Coffee Maker Replacement Time

**ladytoysdream** · 05-08-2011, 07:51 AM

Well the old coffeemaker was needing to be replaced. We been limping it along for quite some time. So I been on the lookout for one.

Now I could have gone the easy route and got a new one from the store. But no, not me. I like to chasing down a bargain and with garage sale season in full swing, I figured I had a good chance to come up with a coffee maker for $ 5 or less. So I been to quite a few sales already and was not finding what I wanted, only a few coffee pots/glass cafes.

I do have a good coffeemaker that we bought new a few years ago, that is my back up unit. But hubby does not like the pot because it is metal and you can't see through it to know how much coffee is still left to drink. So he does not want to use that coffeemaker unless we have to.

So this past week, I made mention to one of my sons that I am looking for a coffeemaker. I figure he came up with my current toaster that I am using, that my chances for a coffeemaker might be a possible. He tells me he has a new in the box one. BUT. It has no pot. And it is a odd brand name. I asked him where he found this one, and he tells me he rescued it from the town dump. It was in the factory box, still with the tape on it, and the paperwork.

Okay, so I am up for a challenge. He told me he couldn't find a pot to fit it nowhere. So now I have the coffeemaker in my truck and am garage saling. I had been to a sale on thursday and saw a pot there, but had not checked it out. I didn't need it then. Well on friday, I decided to go back and see if the pot was still there. Well it was and had a $ 1 on it. So I asked the lady if I could try it in the coffeemaker I had with me, and if it fit, I would buy it. Well it fit

BUT........

This coffeemaker had one of those shut off thingies in the part where the coffee grinds sits. SIGH. So even though the pot fits, the coffee won't drop down. So I have it upside down like, and I end up popping up the coffee grind bin up and out of the machine. And I am still mumbling how to get that shut off part off of it and the hubby reaches over and just pops it off for me. So now he thinks he is the hero...........

Well now we have a good coffeemaker again, and I don't have to listen to the hubby how slow it takes to make a pot. This pot is a 12 cup, and come to find it, it will fit my pricey back up coffeemaker as it is the same exact size. So when this NEW TO ME, coffeemaker bites the dust, I can now use my backup unit. I have no clue why I did not think to replace that non see through pot before this. Maybe because all my extra glass pots are 10 cups and not 12's. We don't break the cafes....we just wear out the coffeemakers.

I now have a $ 1 coffeemaker and get to brag about being frugal

And I still have a good backup unit ready to be put to work anytime. I think it will be the unit, I take to the family reunion to make the coffee. No sense taking a glass pot. The metal one will travel better

**Debbie-cat** · 05-08-2011, 08:11 AM

Great find! We go through alot of coffee pots around here as well, we don't break the pots just the machines. Must have something to do with the well water and it being on most of the day!

**Brat** · 05-08-2011, 08:22 AM

I go through coffee pots once a year..I have had good ones and cheap $ store ones and they all last about the same..I did get a Kitchenaid as a gift a few years ago and they recalled it in about 2 months..They sent 3 replacements and all of them leaked so took the $50 they offered and my nephew gave me two he got at a auction that he said he gave $1.00 for 7 boxes of stuff. one of them just bit the dust..and I am still useing the other on..I am like you we don't break the pots but the water here even filtered plugs them up.

Glad you got a great find..

**ladytoysdream** · 05-08-2011, 08:22 AM

We have well water too

Coffeemaker is on in the morning on weekends, but during the week, after he goes to work, I pour over into the thermos.

**NikoSan999** · 05-08-2011, 11:01 AM

Here they last maybe year and a half. Well water. The last one that went didn't last a year. A friend left me hers and it works well. Coffee tastes great and no problems yet. It was'nt a cheap one, she just didn't take it with her. My gain. My back up is a Poly Perk plastic one but it's came in handy several times in between old breaking and finding a new one. I've had a couple really really nice ones in the past and I've had cheap ones. Another poster was right. The more expensive ones didn't last any longer.

