Black & Decker TCM830 10-Cup Thermal Stainless-Steel Coffeemaker
|
List Price: Our Price: $67.62 You Save: $2.37 (3%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Category: Kitchen See more product details |
|---|
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Black & Decker TCM830 10-Cup Thermal Stainless-Steel Coffeemaker
Customer Review: Not bad, not great
Summary: 3 Stars
We had this coffee maker for about 9 months, then it just stopped working halfway through a brew cycle. I could not find any other reviews for it online, so I'm not sure if this is typical or not.
What I liked about it: the thermal carafe kept the coffee hot for quite awhile as long as you take it off of the machine right after brewing so that the brew-through holes close up. It is easy to fill since the water resevoir is removable. I also like the look of it. It seems fairly sturdy, and it was very easy to pour (no spilling issues as I have read about other machines).
What I didn't like: The brew-through lid has small holes that the coffee, soap, and water get into and it is very hard to get out. You have to shake it very hard to get the liquid out, and I felt like I needed to rinse it repeatedly to be sure to get any residual soap out. The pot itself has a very small opening so you have to use a bottle brush. It also has a lip that makes it hard to fully empty.
I'm not sure if we will get another of the same or try something else. It seems like alot of the thermal pots have similar cleaning issues.
Customer Review: Poor Reliability
Summary: 2 Stars
1. I bought the product in November of 2006 and used it daily for 6 months before the buttons on the programmer/clock set touch pad began to pop off.
2. Now, I am relegated to plugging it in only when I want to brew coffee; the clock is somehow stuck in a continual "set" feature and the time scrolls through continuously. Perhaps this is an energy efficiency feature that I have simply overlooked... The clock/timer feature reminds me of my first digital watch ca. 1979; Star Wars, which after a few months did the same thing. It appears the designers of this fine brewing machine did not grasp the advances in electronic technology over the past 30 years.
3. Brews well, but the alignment of the pot under the basket takes some getting used to.
4. The cone filter frequently gets pushed down on one side during the brewing process, which makes for a granular experience when drinking the final one or two cups of coffee.
5. Don't be fooled; the looks of the unit are nice, but the reliability is not what one would expect.
Customer Review: Love it except the lid has issues
Summary: 4 Stars
I have owned this model for several years. What I love about it:
* It brews 10 cups very quickly and at the right temperature!
* It soaks all the grinds and doesn't waste any precious coffee
* The coffee stays hot for hours
* The water reservoir is removable and easy to clean
* I use a gold #4 reusable filter and it works great
* The clock/timer is easy to program
What I hate about it...THE LID!
* If you do not seat the pot correctly under the coffee basket it will leak coffee and grinds all over the place and make an incredible mess. I have done this numerous times and so you must be careful each time you are ready to brew. If it's just a little off you will end up with a colossal mess.
* The lid is hard to screw on. Sometimes it takes me several attempts to get the threads right so the lid will screw on...even after owning the darn thing for several years.
* The LID is a royal pain in the a_ _! I hope they redesign the lid.
Customer Review: Sweet design notes
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this coffee maker for work about two years ago. I have used it since for coffee about 5-6 times a week. I really appreciate the design notes: most coffee makers I have encountered in work environments have several places that tend to just gather coffee residue, which is just gross after a while. The B&D design uses a big reservoir which you can pop out to rinse out or fill for coffee; a thermal carafe which keeps the coffee in the drinkably warm temperature range for about 5 hours (make sure to take the carafe out from under the filter and to tighten up the top!); and the filter holder can also be rotated out and then removed for cleaning.
I wish it was a bit cheaper, but it's super solid, and the coffee from the carafe stays warm without burning!
Just for some perspective, I've purchased many things on amazon, but I believe this is my first review!
Customer Review: Flimsy construction
Summary: 1 Stars
My unit never worked right, it consistently turned off before the water reservoir was empty. I ended up disassembling it to determine what the cause was and in the process discovered that this coffee maker, like most other drip units, consisted mainly of cheap plastic castings that fit together rather poorly. That explains the complaints that others have made about difficulty getting the carafe under the drip basket. Anyway, the problem turned out to be the check valve between the reservoir and the heating element. It shut of the water prematurely making the heat sensor think the reservoir was empty. After reassembling the whole thing it still wouldn't work reliably so I ended up sending it back. Coincidentally, the other day I was in Lowe's and saw the same coffee maker for $30 less than the price I paid on Amazon. So if you really want to try this unit, I'd check Lowe's first.