Posted Wed May 30, 2012, 11:12pm Subject: Re: Bonavita BV1800 vs. DeLonghi DCM900
TheHolyCannoli Said:
5yrs ago I barely escaped a home fire by climbing down the side of my 3-level home that eventually burned to the ground. The cause was linked back to a faulty toaster. Something in my head clicked and I realized I would be insane to knowingly bring a risk like that into my home. So, I decided against the DeLonghi as I'm not interested in role-playing as Spider-man again anytime soon.
Got the thermal Bonavita and Infinity 565 grinder due to arrive next week. I'm hoping this combo works well for me so I can simply enjoy a good cup of coffee!
Good choice. Even if the brewer dies without taking your possessions or life, it still has an alarming tendency to fail. $43 is not a bargain if the unit will not hold up.
CRC, yours might last forever, but looking at the 15 most recent reviews on Amazon, the odds are against it.
I chew coffee beans with my teeth while gargling with 195 F water to enjoy coffee. What is this "coffee brewing" device you speak of?
chasemonster Senior Member Joined: 3 Jun 2010 Posts: 364 Location: Chicago Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Audrey Grinder: Hario Mini Mill Drip: V60
Posted Thu May 31, 2012, 6:45am Subject: Re: Bonavita BV1800 vs. DeLonghi DCM900
oldgearhead Said:
I bought a DCM900 a little over one year ago, and it is still making great drip coffee. However, each of the two in-line fuses have failed, and I simply by-passed them and always use a GFI receptable.
Posted Thu May 31, 2012, 7:39am Subject: Re: Bonavita BV1800 vs. DeLonghi DCM900
EricBNC Said:
Good choice. Even if the brewer dies without taking your possessions or life, it still has an alarming tendency to fail. $43 is not a bargain if the unit will not hold up.
CRC, yours might last forever, but looking at the 15 most recent reviews on Amazon, the odds are against it.
It actually doesn't worry me in the least. If there is an issue I am sure I can fix it. If we can put a man on the moon, and bring him back safely to earth, then Len the mechanic can fix his coffee maker with 15 cents of electricity (for the soldering gun), a $2 fuse, and about an inch of electrical solder.
I did read the Amazon reviews. And I also read many reviews by CGers who own the DCM900. Overall their (CGers) experience with the brewer was fine. Regarding this subject I put much more faith in the knowledge that CGers bring to the table.
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
Posted Thu May 31, 2012, 8:29am Subject: Re: Bonavita BV1800 vs. DeLonghi DCM900
CoffeeRoastersClub Said:
I did read the Amazon reviews. And I also read many reviews by CGers who own the DCM900. Overall their (CGers) experience with the brewer was fine. Regarding this subject I put much more faith in the knowledge that CGers bring to the table.
Just a heads up, I have had mine about a week and it crashed and burned.This made very good coffee while it lasted,bought it from Sams club about 2 weeks ago run about 25 pots threw it, turned it on this morning came back and coffee was all over the counter and a electrical smell was bad...
Well, after a year and a half of service, mine has given up the ghost. Fortunately, I had purchased Sams' $5 extended warranty, so they are sending me all my money back. Now begins the great adventure of finding another coffee maker.
...and now back to the subject of this thread, the DCM900. Ater 7 months mine still makes great drip coffee. I should report that both internal fuses have failed, at different times...
Not too convincing a case for reliability when added to the most recent 13 out of 15 one star "it died" failures reported over on the "less reputable" Amazon site.
I chew coffee beans with my teeth while gargling with 195 F water to enjoy coffee. What is this "coffee brewing" device you speak of?
Just a simple fix as Oldgearhead explained. Nothing that a man with the proper tools and knowledge cannot do in about 5 minutes time.
I can think of far worse things CGers have done to breadmakers, whirly pops, espresso machine PID hacks, etc., than working on a simple fuse issue.
Like I mentioned before, I have the ability to fix the machine IF it ever has an issue. So again, for me there is no issue with the DCM900 even worth talking about any further.
