Coffee maker


 

LMichaels

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I think my Bunn coffee maker is wearing out. Not sure if anyone else has had this. It does not seem to be getting the water as hot as it used to be or should be for full extraction. I am thinking I may want to buy another machine. But I am partial to the thermal carafe and the speed of the Bunn. I know the king of all is the Technivorm but I don't have that kind of scratch laying around.
What has anyone else tried that works reasonably fast, has a thermal carafe and brews a GOOD cup without breaking my bank account?
Or has anyone found any kind of a mod that can be done to a Bunn to get the heat back?
 
No experience with a Bunn coffee maker. We have a Presto 12 cup percolator that we like a lot and have had forever.
 
Yeah those presto machines are really good but I dislike "perked" coffee. Love the smell though LOL
 
Have you tried descaling the Bunn? It's possible there's lime buildup inside preventing the water from making good contact with the heating element. Citric acid is fast and very effective. Vinegar will also work but takes a lot longer. In both cases you would want to flush many pots of water through the system before making coffee.

The best actual coffee I've gotten from a drip brew system came from a simple plastic funnel the took Melita cone filters and sat on top of a thermal carafe. You boiled the water separately and manually poured it over the grounds. The coffee was excellent when sufficient care was taken but it obviously was much more labor intensive than an automatic system.

Sorry I can't help with a recommendation. I've been using a Keurig system because I only drink two cups a day and the convenience for smaller amounts like that is hard to beat.
 
I say Zojirushi.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00X9K1EDK/tvwb-20

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We've got a Cuisinart with a thermal carafe. We put a qt. of white vinegar thru about every 3 months that keeps it humming along. Like the other poster said, you need to run several pots of water thru after or you will have unique coffee.
 
I think we have a Mr. Coffee, but it's just a plain-Jane unit from Walmart. It works pretty good though, and it has a setting for extra strong that the family likes.

A bit off topic, but may I recommend Community Coffee if it's available in your area? It's as good as Green Mountain from what I can tell, and at a lower price too.
 
The Zoriushi does intrigue me. Almost bought one but bought the Bunn instead. Thing is I doubt there is scale because I only put water from our RO system through it. It's basically like using distilled water as there are no dissolved solids at all. I just think Bunn has the temps set too low. I have measured the water temp and it's not even up to 190. And you need 195 to 205 for a good brew.
I have never seen Community Coffee or even Green Mountain. I typically buy Sam's Club Fair Trade dark roast coffee. Seems to be about the best value. I buy it whole bean and grind it fresh every other day on my large KitchenAid burr grinder
 
The Zoriushi does intrigue me. Almost bought one but bought the Bunn instead. Thing is I doubt there is scale because I only put water from our RO system through it. It's basically like using distilled water as there are no dissolved solids at all. I just think Bunn has the temps set too low. I have measured the water temp and it's not even up to 190. And you need 195 to 205 for a good brew.
I have never seen Community Coffee or even Green Mountain. I typically buy Sam's Club Fair Trade dark roast coffee. Seems to be about the best value. I buy it whole bean and grind it fresh every other day on my large KitchenAid burr grinder

An old boss thought the world of the Bunn makers - I have no experience with them though. Enjoy!
 
We currently use 2 Bunn coffee makers, a 10 cup and the MCU single cup. Love them both. Have had excellent response from Bunn's customer service.
 
@Clint
We have had that model Zojirushi for a couple of years now. Occasionally, we get a residue of black flakes in the bottom of the coffee pot. I can't tell exactly where they come from. I find the carafe and the carafe lid difficult to clean. I guess I cleaned it good enough the first time that it happened because it stopped producing the flakes for awhile. However, it started doing it again recently. So, I bought some citric acid and boiled the carafe lid in it on the stove for a few minutes. It seems like that helped. But, I didn't see where there was a lot of dirty water after boiling. So, I'm not sure how much good I did.

Have you ever experienced that problem or have have any suggestions? I like the coffee pot. It makes good coffee. But, I hate when I get to the bottom of the cup and see that I just drank a bunch of flakey crap.
 
I don't have that zoji, but I had its predecessor for the last 12 years. I recently upgraded to the technivorm but think I'd have been just as happy with the zoji I linked.

My old zoji, the thermal carafe worked awesome but the lid was strange, as was the brew basket - looks like the new one fixes all the weird stuff I'd always have to explain anytime someone new wanted to make a pot.

Have you measured the water temp of yours by chance? I recommended that same coffee maker to my little brother earlier in the day yesterday too when he said his was starting to have problems.

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I think I measured the temp when I got it. But, I don’t recall what it was. I can try and measure again, if you want. The other maker I was looking at was the Bonavita. But, it was only 8 cup. We need 10. A friend of mine bought it and likes it.
 
I have never seen Community Coffee or even Green Mountain. I typically buy Sam's Club Fair Trade dark roast coffee. Seems to be about the best value. I buy it whole bean and grind it fresh every other day on my large KitchenAid burr grinder


Community Coffee is roasted in Louisiana. It started showing up around here a few years ago, and it's the best we have tried so far - or at least it's as good as some of the others without the high price.
 
I think I mentioned I checked the Bunn temps and it brews at just under 190. Typically 180 to 185. So I really don't believe I am getting proper extraction. My main attraction to the Bunn is I like the speed thanks to using a hot water tank made of stainless. I know there is no scale in the tank or thermostat because I only use water from the RO system. I believe the thermostat is simply getting tired as it's not electronic but a bimetallic type.
 
I didn't know Bunn made a K-cup machine. Never could figure out why these (K-cup) units are priced so high.
 
Not everyone drinks a pot of coffee each day.
Two cups per day for me, wife doesn't drink coffee, so I think K-cups are great.
Plus, the cups are recyclable, and we recycle almost everything recyclable.
Total cost per day is 71 cents.
 

 

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