It makes coffee and has very few problems
An electric coffee maker doesn't get any simpler than this. No programming, no clock, no LED readout, no beeping, no auto shut-off, no cleaning cycle, nothing but an on/off switch. I'm replacing my GE pot for two reasons. One is that the auto shut-off has quit working and it shuts off in one hour regardless of the setting. The other and more important is all the mineral deposits from our city water. The GE is one and a half years old and it's interior appearance is offensive. Nothing seems to clean the deposits completely. It's interior is unsightly and I wanted it replaced.
My entire adult life I've always had coffee makers with all the bells and whistles so I decided I was going to go the simple route for once with some basic objectives in mind. I've described below how my assessment fared.
Brew effectiveness: I use relatively high end coffee and I also own a French Press that produces the best cup of coffee or espresso on the planet. But I also need...
Simple and easy
I paid a few bucks more at a discount retailer who specializes in red appliances. I'm putting my Bunn coffee maker in storage. I just started to wonder about having the Bunn coffee machine plugged in 24/7, keeping the water at a constant 190 degrees F, so I looked for a simple and basic machine that makes good coffee. This Proctor Silex fits the bill. I ran a full carafe of water to clean it. Brewed flavored coffee and everything went fine. I didn't have grinds in my coffee cup which is what the basic Mr. Coffee maker does. To brew 12 cups of coffee the Proctor Silex took 9 1/5 minutes. To brew 4 1/2 cups of coffee it took about 5 minutes. It does need to be manually shut off, there is no auto-shut off feature. It does the job. I now have peace of mind that I'm not wasting electricity like with my Bunn maker. I can now also use fresh, cold water to start a pot of coffee. Hope the carafe lasts, it is a bit thin.
Inexpensive enough, but...
At first glance there are no problems with the product; everything fits together fine and the construction is good enough. The main problem (and this took me a couple of run-throughs to figure out) is that it doesn't heat the water up enough to make a decent cup of coffee. Even if I put hot tap water in it, it can barely heat that water up to a good brewing temperature, and even then there is so little force behind it that not all of the grounds get wet (the water just trickles out in one spot in the middle). I have to preheat the water in an electric kettle to make a decent pot of coffee.
I would rate it lower, but based on other reviews and considering the rest of the construction is good enough, I'm presuming I just got a dud with a weak heating element.
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