Sunbeam C30C help

[jasonl]

Hey all. I just recieved a shiny new Sunbeam C30C coffee pot off of ebay. All the rubber is good and it works like a Sunbeam should. I have a few questions. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

When I make coffee that I ground myself, it seems to get "stuck" while trying to suck the coffee back down into the lower bowl. I use coarse/percolator grind. Should I go to "drip" grind?

How long should it bubble at the top before the switch snaps to "low"? Mine goes for about 2 or 3 minutes before it snaps into low. Is that correct?

If I can get the coffee to flow down to the bottom like it should, I'd have a perfect pot. Like a french press, it makes "hair on your chest" coffee.

 

[drmitch]

Good question Jason. I`ve been thinking about getting one as we love coffee. Maybe someone here has the instruction booklet for the C50 and C30?

 

[retromom]

In favour of coarseness!!!!

Hey Jason!!!

Glad to see that you've joined the Coffeemaster Club!! I would try a drip grind for your coffee. I always grind mine to "drip". If that still seems a little fine to you, try a percolator grind. I find that the perc grind is a bit weak for my taste. Like y'all I like coffee that puts hair on your chest!! It gives me a great buzz, but I find that I spend more money on waxing! ;-)

Enjoy!!

Venus :-D

 

[jasonl]

Venus, the ultimate hair on your chest is to use a french press with the coffee ground at "drip"/fine settings. It would even put hair on YOUR chest. My Starbucks press is a 6 cup machine but I measure for 4 cups because the coffee will be strong.

I brewed some Community New Orleans Blend in the C30C this morning and what I got was a serious full bodied coffee with the coffee and chicory taste shining through.

 

[Brneyedgrl80]

Brochure

I have a Coffeemaster C50 and generally use a more fine grind than coarse and I haven't had a problem with clogging. You cold always try a more medium or fine coarse and see if your C30 C still clogs. It could just be too much of the coffee grinds going down the funnel shaped stem at once and they are getting stuck.

Also, my Coffeemaster probably bubbles for about the same length of time before it switches to low, but the coffee still stays up there brewing for a bit longer.

I have a little brochure for my C50 that may be useful to some.

 

[Brneyedgrl80]

Inside the brochure

I hope people enjoy the brochure! It's a little beat up, but still does the job.

 

[Versatronic]

You never know what you'll find

At the flea market today, I found a sunbeam sugar and creamer set that matches this coffee maker. I didn't know there was such a thing. They are very cool.

 

[scott55405]

There is also a round silver tray with black handles upon which you can carry your Coffeemaster and sugar/creamer ensemble.

 

[launderess]

CoffeeMaster

Use a fine grind ("Drip" setting on my Bodum grinder, or one or two notches before), with my C50 with no problems. Have even used the expresso setting or the fine powder one gets when using a whirly grinder, again with no problems.

Sunbeams tend to hold coffee in the upper chambers longer than Cory automatic units, and unlike the later, the setting cannot be easily adjusted.

Sunbeam automatic coffeemakers, especially the later C series (C30 and C50),tend to get VERY hot. Since the vacuum needed return the coffee to the lower chamber depends upon a change in temp, the extra hot pot tends to slow things down. Solution is quite simple, unplug the unit and wrap a cold wet dish towel around the base part of the coffee maker. This produces cooling which causes the vaccum to begin. An old trick, and used by generations of restaurant/diner hostesses/waitresses to speed up fresh coffee back when vaccum coffee (glass and automatic) makers were standard equipment.

Personally I set the timer on my microwave for 3-4 minutes once the coffee has started boiling into the upper chamber. When I hear the thermostat switch from high to low, I unplug the unit, and when the timer goes off, use the wet towel trick. Yes, allot of palaver for a morning cup of coffee, but nothing beats fresh, steaming hot, vac pot coffee.

Launderess

 

[Versatronic]

Hey

Laundress! Where the heck you been?

 

[jasonl]

Volcano coffee

I brought the C30C to my parents house to make them some good ol' 1950s vacuum pot coffee. I musta put too much water (it was right at the 8 cup mark) because when it bubbled up it spit coffee out of the top, making a mess, then it took a LONG time going down. Finicky little things.

Of course, unplugging and wrapping a towel around it isn't too automatic :-( . I want it to be "Housewife Automatic", as in, your typical housewife who sets it and lets it run while she cooks breakfast, changes the babies, and feeds the dog while hubby sits in his recliner and waits for his coffee, and it doesn't malfunction or someone's going to have a bad day.

Course ground coffee seems to clog stuff up. Starbucks coffee is very oily and it will choke french presses and vacuum pots. Community New Orleans Blend seems to work well in anything. Maybe it's time to chunk that blade grinder and get a good burr grinder.

 

[mixfinder]

Sunbeam Drip

Jason
These coffee pots were used before coffee snobbery took full effect. Housewives bought a can of whatever off the shelf and dumped it in. The pots boil and toil but it thoroughly agitates the coffee. These pots were made before we all had the Mr Coffee mentality and digital clocks to gauge the exactness of how long it was taking. Start the coffeemaker before you get in the shower or before you sit down to dinner and it will scare the crap out of the cat who is in the kitchen, but you will return to great coffee without any drama.
You can do a great job of grinding coffee in your blender. I use it instead of the blade grinder because any mess stays in the blender jar. A burr grinder is the only way to get consistency, batch to batch.
Kelly

 

[tomturbomatic]

