Great Coffee, Great Appearance - SAFETY RECALL
Written: Jan 20 '03 (Updated Oct 30 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Works fairly well overall. Many convenience features. Helpful, friendly customer service; good support.
Cons: Not all bells and whistles work well. Pause-and-pour is not reliable. Small LED display.
The Bottom Line: Stylish unit with many features and excellent customer support. Not all features work or are helpful. If pause-and-pour feature is important to you, there may be better options.
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| technofan's Full Review: KitchenAid KCM400 Coffee Maker |
UPDATE - October 2005:
There is a safety recall on this and other similar models. Please see "http://repair.whirlpoolcorp.com/Coffee.htm" for details.
I have to give KitchenAid a lot credit for contacting registered owners of these units and offering a free replacement. In July 2005, I received a letter regarding the recall, which explained there was a risk of fire if an internal component failed. Included with the letter was a color brochure describing the various new KitchenAid appliances I could request at no charge as a replacement for the existing coffee maker. Appliances included a small food processor, coffee maker, coffee grinder, hand mixer, immersion blender or toaster. I mailed in a postcard indicating my selection and an waiting for my new coffee maker.
In late October 2005, I received the replacement unit, a model KCM511 in white. An enclosed letter requested I cut off the power cord of the old unit and return it in the provided postage-paid envelope. A small KitchenAid kitchen towel was also included as a bonus.
Out with the old, in with the new
I received a Kitchen Aid Pro 12 coffee maker (model KCM400WH) as a gift to replace an aging Mr. Coffee unit with a built-in clock/timer. The Mr. Coffee unit basically still worked, but it’s pause-and-pour mechanics were failing in an odd way: every so often, coffee would dribble along the mechanism and over the outside of the carafe onto the counter. I would occasionally awake to a small puddle around the side of the unit after it had brewed an almost-full pot of coffee.
Product Overview
The Kitchen Aid Pro 12 coffee maker is a stylish, feature-rich model with built-in clock/timer that can be programmed to brew your coffee at a specific time. It also has a variety of convenience features, such as:
· A removable filter basket that uses #4 cone filters. Ten filters are
thoughtfully included.
· An internal water-level indicator.
· An external water-level indicator.
· An adjustment to control the strength of the coffee.
· A charcoal filter that can be placed in the water tank to filter water as it’s drawn into the unit. The filter should be replaced approximately every three months. Replacement filters are available for $14.99 for a set of three.
· A setting for brewing a small pot of only 1-3 cups.
· An audible brewing-complete indicator of eight short beeps.
· An audible indicator to de-calcify the coffee maker.
· A time-since-brewed indicator consisting of four small LED indicators (at 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes).
· A storage area in the back of unit for the AC power cord.
· A one-year “total replacement” warranty.
· A well-illustrated instruction manual.
· An optional gold-tone permanent coffee filter, available for $14.99 by calling Kitchen Aid Customer Care.
· The unit requires approximately 14 inches of vertical clearance, with the highest point being the coffee strength adjustment knob.
Basic Brew and Timer Functions Work Well
The basic functions of the unit work well. The clock and brewing time are relatively easy to set and work properly. The small, red LED clock display changes to orange when programming the brew time.
The coffee brewed is always hot and the warming element keeps it that way. The time-since-brewed indicators work as advertised and are helpful. The 2-hour automatic shut-off also works as advertised. The carafe is easy to pour and clean.
The special 1-3 cup setting produced a decent brew, but it’s not clear what this setting really affects.
I assume the coffee strength adjustment affects either the water temperature or flow during brewing, but there is no explanation in the manual of how this works.
But A Few Features Don’t Work As Expected
Initially, the pause-and-pour feature didn’t work most times. I found that the spring-loaded valve under the brewing basked would stick when removing the carafe. But I could get it close completely by pulling firmly down on it with my fingers (at the risk of having hot coffee dribble down my hand!).
I called Kitchen Aid Customer Service with my complaint. Without hesitation, they offered to send a replacement filter basket, which arrived in four business days. The replacement worked fine and the pause-and-pour feature now works as advertised.
UPDATE: After months of regular use, the pause-and-pour feature is no longer reliable.
While the simple internal water-level markings in the water tank are helpful, the external indicator (a clear-plastic window) on the top of the unit doesn’t appear to show any change regardless of the water level. The illustration in the instruction manual doesn’t shed any light on how this indicator works.
I have not tried the removable charcoal water filter, as I always use filtered water to begin with. While this internal, easily removable, user-replaceable filter seems like a good idea, I believe that using another method to provide filtered water for the entire kitchen would be more practical and more economical.
The audible indicator to tell you to de-calcify the unit (with either a descaling agent or a cleaning solution of vinegar and water) is a good idea. I suspect it’s based on the number of times the unit has been used. This cleaning reminder and the brewing-complete audible indicator can be switched off, but are tied together. They are either “armed” or “disarmed.”
The built-in cord storage does work, but it’s not at all easy to push the thick, white power cord through the small exit hole into the storage compartment. I suppose it’s useful if you want to push any excess cord into the unit, so it doesn’t snake around the counter top.
The manual doesn’t explain how to use this feature. I had to confirm the existence of this feature when I called customer service.
A Few Things Could Be Better
Among my minor complaints:
· The coffee maker is rather noisy, hissing and gurgling as it completes its brewing.
· Consequently, the audible brewing complete indicator is of little value. You always know when the coffee is done, as the noise stops.
· It can be difficult to distinguish between the AM and PM indicator on the clock when setting the automatic brewing time. The LED digits are less than 3/8” high, and the AM and PM letters are less than half that height.
· A larger LED display would really help, as I would not rely on this display as the only clock in the kitchen area.
- The clock is quick to reset itself (to 12:00) during a very brief power interruption. In contrast, other appliances in the kitchen will at least maintain the current time (but also blink to indicate a possible error) after a very brief power failure.
NOTE: This review was mistakenly posted for the KCM200 series (without the clock/timer). In the interest of accuracy, I deleted this review and posted it to the correct model, the KCM400WH.
My apologies for any confusion this may have caused.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
technofan
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Reviews written: 8
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