**shp1055** · 05-08-2011, 11:41 AM

Niko - I still have my PolyPerk (yellow) and it still works & is my backup. DH & I drink coffee at work, but when we are home on the weekends, I just boil some water & pour it into a perma-filter thing while it is sitting in a particular glass pitcher and store the extra in the fridge. Then the grounds go on top of a fire ant bed. Doesn't kill them, just makes them move on; work on the area closest to the house and move outward to get them to leave your yard.

**zakity** · 05-08-2011, 12:25 PM

Have you tried running vinegar through your coffee pot occasionally to see if it would help it last longer?

You run vinegar through and then a couple of pots of water to rinse out the vinegar. The upside is that you pour the hot water down your sinks and it helps to keep them cleaned out (especially the kitchen sink where all the grease goes down).

**NikoSan999** · 05-08-2011, 12:40 PM

Originally Posted by zakity

Have you tried running vinegar through your coffee pot occasionally to see if it would help it last longer?

You run vinegar through and then a couple of pots of water to rinse out the vinegar. The upside is that you pour the hot water down your sinks and it helps to keep them cleaned out (especially the kitchen sink where all the grease goes down).

I did this with two coffee pots with the vinegar. Both times it killed the pot. Started leaking the next pot of coffee after the vinegar. Know it works for most people but I'll never do it again. Now when I clean one I use the bought stuff made for it. Small bottle of it lasts forever and hasn't killed one yet.

**Brat** · 05-08-2011, 05:23 PM

Yes I have and it didn't seem to make a difference on how long they lasted.

**Ramona** · 05-08-2011, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by zakity

Have you tried running vinegar through your coffee pot occasionally to see if it would help it last longer?

You run vinegar through and then a couple of pots of water to rinse out the vinegar. The upside is that you pour the hot water down your sinks and it helps to keep them cleaned out (especially the kitchen sink where all the grease goes down).

Here's a tip I saw online for putting grease down the sink, if you must. Rinse it into the sink with cold water, it will keep it moving through the pipes and won't coagulate.

**Judi Dial** · 05-09-2011, 05:54 AM

We used to go through a coffee maker about every 5 years, and we'd break the carafe usually. We started buying stainless pots a few years back. Have a Starbucks version in the booth currently on sale for $7 I think? DH couldn't get it clean enough so the coffee was bitter. (I'm married to a coffee snob.)

So these days, our everyday is a stainless French press pot. Very few moving parts, hard to break, etc. I expect/hope it will last 10 years or more. We've had it about 3 now.

Judi

btw, there's some stuff you can buy to clean coffee pots, check your local kitchen store...but we used vinegar, worked great!

**savvy_sniper** · 05-09-2011, 07:59 AM

Good job! When my 30+ year old crockpot recently died I bought what looked like a brand new one with the instructions for $8 at a resale shop. It was missing the knob. Hubby found me one. I use it AT LEAST twice a week.

**frugalfranny** · 05-09-2011, 12:31 PM

Good going LTD.

I have been lucky.......bought a cheap c-maker when I
re-established here --Sunbeam---and it is still going.
I use the vinegar rinse on it and it is getting more often that it
needs it.....but......hasn't died yet.

**Spirit Deer** · 05-09-2011, 02:12 PM

I'm the daughter of a plumber and the sister of a plumber. One of the cardinal rules I was taught by both was to NEVER pour grease down a drain! Although they both loved people who didn't follow that rule and then had to call my dad and bro to take care of their clogs!

My husband drinks coffee. I don't. He finally realized how often he was replacing coffee makers. It was insane, once a year, sometimes more. So he retrieved a vintage chrome electric percolator from our motorhome and started using that. It's old enough that the cord on it is actually long enough to be convenient, about four feet. He's been using it for about five years now without any issues.

**krbshappy71** · 05-11-2011, 06:05 PM

I'm in love with my french press, don't see myself going back to a regular coffee pot any time in the near future. I might even pack it for vacation. (its a little 2 or 4 cup one)

Great job finding a steal!