Sunbeam 1930's Vacum Coffeemaster

[brisnat81]

Hi All,

I've seen this on Ebay and am looking to buy.

Can anyone please explain how this works, and how the coffee grounds are filtered?

Thanks

Nathan

Pardon our interruption...

 

[panthera]

Damn good coffee

Nathan,
It works very well.
))
Ok, sorry.
The principle is fairly simple. Water is filled into the lower pot. The upper chamber is gently, yet air-tight, mounted on top. Ground coffee (I use a fairly coarse grind, but tastes vary.) is put in the top chamber (Same 1 measure per cup + 1 for the pot as I use in the percolator).
Water boils in the lower pot and expands into the upper chamber. The heating element is turned off. As the lower pot cools, a vacuum forms and the water from the upper chamber is sucked back down through the ground coffee and back into the lower chamber.*
The upper chamber is so designed as to permit water but not the coffee grounds to flow back down. After brewing, you take the upper chamber off (carefully) and serve.
Once everything has cooled, you disassemble the upper chambers apparatus and permanent filter (this varies, depending on design) and clean.
That's it.
I only have one of these left, a stainless steel one from the 1950's or early 60's.
Bodum still makes them in glass over here in Germany and various Italian firms make incredibly expensive ones.
Go for it! Some of the best coffee you'll ever taste.
*(Dear anal-retentives, if you want the deep physics, go right ahead, my explanation ignores the principle that all gases in an enclosed space have the same pressure as other factors. Live with it.)

 

[nurdlinger]

Here is a great link which I may have originally obtained from a posting on AW.org. Vacuum brewing is treated about 3/4 of the way down the page.

http://www.jitterbuzz.com/coftrip.html

 

[tomturbomatic]

Short answer, it uses a glass filter rod, but can be fitted with any number of different filters, cloth Silex style with spring, chain and hook that clips on to the bottom of the tube, cloth Sunbeam C-30-A with frame and spring action to lock it in place, stainless steel mesh filter from the C-30-B and later Sunbeam Coffeemasters, porcelain Dutch filter by Vaculator, the dual stainless steel discs by NICRO, any of them. I would offer a word of caution. This is 70+ years old. If you want to use one fairly frequently, it would be a good idea to try one of the newer Bodums. It does not matter what kind of glass is used in these, at some time and often without discernable reason, a crack develops in the glass during the heating and cooling. After brewing coffee in the Sunbeam and filming the event, keep it mostly for show if it is important to you that it lasts. I think that you will find brewing coffee in a glass vacuum brewer is great fun. Tom

 

[bundtboy]

fragile

they will all break if used long enough.

I just smashed my last working silex top recently, and am reduced to using a stainless steel model until I can find/afford a replacement, dang it~.

Vacuum coffee is by far the tastiest, and best done in glass.

Bob

 

[brisnat81]

Thankyou for your advice

Hi all,

Thankyou for the tips and description of how it works. I appreciate the input.

I've found the Bodum stovetop unit, so if I win the Sunbeam, I'll see if I can obtain one in Australia.

I'll let you know how I go.

Regards

Nathan

 

[gredmondson]

Nathan, I found a Silex vacuum coffee maker with electric heat source at a garage sale about ten years ago for $3.00. It is fun to watch make coffee. Removing the top bowl, though, is troublesome. When I was growing up, we had a Sunbeam automatic vacuum coffee maker that came with a stand that held the top bowl upright. That would be especially handy for the glass bowl I have now.

 

[bpetersxx]

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