headchange4u Senior Member Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Posts: 60 Location: Ky Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Aeropress Grinder: Capresso Infinity 565 Roaster: West Bend Poppery II
Posted Fri Jul 4, 2008, 8:52am Subject: Vac Pot Problems
I have a Bodum Santos vac pot and I have used it probably 30-40 times. The last 5 or 6 times that I have used the pot it stops midway through the coffee returning to the bottom pot. I am using the Capresso Infiniti 565 grinder set on the same setting that I always use for my vac pot. I used 2 different filters, the stock Santos filter and a Cory glass filter rod, both I have used several times before with no problems. It's the same ritual but I keep having a problem with the vac pot stalling.
I made 3 pots this morning, each with a progressively courser grind than the last, and the pot still stalled. I finally gave up and used my press pot. Can anyone give me any idea on WTF is going on?
The grinder is only a month or so old. From what I have read and what I have been told, my grinder should work well for coarser grinds that I would need for a vac pot. In fact, it has worked flawlessly up until just recently. I clean the grinder after every 2-3 grinds. I would hope that this grinder would not have gone defective so fast.
Posted Sun Jul 6, 2008, 9:25am Subject: Re: Vac Pot Problems
Another issue worth investigating would be the seal on the gasket. A leaky seal will steal your relative vacuum in the bottom chamber. Check for cracks or warps in the gasket.
Another issue worth investigating would be the seal on the gasket. A leaky seal will steal your relative vacuum in the bottom chamber. Check for cracks or warps in the gasket.
The rubber seal piece that goes between the top and bottom looks a little dry rotted and I have been meaning to replace it. You have to getpart directly from Bodum?
I switched to the Yama cloth filter and got it to start brewing again, but this morning it stopped again, just as the top pot was almost empty. I tried stirring the grounds up and clearing the filter but it still wouldn't drain all the way. Make me think it just might be the seal.
I switched to the Yama cloth filter and got it to start brewing again, but this morning it stopped again, just as the top pot was almost empty. I tried stirring the grounds up and clearing the filter but it still wouldn't drain all the way. Make me think it just might be the seal.
A way to tell whether it's the seal being lost or if the grind is too fine is to take the parts apart when the brew is stalled. If the seal is lost, then there won't be any vacuum (sucking in to the bottom part) when you take them apart. If the grind is the problem then you'll get lots of vacuum, or maybe won't be able to take them apart easily.
I'm almost positive that the seal is bad because I dug out my 5 cup Yama vac pot and tried brewing some coffee in it and it worked great. I had my grinder set on a very coarse setting and the first pot that I made, the top pot emptied way to fast (probably about 15-20 seconds). I switched back to the medium grind I normally use for a vac pot and the top pot vacuumed down in it's normal time, which is about 45 seconds to a minute. Tried the glass filter rod - my favorite filter for a vac pot - and it worked fine on the Yama pot.
I contacted Bodum to get a replacement seal and the only way to get it from them is you have to buy the top bowl of the Santos, which is like $50 not including shipping. That kinda ridiculous if you ask me because you can buy the whole vac pot for just a few dollars more. They referred me to the Green Beanery in Canada. They carry the seal and it runs $3.80 and the shipping will cost....drum roll please...21.00 for UPS Ground (cheapest option). Now I only paid $35 for the Santos, used, so I can't really justify 25.00 for a small piece of rubber. The odd thing is that I have ordered coffee from 49th Parallel Roasters, also located in Canada, and the UPS shipping charges were cheaper for a couple of pounds of coffee than what the GB is trying to charge for a small piece of rubber. Ridiculous.
I am wondering if I want to spend that kinda of money for a little rubber seal. I like the Santos better than my Yama simply because it brews more coffee than my 5 Cup Yama. I may end up retiring the Bodum and buying a Yama 8 cup if I can't a cheaper source for the rubber seal. To say that I'm a little frustrated is a bit of an understatement. I don't see why Bodum, the manufacturer of the vac pot, can't sell me the seal at a reasonable price, including shipping.
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