Semi OT, drip coffee makers

I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them
out? Another solution? I'll use a hand poured drip tomorrow, heat
water on stove pour through, let drip, add more hot water.
But I really like the convenience of pushing a button,
going off for the morning ablution, and coming back to a cuppa.
(Is cuppa only for a cup of tea.. in Oz?)

George H.

 

[Rheilly Phoull]

On 9/5/17 8:54 am, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:

I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them
out? Another solution? I'll use a hand poured drip tomorrow, heat
water on stove pour through, let drip, add more hot water.
But I really like the convenience of pushing a button,
going off for the morning ablution, and coming back to a cuppa.
(Is cuppa only for a cup of tea.. in Oz?)

George H.

Theres cold brew but it's a lot more messing about.

 

[rickman]

On 5/8/2017 9:10 PM, Rheilly Phoull wrote:

On 9/5/17 8:54 am, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them
out? Another solution? I'll use a hand poured drip tomorrow, heat
water on stove pour through, let drip, add more hot water.
But I really like the convenience of pushing a button,
going off for the morning ablution, and coming back to a cuppa.
(Is cuppa only for a cup of tea.. in Oz?)

George H.


Theres cold brew but it's a lot more messing about.

Freaking delicious though.

--

Rick C

 

[rickman]

On 5/8/2017 8:54 PM, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:

I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them
out? Another solution? I'll use a hand poured drip tomorrow, heat
water on stove pour through, let drip, add more hot water.
But I really like the convenience of pushing a button,
going off for the morning ablution, and coming back to a cuppa.
(Is cuppa only for a cup of tea.. in Oz?)

Isn't the failure usually the thermal fuse?

A friend has a $600 coffee maker, more like an expresso machine really
and it might be a lot more than $600, I don't recall, a fancy German
unit. It crapped out and they found a video showing the likely culprit
to be a power transistor. They got me in the loop and I confirmed that
was the likely failure and ordered a new part and put it in when it
came. Worked like a charm! It was quite a piece of work and made the
standard drip brewers look like total junk which is what they are.

I use the drip and don't mind waiting the 90 seconds it takes to heat
the water on the stove. A friend has a small water heater that works
just as fast as the stove if not faster and doesn't lose as much heat to
the room while doing it. I have no idea where she found it, maybe at an
Asian food store, the construction reminds me of a small rice maker,
which I want to buy. I guess I need to check ebay.

--

Rick C

 

[mike]

On 5/8/2017 5:54 PM, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:

I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them
out? Another solution? I'll use a hand poured drip tomorrow, heat
water on stove pour through, let drip, add more hot water.
But I really like the convenience of pushing a button,
going off for the morning ablution, and coming back to a cuppa.
(Is cuppa only for a cup of tea.. in Oz?)

George H.

You can make the situation 3-4 times better by buying the cheap
coffee makers when they are on sale for $9.99. I've never
had one fail. One had the on/off switch right on the front
begging for you to spill coffee on it. I taped a piece of
plastic over that to protect it.

An electric kettle to boil water and a French Press makes
pretty good coffee, but it's a PITA to use. Funnel with
paper filter is easier to toss. I made about a gallon
at a session and stuck it in the fridge. Obviously,
I'm not a connoisseur.

My latest venture is into Keurig Gen 1.
You can find them for cheap to free at garage sales and
thrift stores. They're broke, no matter what they say.
Buy two.
Take the good solenoid from one and replace the always
bad solenoid in the other one. Put a switch on the plug,
cuz that solenoid is always engaged, even when you think
you turned the power off. And it sits right next to the
water heater.
Use the DIY K-cups. No sending plastic to the landfill
and the cup of coffee costs about 10% of what you'd pay
for the real thing. But it's still a PITA to empty/refill
the cups.
Keep a few of the real K-cups on hand so you can impress
visitors with your extravagance and wanton disregard for the
environment. ;-)

 

[Bruce Esquibel]

ggherold@gmail.com wrote:

I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them

I dunno which one you are using but around here, the basic "just a switch"
Mr.Coffee 12 cup is only around $15 not including tax.

I've never had the base unit go bad, we're on our 3rd one in 15 years and
they are only replaced when we break the glass pot. Sounds stupid (and it
is) but they (Target) wants $14.99 for the replacement pot alone and a penny
less ($14.98) for the whole thing. So I have a couple spare base units under
the counter.

