How long will my coffee maker last?
by anon
(Fresno,CA)
QUESTION:
Our last coffee maker died and we just bought a Mr. Coffee programmable brewer. We love it so far (being able to have coffee made when we come down in the morning), but wonder how long we can expect it to last.
I ask, because we bought it for about $20. It’s new, but the price just seems amazingly low. I guess were we bowled over by the deal when we got it. But now I’m wondering if the low price means it won’t last long.
What can we expect?
ANSWER:
It’s tempting to say that you get what you pay for. But that isn’t necessarily the case when buying a coffee maker.
In fact, the cheapest coffee maker of all, the simple filter cone you put over a cup or mug, can last pretty much forever.
Likewise, a French press will last for many years, unless you break it.
As you move up from those really simple coffee makers, the life of a brewer will depend on a couple of things...how complicated it is, and how much you paid for it.
In other words, the more bits and pieces there are in a brewer, the more things can go wrong. The pump might die. The thermostat might stop working. The hinge or clasp on the lid of a filter basket might snap. (Memories here of my much loved Cuisinart grind-and-brew coffee maker. Before sending it to the coffee maker cemetery, I was improvising with duct tape when the clasp broke on the lid.)
If you do buy a fancy coffee maker, whether it is a programmable drip brewer, a grind-and-brew coffee maker, or a single serve coffee machine, you may want to avoid the cheapest models. Cheap models contain cheap parts, which are more likely to fail.
As always with making coffee, you can spend anything between $5 and a couple of hundred dollars, depending on what you have set your heart on. The simpler brewing systems, like the French press or stove top percolator, will probably last the longest.
Also, check out the warranty on your new brewer. It’s probably for one year. If that is the case – being cynical here – you might expect to start having problems soon after its first birthday!
All that said, some brewers do have a reputation for lasting longer. Bunn brewers have a pretty good track record for lasting for several years.
I hope this helps.
BTW – all feedback welcome. So, dear reader, how long has YOUR coffee maker lasted?
