Black & Decker – Quality And Satisfaction Guaranteed
Written: Apr 22 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Looks nice, perfect for 'almost addicts', excellent warranty.
Cons: Needs to be cleaned often, 8 cup maximum, only retains heat for about 4 hours.
The Bottom Line: .
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| Freak369's Full Review: Bodum Eileen 1292 12-Cup Coffee Maker |
Black & Decker is a name that, until a few years ago, was associated exclusively with power tools. No longer confined to one small corner of the consumer market, they have branched out and literally taken over the small appliance world. This coffee maker was a gift and to be perfectly honest – it is simply something that I would have never bought for myself. I was a dedicated Mr. Coffee user until December 26th, 2001.
12-26-2001
While more people tend to associate this day with after Christmas sales, hauling out loads of boxes and wrapping paper and hunting down batteries for toys – I managed to get a little peace and quiet while the brood attended to their Lego fodder. With a raised eyebrow, I turned to the rather large box that sat on my kitchen table. In the past, breaking in a new coffee maker usually meant running several pots of water through it to get rid of the plastic taste. Not something I wanted to endure at that point in time. Knowing that the boys would ask me over and over if I liked their gift, I decided to get it out of the way.
Seeing the picture of the coffee maker on the box and seeing it face to face are two very different things. While the image shown on this page is correct, there are actually three different styles available. The “all white” one shown [the replacement coffee maker], an “all black” one and the one that I received for Christmas – black housing with a silver carafe. Despite its appearance, the carafe is not made of metal – but rather plastic. Be sure to look for the instructions and warranty card tucked away inside the mountains of styrofoam. Before you get started, make sure that you remove the plastic wrapper from the carafe lid [learn from my mistakes please]
Getting Started
For off, if you have a small kitchen you might want to think twice about this model. It is only an eight-cup coffee maker but it does take up a considerable amount of space. Make sure that you will be satisfied with eight cups of coffee before you take this home. To be perfectly honest, I am not the type of person that sits down and reads instructions – I would rather sit down and tackle something head on then waste 30 minutes undoing the mistakes. This is pretty much a full proof, goof proof coffee maker. Looking at the front of it you’ll see a water gauge on the left hand side; this allows you to see exactly how much water you have added to the reservoir so you don’t over fill it. Now, just in case you get too out of hand with the water, there is a small oval cut out on the back of the appliance, this acts as an overflow release. If you pour too much water into the reservoir, it will leak out the back – so if you hear water dripping – make sure you check the back of the machine before you plug it in.
Since this only holds eight cups of coffee, you might want to rethink the amount of coffee grinds you are going to add. I tend to make rather strong coffee in the first place, but my first brew with this machine left me completely on edge :] The coffee grind basket swings out from the left hand side and stays attached to the unit until it is removed to dump the grinds or for a quick cleaning. It snaps back into place and hasn’t leaked one drop of water yet. The coffee filters fit perfectly into the basket so you don’t have to worry about the edges folding over resulting in a weak pot of coffee or the chance of ending up with a ton of coffee grinds at the bottom of the pot [this will also give your coffee a burnt taste].
The carafe sides in right under the filter basket and creates a bond with the unit almost instantly. You may have to push a little the first time you slide it into place, so don’t be afraid to but a little muscle behind it. You might hear a slight ‘click’ when the carafe if pushed in all the way – this is the vacuum seal locking on to the top of the carafe. This ‘click’ went away after about the first two weeks of use. While the coffee is brewing it is being forced directly into the carafe so the heat from the coffee is maintained. This also cuts down on the actual smell of the coffee as well – so if you have someone in your household that detests the smell of fresh coffee brewing – this might just be the solution to the problem.
Things To Know
The Water Gauge
As I mentioned, this is pretty much a no goof kind of thing. However, there have been a few times when I poured in water and the red level did not rise. Since I poured in about 24 ounces of water, I knew that it should have moved up at least half way. There were some small air bubbles on top of the level so I took a chance and flicked the bottom of the gauge a few times and up popped the little red ball.
Safety First
Even though this has an automatic off switch that powers down the unit when the pot is done brewing, I am a paranoid person so I unplug it shortly after the process is completed. The automatic off feature is nice for those that are in a hurry and it will save you a few pennies here and there since the carafe eliminates the need to have a heating element keep the coffee hot.
