Bunn coffee maker?

GKC

GKC

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One of the pleasures I currently enjoy daily is coffee...not the fancy, frou-frou stuff, but just good old Maxwell House fresh brewed each morning. Over the years, I've had several different drip machines, like Mr. Coffee, Cruisinart, GE, and Hamilton Beach. The machine I am currently using is a Krups, and I've had it for several years now. It's beginning to have a few little issues, so I think it's time for a replacement. Since I'm retired, I don't need all the timers, alarms, etc.

Yesterday, I picked up a Bunn BX Commercial style 10-cup coffee maker with the stainless steel tank and trim. I haven't unboxed it yet; it was somewhat of an impulse buy...I've seen Bunn coffee makers in virtually every restaurant I've ever been in, and I have read a bit about them, but I'm not sure about it. Does anyone here have any experience with them?
 
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You'll have to have or order filters from Bunn.

The basket filters are taller than standard ones in the grocery stores.

When I got mine they were 1000 to the carton.

I like my Bunn.

Good Luck with your coffee, I also grind my beans.
 
Moonman said:
You'll have to have or order filters from Bunn.
Click to expand...

They had filters at the store, along side the coffee maker, so I picked up a box of them. The coffee maker I currently have (Krups) uses cone filters, which I really like (they are so much easier to handle) but they won't work in the Bunn machine.

One of my concerns is the warmer plate not having an automatic shutoff. I usually end up drinking the full pot of coffee over the course of a morning, but the warming plate on my current machine shuts off after two hours. I just microwave a cup if it's cool, and the coffee doesn't seem to get bitter or burnt tasting. I'm thinking about getting a thermos or thermal carafe to put the coffee in when it is first brewed, and then just turn the warming plate off. Thoughts on that?
 
Bought a VP17 ten years ago. Been making several pots a day 365 days a year. Seem to have quite a gathering in the shop every morning, Good old Maxwell House and never a complaint, of course the fact that it is free might influence that. Filters are availabe on line but I find direct from Bunn to be the cheapest. Alternatively usually all the quick stops seem to have a lot of extras that you might be able to obtain.
Can't beat a Bunn for high volumn use.
e.
 
I went through several Bunn machines during the 80's and 90's. The upside is that they are fast. They keep a reservoir of hot water in a tank and as you pour water in, the hot water is displaced and comes out. The downside is that if you have lime in your water, it builds up on the thermostat face and the heat element which insulates it causing the coffee maker to either not heat the water or overheat it. The lime also ate away the red rubber tank gasket causing leaks. Religiously cleaning the machine with vinegar minimized the issue but it always failed sooner or later. When it ran right it was the best coffee I ever had. I put up with their idiosyncrasies a long time (kind of like owning Lee Reloading Equipment lol) but got too tired of taking them apart and fixing them. The filters are readily available at Meijer, Kroger or Wal Mart.
 
I've been using Bunn coffee makers for over 30 years. I think I'm on my third one now. They're simple, fast, and heat the water up good and hot. I plan on using them for the next thirty years, though at my age that may be optimistic. :D

As far as filters, I've always bought 'em at whatever store I happen to be shopping at. Generic filters work fine for me.
 
Yes, those Bunns work great. That's what we use at the powerplant. The station is, of course, manned 24-7 and the coffee pots are making coffee all the time! My control room operator cleans the control room Bunn with Dip-It on our first nightshift, so we have good coffee for the next three weeks. Between me and Jim, the coffee there is always fresh! :D

I don't use a Bunn at home, though. Because the water reservoir is always hot, it doesn't pay for me because I don't make a pot at home every day and my wife doesn't drink it. I think I have a Braun with a cone filter.
 
i had 2 bunn coffee makers over the last 10 years, yea they're nice and fast making coffee but the ones i had just didn't last like i think a $100 machine should. the first one was a leaker and the second one had the pot heating element burn out on it. i bought a $13 on sale coffee maker that's just as good except for the brew time is slower.
 