Like you, it's in use at least once a day.

It just dawned on me, what we do that is probably different is we don't
leave it running after the coffee is brewed. We always use a decanter,
something like this:

http://www.target.com/p/copco-carafe-2-quarts-brushed-stainless-steel/-/A-16547936

and right after it's done brewing, pour the pot into it and shut off the
base unit. So the base just brews and we don't use it to keep the coffee
warmed. I suppose if the base is left on for hours at a time it'll shorten
the life span quite a bit.

So I guess if you picked up a decanter and get into the habit of using it,
the Mr.Coffee will probably outlive you.

-bruce
bje@ripco.com

 

On Monday, May 8, 2017 at 9:44:53 PM UTC-4, rickman wrote:

On 5/8/2017 8:54 PM, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them
out? Another solution? I'll use a hand poured drip tomorrow, heat
water on stove pour through, let drip, add more hot water.
But I really like the convenience of pushing a button,
going off for the morning ablution, and coming back to a cuppa.
(Is cuppa only for a cup of tea.. in Oz?)

Isn't the failure usually the thermal fuse?

Sometimes yeah... I've 'fixed' maybe 3 of these now.
This time not. Last night I was thinking it could be something
in the micro processor, But I couldn't (didn't work very long)
get into it. Hmm maybe I can ditch the uP and just put voltages
on the wires to turn the relays on and off.. there's ~6-8 wires coming
from the uP area.

George H.

A friend has a $600 coffee maker, more like an expresso machine really
and it might be a lot more than $600, I don't recall, a fancy German
unit. It crapped out and they found a video showing the likely culprit
to be a power transistor. They got me in the loop and I confirmed that
was the likely failure and ordered a new part and put it in when it
came. Worked like a charm! It was quite a piece of work and made the
standard drip brewers look like total junk which is what they are.

I use the drip and don't mind waiting the 90 seconds it takes to heat
the water on the stove. A friend has a small water heater that works
just as fast as the stove if not faster and doesn't lose as much heat to
the room while doing it. I have no idea where she found it, maybe at an
Asian food store, the construction reminds me of a small rice maker,
which I want to buy. I guess I need to check ebay.

--

Rick C

 

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 1:18:19 AM UTC-4, mike wrote:

On 5/8/2017 5:54 PM, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them
out? Another solution? I'll use a hand poured drip tomorrow, heat
water on stove pour through, let drip, add more hot water.
But I really like the convenience of pushing a button,
going off for the morning ablution, and coming back to a cuppa.
(Is cuppa only for a cup of tea.. in Oz?)

George H.

You can make the situation 3-4 times better by buying the cheap
coffee makers when they are on sale for $9.99. I've never
had one fail. One had the on/off switch right on the front
begging for you to spill coffee on it. I taped a piece of
plastic over that to protect it.

A switch I can fix. All the ones I see around here (amazon)
have timer's and other bells and whistles I don't need (or want.)

I was thinking I might find an old used simple coffee maker on ebay.

My mother in law has an old drip maker that must be ~10-20 years old.

An electric kettle to boil water and a French Press makes
pretty good coffee, but it's a PITA to use. Funnel with
paper filter is easier to toss. I made about a gallon
at a session and stuck it in the fridge. Obviously,
I'm not a connoisseur.

My latest venture is into Keurig Gen 1.
You can find them for cheap to free at garage sales and
thrift stores. They're broke, no matter what they say.
Buy two.
Take the good solenoid from one and replace the always
bad solenoid in the other one. Put a switch on the plug,
cuz that solenoid is always engaged, even when you think
you turned the power off. And it sits right next to the
water heater.
Use the DIY K-cups. No sending plastic to the landfill
and the cup of coffee costs about 10% of what you'd pay
for the real thing. But it's still a PITA to empty/refill
the cups.
Keep a few of the real K-cups on hand so you can impress
visitors with your extravagance and wanton disregard for the
environment. ;-)

No Kerig! I know they are all the rage, but I like to grind my own
beans and then make one big pot. (I'm an old fart and I don't want
change. :^)

And what's the average lifetime of a Kerig?

