wsomcher's Full Review: Black & Decker ODC400 10-Cup Coffee Maker
I love a great cup of coffee and this is one of the best products I've ever used to achieve that. As an alternative to the heat element types that keeps your coffee hot, this coffee maker shines way above that. The coffee doesn't acquire that "bitter", stale taste after it's been sitting a while, nor do you have that heat element on all day which just uses up energy and may potentially be a fire hazard. Also, the coffee maker will have a greater service life because that's one less thermostat and related parts to worry about. In addition, the coffee maker requires less de-scaling than any other coffee maker I've ever owned. And it makes a very carafe of coffee.
On the down side, this is my 3rd Black and Decker Thermal Coffee. On the first one, the base cracked. But I liked the coffee this machine made so much that I bought a new Black and Decker Thermal coffee maker. The liner broke when I was rinsing the pot with hot water (but not so hot that I couldn't put my hands in the water). And you can't just replace the liner, as I found out. You have to buy a whole new carafe. In Canada, the coffee maker cost $69 and a new carafe $40. So I bought a new carafe and the liner broke again about a month later (again by just rinsing in semi-hot water). I contacted the Company complaining about a very poor design because the air pocket between the liner and the outer carafe shell doesn't allow enough for expansion and contraction. I was accused of using a sharp object to clean the inside of the pot, which I DID NOT. I may be stupid, but I'm not dumb. All I did was try and rinse out the pot, just like any other thermos with a liner. Diligently and with care.
But I liked this coffee maker so much, that when the price of a new unit went on sale at a price that was the same as just the carafe alone, I bought a new one. Four months later, the liner broke again. And again I bought a new carafe.
I love what this product does, but the Company was very unhelpful, abrupt, and unyielding when I brought up the liner problem. Also, I didn't expect them to take 2 months to get back to me. I'm not sure why they were so rude to me, since I'm such a nice, easy-going guy who rarely complains or raises his voice about anything. At least that's what my wife tells me.
I'm not sure why Black and Decker doesn't make a carafe where a new liner could be installed, just like a regular thermos. Perhaps is may be a marketing/profit issue, or perceived heat-retention benefits by heat-sealing the liner in (although a regular thermos with a removable liner will perform just as good). As an aside, the first Black and Decker Thermal coffee maker did have a removable liner. You could unscrew the base, remove the liner and do a good cleaning job of the whole carafe. But not the new unit.
One other problem...make sure you put the carafe under the filter basket when making a fresh pot. Otherwise the coffee will overflow and you'll wind up with not only coffee, but also coffee grounds all over the place. Also, there have been times when coffee grounds have plugged up the spring loaded basket outlet valve. When that happens, again, the coffee will back-up during a fresh brew because of the blocked port and you'll wind up with coffee/coffee grounds all over the place. But this latter consideration is as much common sense and anything.
This Black and Decker under Counter Space-Maker will brew your coffee using less space. Free up valuable counter space with this 12-cup capacity coffe...More at eBay
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