The Carafe
As sturdy as the carafe is, it needs some special cleaning considerations. It can not be submerged in water so think first before you decide to give it a nice long soak. The manufacturer recommends cleaning it every two weeks with vinegar and water to eliminate build up of deposits. If you use bottled or filtered water, you’ll have to do this less often but you still have to do it. Depending on which color or style you purchase, cleaning the outside of the carafe is basically the same. The black and white units can be wiped clean with a sponge but the metallic silver one needs to be wiped clean then wiped again with a dry paper towel to get rid of streaks. Personally, the first one I had looked a lot nicer than the singular black or white units, but it is a little harder to keep the carafe looking spotless.
Hot Coffee… Sort Of
After the brewing process has completed, you can expect to have hot coffee for about three hours. You will have somewhat hot coffee for another hour – after that you will have to microwave it or make another pot. This usually isn’t an issue with me since I kill a pot with two cups [24 ounce mugs]. After your pour a cup of coffee, make sure you turn the lid of the carafe to “Keep Hot” from the “Pour” position.
On The Fly
If you really can’t wait through the entire brew process – a whopping five to six minutes total – you can remove the carafe, pour a quick cup and return it to the unit without having a total mess on your hands. There is a small release arm that stops the flow of water to the carafe when it is removed so no more sizzling drips of coffee dancing across the heating element!
Cleaning Is A MUST
Please, do not ignore the fact that the manufacturer suggests cleaning this coffee maker every two weeks. I learned the hard way [and the expensive way] that skipping a few weeks or slacking off can have very dire consequences. I got a little lazy and opted to brew a pot of coffee rather then clean it first, run two pots of water through it and then brew. The result of my laziness was a flooded counter top, a destroyed cordless phone, an hour of cleaning and a residual coffee smell.
And Then There Were Two
As I mentioned above, I got lazy and ended up paying the price. For whatever reason, the carafe was not allowing the water to pass through the opening – instead – it was forcing the coffee down the outside of the carafe and all over my crystal clean tile countertop. I can’t blame the coffee maker because this was completely my fault for skipping a cleaning. I can’t blame the coffee maker because this was completely my fault for skipping a cleaning. While I fully take the complete 'blame' for this mishap - I really can't understand how missing one cleaning could have such a disastrous repercussion.
After I tore the coffee maker apart and cleaned it from top to bottom I decided to try making another pot. It seemed like 20 minutes before I heard the unit start to brew and bubble – and then – the black cloud started to circle above me. There was the drip, drip, drip of the coffee down the outside of the carafe. Pulling the plug before the countertop was stained again, I went to the Black & Decker website for some contact information. After getting the correct phone number I spoke with a customer service representative that was almost too nice :]
I was given instructions on how to get a replacement coffee maker and all the information I would need to know in that aspect. The long and short of it is this – I had to cut the power cord and mail it to Applica [the people who do the bulk of their small products coordination’s] with a check or money order for $5.00 to cover shipping fees. Less than 12 days later my wonderful UPS man was knocking on my door with my replacement coffee maker. I received a note inside saying that the model I requested a replacement for was unavailable and I was sent the all white version instead. Same coffee maker, different color.
The Bottom Line
So far I am pleased with the Black & Decker Thermal Carafe 8-Cup Coffee Maker. The simple fact that I no longer have to drink coffee that has a burnt taste to it makes up for the rather small capacity. The stylish look fits in with the décor of my kitchen but it does take up a little more space than my Mr. Coffee machine. One thing I am totally thankful for is that I no longer have to play “Appliance Poker” – you’ve all played it – where you have to shuffle your counter appliances around to get to the coffee maker then again while it is brewing so you don’t have steam floating up into the cabinets.
For those that are not complete coffee addicts [an addict drinks more than 6 cups a day] this would be a great purchase. I am especially happy that I no longer have to worry about the glass pot cracking or getting brittle – not to mention having to hunt down replacement pots. Most of the time, the replacement pots were just as expensive as a new coffee maker. Go figure :]
The two-year warranty covers everything except misuse so make sure you fill out your warranty card and send it in. Most people ignore this or say “I’ll do it tomorrow”. It takes 30 seconds [if that] so do it, get it over with and stay protected. You may never have to take advantage of the warranty, but could come in handy if problems occur.
This coffee pot should not be confused with the TCM508. This is a more expensive unit that looks identical to the TCM300. The TCM508 has a programmable timer and clock and about $10.00 more.
As always, thanks for the visit!
^V^ Freak ^V^
End Note: Since I still have the entire first unit here, I am tempted to take it to an authorized repair facility and see what exactly happened. While I did skip a cleaning [one little cleaning folks] I would bet that there is something wrong with the level that opens the brew spout on the carafe lid. If I manage to find a location within driving distance, I will update this review with the details.
Recommended:
Yes
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