George H.

 

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 5:47:39 AM UTC-4, Bruce Esquibel wrote:

ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them

I dunno which one you are using but around here, the basic "just a switch"
Mr.Coffee 12 cup is only around $15 not including tax.

I've never had the base unit go bad, we're on our 3rd one in 15 years and
they are only replaced when we break the glass pot. Sounds stupid (and it
is) but they (Target) wants $14.99 for the replacement pot alone and a penny
less ($14.98) for the whole thing. So I have a couple spare base units under
the counter.

Like you, it's in use at least once a day.

It just dawned on me, what we do that is probably different is we don't
leave it running after the coffee is brewed. We always use a decanter,
something like this:

http://www.target.com/p/copco-carafe-2-quarts-brushed-stainless-steel/-/A-16547936

and right after it's done brewing, pour the pot into it and shut off the
base unit. So the base just brews and we don't use it to keep the coffee
warmed. I suppose if the base is left on for hours at a time it'll shorten
the life span quite a bit.

Yeah that might be part of it. I leave to warmer on and they now have
timers to turn it off after 2hrs or something.

I've also lost a number of glass carafes.. I'm very cautious with the
carafe. I wash and dry it and put it right back into the machine.
(most breakage seems to happen when the pot is left next to or in the
sink and something else bumps it. A stainless steel pot is one answer.

So I guess if you picked up a decanter and get into the habit of using it,
the Mr.Coffee will probably outlive you.

Thanks Bruce,
George H.

-bruce
bje@ripco.com

 

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 5:47:39 AM UTC-4, Bruce Esquibel wrote:

It just dawned on me, what we do that is probably different is we don't
leave it running after the coffee is brewed. We always use a decanter,
..... and right after it's done brewing, pour the pot into it and shut off the
base unit. So the base just brews and we don't use it to keep the coffee
warmed. I suppose if the base is left on for hours at a time it'll shorten
the life span quite a bit.

I've always said that if you want to make Starbucks coffee at home, brew a weak pot of coffee and let it sit on the heat for 8 hours. Weak, burnt, and bitter coffee for a lot less than Starbucks charges.

We do the same. As soon as the brew cycle is finished we get the pot off the built in hot plate and poor what's left (after serving our first two cups) into an insulated carafe.

I was fortunate to find a vintage Thermos Coffee Butler (made in W. Germany) on ebay for $15 delivered in never used condition to replace the one we had that suffered an internal glass breakage. The generic one that we had did not keep anything hot for more than an hour. The vintage Coffee Butler will keep hot coffee HOT for 8 hours at least without imparting that burnt and bitter taste that keeping direct heat on it causes.

 

[Foxs Mercantile]

On 5/8/2017 7:54 PM, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:

I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.

My parents bought one of these in the '50s.
<http://www.ebay.com/itm/162165262386>
I still have it, it still works and I've never had to
repair it.


--
Jeff-1.0
wa6fwi
http://www.foxsmercantile.com

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com

 

[Fred McKenzie]

In article <oes37p$g9m$1@remote5bge0.ripco.com>,
Bruce Esquibel <bje@ripco.com> wrote:

I dunno which one you are using but around here, the basic "just a switch"
Mr.Coffee 12 cup is only around $15 not including tax.

At the local Walmart they're around $20.

A couple years ago, my new one stopped working. It seems that something
sticky found its way into the water reservoir and gummed-up a simple
ball valve in a rubber hose. That was easy to clean once I figured it
out.

Recently the light burned out in the on/off switch. Mr. Coffee does not
sell that switch, so you have to go looking for a replacement. I found
an NTE 54-525 at Newark Electronics for less than $2, but they wanted
$10 for shipping! I ended up buying several items to spread out the
cost of shipping. Gone are the days when you could buy such stuff in a
local store.

Fred

 

[rickman]

On 5/9/2017 10:49 AM, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:

On Monday, May 8, 2017 at 9:44:53 PM UTC-4, rickman wrote:
On 5/8/2017 8:54 PM, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them
out? Another solution? I'll use a hand poured drip tomorrow, heat
water on stove pour through, let drip, add more hot water.
But I really like the convenience of pushing a button,
going off for the morning ablution, and coming back to a cuppa.
(Is cuppa only for a cup of tea.. in Oz?)