However, for full disclosure the Bonivata apparently has some issues of its own:
Bonavita BV1800 8-Cup Coffee Maker with Glass Carafe (Kitchen) Feels cheap right out of the box. I did not notice any difference in taste or temperature from my previous brewer (think squeezy-heart). I set up both brewers utilizing identical water temp and quantity and got 182 degrees and 177 degrees in the pot from the Bonavita and the previous brewer respectively. Also, after brewing, a full ¼ of water was left somewhere in the Bonavita that could only be drained by flipping the unit over. Since espressoparts does not take returns on electrical parts I am stuck with this.
another:
Purchased in January of 2012 and on 3/24/12 the power switch wouldn't stay on.I still can use,but have to push the coffee maker's button against the toaster to hold it in "on" position until done brewing.
and another:
Buying this machine was a total waste of money for me. I tried to return it immediately, but the company I bought it from "doesn't accept the Bonavita" for returns. That should have been noted on the website. As another reviewer noted, not all of the nozzle holes emit water during brewing. The grounds saturation would be better if it did so. There is a large enough gap between the brew head and basket that all of the coffee is exposed to air before it reaches the carafe. I wonder if this is part of the reason why, no matter how fresh, good of a brand of beans, or type of grind I use, the coffee is always bitter. I use this machine once every 2-3 weeks. It has seen less than 30 days of use, and already some water is not released from the brew head at the time of brewing, as if it is getting clogged.
and yet another:
So I've been using the Bonavita for about 2 weeks now. I have to say the first few pots had me scared. What is this crap I thought?? My Mr Coffee made better coffee than this!! Now whether it was just a break in period with the Bonavita or a learning curve with my new grinder I'm not sure but eventually, I got it right. Now I'm getting a consistently good cup of coffee. Is it worth it? I have to say, IMO, no. At least so far no. Its good but not $100 better than my Mr Coffee.
I do have to complain about the water tank measure lines. Very hard to read and sometimes I even have to stick my hand in the tank to see where the water level is. Which means the opening to the water tank not only big enough for me to stick my hand it but also super easy to fill with water (if you knew when to stop pouring that is).
and another:
I did quite a bit of research and found the Bonavita to have had a lot of positive reviews. What really sold me was, as "stated", the coffee temperature would be brewed to about 200 degrees. I also liked the idea of the thermal carafe, as well.
I have had the machine for about 3 1/2 weeks and it's going back. Experimented with different coffee brands, measurements, and water temps. Taste is just ok, nothing great. Coffee is lukewarm after about 1/2 hr of sitting.
Totally not what I was expecting!! :-(
-------
The above posts are all from Amazon, so take it for what its worth.
=========
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
Posted Thu May 31, 2012, 10:03am Subject: Re: Bonavita BV1800 vs. DeLonghi DCM900
Someone could also buy a machine that doesn't have a history of failure and does have support available.
Len, you already own it so I understand your defensiveness. I hope yours lasts forever, but knowing it can be "hot wired" does not make it reliable.
I see you added to your post by cherry picking a few negative comments on the Bonavita - typical defensive behavior - is your Delonghi already dead Len?
Amazon shows 35 out of 43 buyers give The Bonavita BV-1800 4 or 5 stars - so very high marks. The lone 2 star post you do not quote is a frustrated man asking when they will be back in stock so he can purchase one!
Add this to the lengthy positive history of the Melitta Aroma (the origin of the Bonavita BV1800's design) in Europe and it's wide acceptance by specialty coffee roasters and cafes and you have some assurances even if the Bonavita name is a new one.
I chew coffee beans with my teeth while gargling with 195 F water to enjoy coffee. What is this "coffee brewing" device you speak of?
Posted Thu May 31, 2012, 11:11am Subject: Re: Bonavita BV1800 vs. DeLonghi DCM900
EricBNC Said:
Someone could also buy a machine that doesn't have a history of failure and does have support available.
Len, you already own it so I understand your defensiveness. I hope yours lasts forever, but knowing it can be "hot wired" does not make it reliable.
I see you added to your post by cherry picking a few negative comments on the Bonavita - typical defensive behavior - is your Delonghi already dead Len?
Amazon shows 35 out of 43 buyers give The Bonavita BV-1800 4 or 5 stars - so very high marks. The lone 2 star post you do not quote is a frustrated man asking when they will be back in stock so he can purchase one!
Add this to the lengthy positive history of the Melitta Aroma (the origin of the Bonavita BV1800's design) in Europe and it's wide acceptance by specialty coffee roasters and cafes and you have some assurances even if the Bonavita name is a new one.
Eric, you beat me to the punch. I was going to accuse you of cherry picking also.
I think I already made the case why I purchased the DCM900, again no need for me to go on any further.
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
Posted Thu May 31, 2012, 1:49pm Subject: Re: Bonavita BV1800 vs. DeLonghi DCM900
No cherry picking for me - select sort to the most recent first and then count back a page or two till you hit 15 - I figured this was a decent sample size since the review period covers almost a year and represents the quality one can expect in a current order. That is where the 13 out of 15 one star DCM900 reviews come from.
On the other hand, the Bonavita has zero one star reviews:
(Click for larger image)
I chew coffee beans with my teeth while gargling with 195 F water to enjoy coffee. What is this "coffee brewing" device you speak of?
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