Loved those Bunn coffee makers... Till I found a better one and it is the Bodum French Press Coffee Maker, try it you will NOT be sorry :)
 
A french press makes great coffee, but so does my Bunn.

One secret to a great cup of coffee is fresh ground beans. I grind every day. I use Starbucks or Costco which is roasted by Starbucks.

The next two secrets, besides good water, is having the water temperature correct and steeping the grounds for the proper amount of time. If the water is too hot (boiling percolators do this!) the bitter flavors are extracted from the beans. Too cool and the coffee will be weak and lack flavor.

The french press works well because you use coffee just off the boil at about 195 to 200 degrees. You also accurately time the brew.

Bunns also heat the water to the perfect brewing temp, and the reason they brew so fast is because you don't want that long bitter brew cycle.

So to wrap up, use good water (if it tastes good it is good), fresh grounds, have the right temperature and complete the brewing in three minutes.

I'm actually not a coffee snob, but one of my simple pleasures is a fine cup of great coffee! ;)


.
 
I've used Bunn coffeemakers for over 30 years, at home and at the office. I've never used anything other than the cheapest 200/$1 filters from the grocery store. I like the speed with which they brew, though I think the best coffeemaker we've owned is a Cuisinart DCC-1200. I may try one of those Bunn HG Phasebrews next though. It's getting about time to replace my existing Bunn.
 
I don't think I have ever seen a Navy ship or shore facility without a Bunn coffee maker. I have drank a lot of coffee (of varying qualities) made this way.

They are fast. They last a long time (but they do need cleaned with vinegar). They last a very long time.

Models are readily available into which you can tie a water line. It would be very easy to tie into your ice-maker supply for this. Very convenient if you always make a full pot.

The burner not turning off could be a concern for you. I have see many a coffee pot with sludge burnt solid into the bottom.

Hope this helps.

Chubbs
 
I agree with blujax's response. Great coffee-makers, but if you live in an area with hard water (i.e. heavy lime or calcium content), be prepared for that eventually eroding everything away. When living in Florida years ago, I had a Bunn and loved it but the hard water was rough on it.
 
GKC said:
One of the pleasures I currently enjoy daily is coffee...not the fancy, frou-frou stuff, but just good old Maxwell House fresh brewed each morning. Over the years, I've had several different drip machines, like Mr. Coffee, Cruisinart, GE, and Hamilton Beach. The machine I am currently using is a Krups, and I've had it for several years now. It's beginning to have a few little issues, so I think it's time for a replacement. Since I'm retired, I don't need all the timers, alarms, etc.

Yesterday, I picked up a Bunn BX Commercial style 10-cup coffee maker with the stainless steel tank and trim. I haven't unboxed it yet; it was somewhat of an impulse buy...I've seen Bunn coffee makers in virtually every restaurant I've ever been in, and I have read a bit about them, but I'm not sure about it. Does anyone here have any experience with them?
Click to expand...
We are coffee addicts. The wife and I drink a few cups every AM then after every meal. Like clockwork. Here is my two cents based on owning an equally long list of coffee makers.
The Bunn works like a hammer. All the time & every time. I bought one for our office years back and we run it 8+ hrs a day. That said, I don't feel it is the best for home use because:
- it tends to evaporate water out of the internal tank overnight. It then requires extra water run through in the AM before /with the first pot.
- The pot is open to the air which allows evaporation of coffee and bitterness if the pot gets old.
- The pot heater gets HOT. Maybe too hot, it's easy to burn /evaporate coffee off if you don't use the coffee up quickly
-No timer, delay, etc to make life easy.

So far the best we've found for GOOD flavored coffee is the Hamilton Beach Brewstation. True they only last 3-4 years ,( we are on our third in a row), but it makes and KEEPS very good coffee.the best we've found. We even get compliments from guests on how good our coffee is. I believe the secret is in the fact that the chamber that holds the prepared coffee is closed off to outside air. Consequently, the coffee stays hot but never changes strength and rarely gets bitter.


Oh yea, If you like coffee, it's worth getting a grinder and grind your beans as needed. You'll be amazed how much more flavor is let out with fresh coffee.
 
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