Isn't the failure usually the thermal fuse?

Sometimes yeah... I've 'fixed' maybe 3 of these now.
This time not. Last night I was thinking it could be something
in the micro processor, But I couldn't (didn't work very long)
get into it. Hmm maybe I can ditch the uP and just put voltages
on the wires to turn the relays on and off.. there's ~6-8 wires coming
from the uP area.

What is most likely bad? Switches or connectors. I don't think I would
bother trying to fix the MCU. If you are convinced it's not a fuse or
contact, I would suggest buying a new one this time. These things can
start house fires.

Have you considered a French press? I guess you still have to boil the
water.

Maybe you should complain to the coffee machine maker? I had a shower
head from Water Pic once and the collar broke after a couple years. I
wrote them complaining about the collar being made of plastic and they
sent me a metal one. Maybe Mr. Coffee makes a decent unit that won't go
bad a month after the warranty is up.

--

Rick C

 

[rickman]

On 5/9/2017 1:16 AM, mike wrote:

An electric kettle to boil water and a French Press makes
pretty good coffee, but it's a PITA to use. Funnel with
paper filter is easier to toss. I made about a gallon
at a session and stuck it in the fridge. Obviously,
I'm not a connoisseur.

Brewed coffee keeps perfectly fine in the fridge. But tossing all those
coffee grounds is such a waste. They are excellent for compost and
vermiculture. My roommate would have a cup every day and the worms love
both the filter and the grounds. But he is living with his girlfriend
and the worms are suffering caffeine withdrawal.

My latest venture is into Keurig Gen 1.
You can find them for cheap to free at garage sales and
thrift stores. They're broke, no matter what they say.
Buy two.
Take the good solenoid from one and replace the always
bad solenoid in the other one. Put a switch on the plug,
cuz that solenoid is always engaged, even when you think
you turned the power off. And it sits right next to the
water heater.
Use the DIY K-cups. No sending plastic to the landfill
and the cup of coffee costs about 10% of what you'd pay
for the real thing. But it's still a PITA to empty/refill
the cups.
Keep a few of the real K-cups on hand so you can impress
visitors with your extravagance and wanton disregard for the
environment. ;-)

Indeed!

--

Rick C

 

[mike]

On 5/9/2017 7:54 AM, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:

And what's the average lifetime of a Kerig?

George H.

I'm guessing less than two years based on what
I'm seeing at garage sales.
That solenoid runs very hot 24/7.
The plastic valve disintegrates.
If you plug it in for 5 minutes a few times a day,
it should last forever. At least, that's what I'm
hoping for.
The real K-cup coffee does taste better than the refillable
ones. I've done a lot of experiments to try to improve that,
but the only ones that improved the situation used proprietary
filters that cost about as much as the coffee you're brewing.

The drip pots I've used had nothing but a switch and a heating
element (plus the safety thermal cutout). Not much to go wrong.
I always turned them off immediately and reheated the contents
in the microwave a cup at a time as needed.

I still like the coffee made in the French Press better.
Made it once a week and put a gallon of it in the fridge.
But it takes half an hour to run several cycles thru the press
and clean up.

This thread made me realize that the only reason I use the Keurig
is my emotional investment in fixing it and all the little
DIY K-cup versions that I collected. And the coffee tastes
worse than the alternatives.

Where did I put that French Press???

 

[whit3rd]

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 7:59:36 AM UTC-7, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 5:47:39 AM UTC-4, Bruce Esquibel wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.

It just dawned on me, what we do that is probably different is we don't
leave it running after the coffee is brewed. We always use a decanter,

Yeah that might be part of it. I leave to warmer on and they now have
timers to turn it off after 2hrs or something.

The 'gold cup' SCAA coffee standard is 45 minutes. A local restaurant
a few years ago had timers and signs, and always had great coffee,
presumably partly because they followed that rule. There are brewers
that don't have a warmer at all, just brew directly into a Dewar
flask. I'm sold on that. Like this:

<https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-Optimal-Thermal-Stainless/dp/B010SN80UK>

But if you really want good coffee... read this

<http://gizmodo.com/5642561/seeking-mojo-chasing-the-perfect-cup-of-coffee-through-science>

 

[Phil Hobbs]

On 05/08/2017 09:10 PM, Rheilly Phoull wrote:

On 9/5/17 8:54 am, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them
out? Another solution? I'll use a hand poured drip tomorrow, heat
water on stove pour through, let drip, add more hot water.
But I really like the convenience of pushing a button,
going off for the morning ablution, and coming back to a cuppa.
(Is cuppa only for a cup of tea.. in Oz?)

