept the carafe.  The second unit has worked great for over 3 years, now.  I still have the identical "spare" carafe.  Try to catch "O" stock on a free shipping weekend.  alr

 

 

[petek]

Matt.. We have the 12 cup model,  the keep warm timer can be set for 0 1, 2, 3, 4  hours. It also has a button for a stronger brew or for doing 1 to 4 cups. , I see the newest models have been redesigned with a detachable water tank on the side.. not sure why they would do that.. it was good the way it was. 

 

[frigilux]

If you like that coffeemaker, Matt, then I say get another one. An $80 investment every 3 or 4 years isn't so bad---although I'd expect one to last longer than that. Cuisinarts generally rate very well for the quality of coffee they produce in tests by both Consumer Reports and America's Test Kitchen (Cook's Illustrated).

 

[sudsmaster]

I have the same coffee maker Ralph has, a Cuisinart Burr Grind and Brew, albeit with a vacuum thermal carafe instead of a glass one.

I've gotten good service out of mine. About five years now, although I haven't used it continuously (it got sidelined for a few years by the Keurig). I got it at Kohl's on sale; I did have to return the first one because it would had some sort of control problem - the grinder wouldn't shut off properly. The second one, the warranty replacement (direct from the local Kohl's) has worked flawlessly. On both I was diligent to keep the coffee chute clean. I usually do this every weekend, which is generally when I have to refill the coffee bean hopper.

I've yet to have a traditional coffee maker die on me, though. Last time was in the 80's when my Oster or Sunbeam (or some such) harvest drop maker died. It was the heating element. I remember taking it apart and deciding it was too much bother to try to get it repaired. I remember observing how cheaply it was made - aluminum heating tube, plastic reservoir, etc...

Ralph: a hint about the paper filters for the Cuisinart: I use both the gold mesh filter and the paper. The gold mesh simply helps to keep the paper in the right position so that ground coffee doesn't slip past it during the grinding phase. The mesh filter goes over the paper and keeps it in postion. Otherwise it's too much fuss trying to manage the paper pleats when putting the lid on the filter holder...

[this post was last edited: 11/16/2012-08:08]

 

[countryguy]

I have the same coffee maker as in reply #2 and never had a problem with it.  I used it daily for several years.  I put it into storage after I was given a Keurig. 

 

Gary

 

[rp2813]

Joe, I had a Capresso burr grind & brew model for a few years but one day when giving it a cleaning, while wiping off the large red digital display window and associated controls, it got pushed inward and there was no way to pull it back into place.  I dumped that machine as a result, but it was a good performer otherwise.  Much easier for the uninitiated user to understand and operate than my Cuisinart.

 

Rich, that's a good idea to use both types of filters.  The way the paper ones are packaged, the ones at the bottom of the stack have no structural integrity and easily become misshaped when placed in the basket.

 

[qualin]

The Technivorm Moccamaster CD Thermo.

This is one of the best drip coffee makers ever designed. If you want it to come on in the morning, use an appliance timer.

Coffeemakers with built in heating elements to keep the coffee hot tend to "Cook" the coffee and ruin the flavor, so I prefer to use a Thermos instead.

Couple this coffeemaker with a Baratza Encore grinder and grind what you need, only when you need it. Make sure that you grind only freshly roasted beans.

If you do this, you will drink the best drip coffee that money can buy.

http://www.baratza.com/baratza-grinder-information/encore-grinder/

 

[frigilux]

Bud---I'm in complete agreement about the awesome Technivorm Moccamaster coffeemakers. I have the one pictured below. Hands down the best home-brewed drip coffee I've tasted. The Moccamasters aren't without their quirks: They tend to drip if you want to interrupt brewing to snag a cup from the thermal pot; about 1/2 cup of water remains inside the machine at the end of brewing, so I tip mine over and empty it every time I use it. That's not a problem, as the reservoir housing is light and easy to tip with one hand.

They get great marks from users for reliability, too.