I may never drink coffee again.

[pajeff02]

Our Bunn coffee maker at the office died for the second time recently and started leaking. I fixed it 2-3 years ago after the seal at the top of the reservoir dried out and water would run out the bottom when it was filled. The coffee maker is a positive displacement unit and holds heated water in a reservoir. When fresh water is poured into the top, the hot water is forced through the coffee grounds and filter and into the pot. Unfortunately, this time I found that the plastic above the reservoir had finally given away after becoming brittle from endless heat cycling. No fix to that, so I decided to tear into it to see what made it work. Unfortunately, I found a little more than I wanted to see...

The coffee maker (yes, the top switch is missing as I had already swiped it for my electrical collection before taking the pic):





The heating element, siphon tube and sensors, which I thought I might utilize to warm my metal blackening solution:





The reservoir as it looked when I popped the heating element assembly off:





I was shocked at the scale and buildup in the reservoir. It was like a calcified slurry from an underground cave or something. This is from our municipal water supply too and not well water that would contain quite a bit of mineral. If you have a coffee maker anything like this, I suggest you throw it out every 2 to 3 years and buy a new one!

[KMdef9]

Suppose to run vinegar solution every now and then, but I never have. So I don't if that will prevent this from happening.

[Smittro]

White vinegar every 6 months would prevent that...

[Smittro]

Suppose to run vinegar solution every now and then, but I never have. So I don't if that will prevent this from happening.

Beat me to it..lol Yup it will prevent the build up..

[Smittro]

Oh and only white vinegar, not any other type..

[pajeff02]

Well... now I know. I use my coffee maker at home maybe once a month and it has a reservoir that you can see into, so I know that one is clean. I imagine you would have to flush one like this a couple of times after douching to avoid some real funky tasting coffee.

[KMdef9]

Beat me to it..lol Yup it will prevent the build up..

....and the Lions have already forced me to the "bottle." lol






Even the nasty pics wouldn't deter me from my morning fuel.

[pajeff02]

Have to wonder though if restaurants and such give their machines the vinegar treatment... this was really disturbing to see.

[KMdef9]

Have to wonder though if restaurants and such give their machines the vinegar treatment... this was really disturbing to see.

I really doubt it.

Possibly your snooty places like starbucks do though. If you can afford $4 for a regular coffee.

[GTP231]

Makes me that much happier for finding coffee to smell and taste like ass

[Zapper2003]

Like was said...vinegar cleaning.


Also, your 'municipal water supply' is just well water treated for bacteria and disease with lots of chlorine The wells are down lambs creek on the right hand side, right off the road. At least, last I knew they were still pumping from these wells to the towers up behind MU. Oddly enough, as close as it is, Mann Creek (heights) has about the worst water pressure in the whole town, and they're closest to the wells, yet, farthest from the towers.

[0rion]

first off.....I think you've gotten your moneys worth out of the coffee maker. Treat yourself and go buy a new one. Secondly, clean it regularly. Lastly, we have well water here but I told my wife to buy gallons of purified water to use in her coffee and that'll help with some of that stuff. I personally don't drink coffee....never have.

[wileyCoyote]

...like others said, you're supposed to run cleaner/descaler through it every couple months if it gets used a lot...

BTW, ...have you discovered kureg yet? ...

[tatertot91]

That is simply disgusting, first i've ever heard of running cleaner through it

[Smittro]

Have to wonder though if restaurants and such give their machines the vinegar treatment... this was really disturbing to see.

When I managed Long John Silvers as a teen our coffee machines @ the time could be and were torn down every night..

They were commercial units made almost entirely out of food grade stainless steel..

The 1/4 inch water supply that fed water to the maker also had an inline filter..

After cleaning we would run sanitizer through them then repull the perk tube and leave it to dry on the counter top for the morning crew to assemble..

That was part of our standard night time proceedures..

Now if your local eatery does that too it's anyones guess..lol

[Zapper2003]

Oh, and that's the same reason your Rinnai tankless heaters need cleaned once in a while Jeff. Same proceedure as the coffee maker. 3 or 4 gallons of white vinegar in a bucket and you circulate it through the heater using the ports underneath for about an hour. You'd be surprised how well vinegar cleans.

[pajeff02]

Our Associate brought in a Kureg, but it doesn't see a whole lot of use.

Hey Zap, next time your down you'll have to show me the clean out port on the Rinnai.

[SiggyZ]

So that's what it looks like when you don't properly maintain your coffee maker.

[Zapper2003]

I can do that for ya Jeff. If the installer used the (now supplied) manifold valves with built in pressure relief, it's a breeze. Otherwise they needed to be built in.

[KahanaReef]

That is simply disgusting, first i've ever heard of running cleaner through it

Actually, most coffee makers give you a packet of cleaner/descaling crystals right in the box when you buy them with directions on how to use them