George H.


Theres cold brew but it's a lot more messing about.

I have a couple of Gevalia-branded ones that have lasted for years and
years. Ebay is your friend.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

 

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 8:18:11 PM UTC-4, whit3rd wrote:

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 7:59:36 AM UTC-7, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 5:47:39 AM UTC-4, Bruce Esquibel wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.


It just dawned on me, what we do that is probably different is we don't
leave it running after the coffee is brewed. We always use a decanter,

Yeah that might be part of it. I leave to warmer on and they now have
timers to turn it off after 2hrs or something.

The 'gold cup' SCAA coffee standard is 45 minutes. A local restaurant
a few years ago had timers and signs, and always had great coffee,
presumably partly because they followed that rule.

Right during the week it's only on for ~10-15 minutes.
During the weekend it may be longer, but as you say the
coffee slowly goes from coffee to Java to Joe. (my terms).
You can stand the spoon up in Joe. :^)

George H.
There are brewers

that don't have a warmer at all, just brew directly into a Dewar
flask. I'm sold on that. Like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-Optimal-Thermal-Stainless/dp/B010SN80UK

But if you really want good coffee... read this

http://gizmodo.com/5642561/seeking-mojo-chasing-the-perfect-cup-of-coffee-through-science

 

[rickman]

On 5/10/2017 11:03 AM, Phil Hobbs wrote:

On 05/08/2017 09:10 PM, Rheilly Phoull wrote:
On 9/5/17 8:54 am, ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.
Often I can take 'em apart and find the bad bit.
This limps them along for another 6-12 months.
(I wasn't able to find the bad bit in the latest Mr coffee that
failed... grumble. (And the f'ing security bits.))
A new one is ~$30-40. Do I just keep throwing them
out? Another solution? I'll use a hand poured drip tomorrow, heat
water on stove pour through, let drip, add more hot water.
But I really like the convenience of pushing a button,
going off for the morning ablution, and coming back to a cuppa.
(Is cuppa only for a cup of tea.. in Oz?)

George H.


Theres cold brew but it's a lot more messing about.

I have a couple of Gevalia-branded ones that have lasted for years and
years. Ebay is your friend.

I took a look and there are a number of different Gevalia models.

In fact, it is amazing the proliferation of coffee makers. There may be
more types of coffee makers than there are types of coffee!

--

Rick C

 

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 8:18:11 PM UTC-4, whit3rd wrote:

On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 7:59:36 AM UTC-7, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
On Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 5:47:39 AM UTC-4, Bruce Esquibel wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com wrote:
I brew a pot of coffee every morning.
(electric) Drip coffee makers last about 6-12 months,
before something goes bad.


It just dawned on me, what we do that is probably different is we don't
leave it running after the coffee is brewed. We always use a decanter,

Yeah that might be part of it. I leave to warmer on and they now have
timers to turn it off after 2hrs or something.

The 'gold cup' SCAA coffee standard is 45 minutes. A local restaurant
a few years ago had timers and signs, and always had great coffee,
presumably partly because they followed that rule.

With nothing except my own palate to go on, I'd say that 45 minutes is three times to long. 15 minutes is the absolute maximum coffee can stay on direct heat in my opinion. Decanted into a prewarmed insulated carafe, coffee will still be quite potable for many hours with no loss of flavor or gain of bitterness IMO.

My wife and I both drink coffee black, which is why I believe we're particularly sensitive to overly heated coffee.

BTW, the best coffee I've ever had is coffee that's reconstituted from a cold brew concentrate in a coffee machine. I've had this several times in several fine restaurants, and it's amazing - enough so that the first time I had it I had to corner the manager and ask how they "brewed" it. Strong and complex flavors without a hint of bitterness or any defects such as aftertaste. Why this hasn't become a hit in the consumer end is beyond me.

BEST COFFEE EVER