Vintage recall / Corningware coffeemakers

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

paulg

paulg

Well-known member
Platinum Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
1,812
Location
My sweet home... Chicago
Ok - I got caught offguard in spite of the fact that I am pretty aware of product recalls overall.
However, I purchased at an estate sale a Corningware electric coffeemaker. You know the type, it has a white ceramic/glass pot with a metal ring/handle assembly.
Little did I know those were recalled in huge numbers in the late 1970s and 1980s due to the handle separating from the carafe. The metal handle band is actually only glued on! Yikes! Just look at the design. You can see that if the glue fails the pot will just drop away. As it turns out, virtually ALL of those units were recalled.
Beware gang. The glue on those things is REALLY old now. Don't get burned on your purchases in more ways than one! This is a great learning experience. Go to the CPSC website: www.cpsc.gov and search on CORNING.
 
I think this has been discussed before on this site. I think most people who have nice examples of these perc pots usually only use them on special occasions.

But the danger is still there. It's nice of you to post this as a reminder to those who did not see the thread earlier.

I have forgotten what the concensus was on the thread, but I think it bears repeating due to the safety issue.
 
I still use my electric Corning Ware percolator very often, sometimes every day. It's about 35 years old now. But I hold the pot from the bottom with a dishtowel when pouring so there is next to no pressure on that handle. It's handle is still tight, but you never know. I also don't put it in the dishwasher, as dishwashers can deteriorate that glue. Other Corning Ware designs used clamp on or screw on handles...much safer. It still works great but you've got to be careful with them.
 
I remember having Corning Ware Percolators as child,but when the Mr. Coffee came out thats all we had,those things never lasted,my Dad drank coffee every morning,so we were always getting new ones,The Corning Ware pot we had never fell apart but I think we knew about the problem,I would still like to find a nice one,I would be carefull with it though. Mark
 
Corning Electromatic Perks

The safest way to use these is to only tip them to pour, never lift them up. They will do fine that way. Corning ran into a few problems with their cement applications. One other place that this caused problems was in the knobs for the lids on the Centura serving pieces and on the round pans with the pyroceram lids with the color-coordinated knobs. The bad thing was that if the knob came off the lid, the lid generally crashed to the floor and shattered. A two part epoxy would probably repair the coffee maker handle band or hold the lid knob on the shaft, it's just whether or not the bond breaks while the piece is in mid air. Once we saw what was happening, we cautioned owners to always carry the lids upside down with the knob in the palm of the hand and the inside of the lid facing up. Tom
 
I still use my three corningware pots from time to time, have the 10 cup electric, the 8 cup electric and the 8 cup stove top. Yes the handles are loose, so daily use is not suggested. They make some of the best coffee ever. I follow the tipping rule and usually use a hot pad to hold the base just in case. I wish they would make them again.
 
It's too bad that these percolators have this design flaw. We had one for many years when I was growing up. Once our dog dashed inside the house one morning as I was at the table having breakfast before school and he jumped up at me and hit the cord to the coffee pot and the whole pot fell and spilled hot coffee into my lap. I ended up with 2nd degree burns (no permanent damage, guys) and I remember that for whatever reason we bought a new Corning percolator sometime after that and the cord was much shorter. I guess I wasn't the only person to have had a mishap due to a long cord draped between the wall and the table. I always felt that Corning's percolator design was superior to all the rest, especially for cleaning purposes. I think there are still two of these percolators in my mom's basement, just waiting for the giant sale that is destined to happen before my mom's place goes up for sale.
 
I use my Electromatic every day. Since the dern thing weighs about 86 pounds when full, it doesn't get lifted very high.

Humph. Leave it to Smithers to send me a gift that's out to kill me.

veg
 
The other thing that happened to the Corning perks was that people put them on the bottom rack of dishwashers and did not care that the handle was right over the heating element. In the handle of the Electromatic, there was that area for the plug to go through which meant there were only two thin "bridges" of Bakelite in the middle of the handle. These dried out terribly in the direct heat and sometimes broke. Serrated knives in stainless steel flatware and dishwashers where the plates rested above the heating element used for drying were the death of Melamine dishes also. Early machines where the dishes were racked in a circular bottom rack were safer, but plates would char on the edges in machines like the spray-tube Frigidaires and the various other machines with rollout lower racks that placed the plates over the dry element.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top