Jason, do you have the perforated plate that goes over the stainless steel mesh filter? That can help keep the filter from clogging. Water chemistry also can play a role. Are you using softened water? Sunbeam said that could affect the filtering. Finally, after all of the water goes up, there is a tablespoon of water left that boils away. The switch should snap to low within 5 to 15 seconds after you hear the sizling stop in the lower bowl. If you need to adjust this, I think I can get help scanning the instructions into some form that you could read way down there. Have you tried using a cloth filter between the mesh filter and the coarser strainer that goes above it to see if that stops the clogging? Have you soaked the mesh filter in vinegar to remove possible hard water deposits? That filter has 180 wires per square inch. If it were cotton, it would have been Percale. When Consumer Reports tested the C30 series, they said it was efficient with fine or regular grind. Coffee actually used to be packed in one pound cans for PERK, DRIP and FINE for vacuum pots. I remember when FINE became unavailable. I think the last can of it we had was Chase and Sanborn. Coffee grinders in the stores used to actually have a picture of a vacuum brewer at the fine setting. Cory warned against using fine grind because it could clog the filtering action of the glass rod. When friends of my family used to live in Florida more than 55 years ago, the water was terrible, so every time they made coffee, they opened a bottle of club soda and poured into the lower bowl of their Coffeemaster. They said it made delicious coffee. Now, it would not be necessary with bottled water so widely available.

Does anyone remember the scene in SUNSET BOULEVARD when they are working late in the writers' offices at the movie studio and the young woman goes over to the bottled water dispenser and fills the lower bowl of the coffee maker? What type of coffee maker is in the kitchen in MIRACLE ON 34th STREET? In the Lana Turner/Juanita Moore (who should have received more than 7th billing) version of IMMITATION OF LIFE, what brand of small appliances are in the kitchen of the beautiful dream home; what brand of majors?

 

[jasonl]

Tom

I have the perforated plate with the mesh filter, I actually have hard water here, so maybe running a cycle with some Dip-It or vinegar might work good for it and clean out that filter.

Also, the switch snaps to low about 2 minutes after the water all goes to the top (and the unit starts "rumbling"). Is that too long? If you can send the tech stuff for the C30c that'd be great!

 

[launderess]

Automatic or Not

It was the way many women used Sunbeam CoffeeMasters, especially the C50 series, otherwise the result was burnt and over brewed coffee. Ever wonder why so many C50's pop up MIB or barely used condition? It was because unless one found away to shorten the time water stayed in the upper chamber, the result was burnt and overbrewed coffee.

Cory Automatic coffee makers could have their brew times adjusted by resetting a certain screw inside the base. Sunbeam's did not have this feature, so one either found work arounds, or lived with the results as they were.

So if you want to do the 1950's Stepford wife thing, knock yourself out. You might just also find hubby turning his nose up at your coffee as "it never is any good anyway", or "not like my mother makes", and taking his beverage elsewhere, as many a housewife did until she got wise to herself.

Launderess

 

[jasonl]

And the BEST coffee to run in a Sunbeam

Community New Orleans Blend Coffee & Chicory.

Well, it's the best coffee..... period.

http://www.communitycoffee.com/ccc/Catalog_CS/coffee-detail/2095/premium-coffee-blends/everyday-premium-coffees/new-orleans-blend%C2%AE-coffee-and-chicory/

 

[jasonl]

Dip-it and the rubber smell

Well, I ran the machine with some Dip-It and cleaned it all well and good. Took it apart of course to clean. The only thing weird is the rubber smell coming from the coffee filter. Seems the rubber gasket on the coffee filter have a "rubber" smell to it. It's good and it seals but it smells up the top of the pot if I leave it in for storage. It made coffee and with the now unclogged filter it just goes "WHOOSH!" but the coffee tasted like rubber. Am I supposed to leave the filter assembly out of the pot when it's not being used or is there something wrong with it? Thanks.

 

[retromom]

Did someone say COFFEE?

Jason:

It certainly sounds like you have an interesting problem. Is that rubber gasket burned by any chance? I had a meltdown in a Silex glass coffeemaker whose burner got way too hot. Needless to say, the rubber melted into the coffee (YUK) and onto the glass vessels. If you don't think it is burned, try soaking it in some white vinegar. That seems to do the trick for unpleasant smells on kitchen stuff.

As far as the C-20's, 30's, and 50's....they are VERY automatic! I have never had a bad cup of coffee in any of them, and this is without the wet towel treatment. I have several of each model, and they are very consistent as to coffee quality and heat retention. I usually make coffee right before I unload the dishwasher and by the time I've finished that little bit of business, I have hot coffee! There is no trick to it, just let the automatic Coffeemaster do it's "automatic thing".

Some interesting notes...plain unflavoured coffee seems to taste better in these coffeemakers, rather than flavoured ones. I would rather use a conventional percolator for an evening cup of Hazelnut. May I recommend traditional Eight O'Clock coffee...it comes in 100% Colombian, Original (still Arabica beans), and French Roast (I paid $3.10 for a bag today). I also like the African coffees...Kenya AA, Ethiopian Yirageffe, Tanzanian Peaberry, etc. These are robust coffees! If you like coffee with chicory, they will be right up your alley! These coffees are store brand beans and reasonably priced in whole bean form ($5.99 per bag). You do not need to buy Starbucks to have a good cup of coffee.

Please invest in a burr grinder. Do you remember my Grindmaster grinder? It's a professional burr grinder that goes from espresso to perc. If you want to experiment with your grind, buy some beans by the pound (1/4 pound will do) and select your grind at the store. Once you are familiar with the degree of coarseness you prefer, buy a small home grinder (not chopper).

I hope this helps. I am an "automatic" kind of gal, and love the idea of my "robotic" coffeemakers! They give me a chance to multi-task like a good "Retrohousewife" should! LOL

Here's mud in your eye!!

Venus

 

[jasonl]

Venus

It ain't the big round rubber gasket, it's the small filter. But I will try that with all the rubber parts. The pot itself is mint, smells like new without the rubber pieces put in.

And a big HUG to our favorite retromom who is definitely into "Housewife automatic"