Coffee Maker

It was a deLonghi coffee maker, $2 at the Markland Wood Garage Sale 18 months ago. The lid of the jug broke and deLonghi’s service in Canada is close-to-non-existent.

I lucked out and grabbed a functioning coffee maker from the recycling bin, so it’s bye-bye useless deLonghi and Hello! mug warmer.

Here is the sad beast, lying on its side. On the base 4 screws and the customary caution not to go in there.

With the base removed we can begin dismantling the reservoir tubing and unwanted equipment.

The two black spring clips in the centre of the photo must be pried apart, the two flexible hoses pried off.

I inspected inside and decided I wanted to keep the control centre. Here I am using a regular wood-saw to saw through the casing above the control centre.

Once I have cut an inch or two on one side, I switch to the other side and place the toe of the saw in the earlier cut to align the heel of the saw in the new cut on this side.

I am cutting just below the control centre on one side, just below the reservoir indicator on the other and yes, I “Measured twice, cut once”.

I am almost through, or so it seemed at the time.

Did I remind you to make sure your Shop-Vac was standing by to suck up all the plastic crumbs?

A poor shot of the base once the cutting is done. There’s a better shot below.

Besides the usual gleaning of screws, washers etc you might collect a rigid-plastic tube about ten inches long, ¼ inch inside diameter with a soft-plastic plug at one end. The odd spring or two ...

Here it is, plugged in and operating.

The old mug warmer is not what it is cracked up to be. It is cracked up and about to collapse. Farewell faithful servant!

This is supposed to be a better shot of the top of the base.

I had this fleeting feeling that if I was very clever, I’d have made the bottom part of the reservoir into a container for geranium blooms.

Sigh!

Next time ...

P.S. Bonus

The control centre gives me a few extras:

(1) The device will turn itself off after two hours.

(2) I can program it to warm up a mug of water ready for tea when I come home from a meeting.

(3) At a pinch, I could use it to keep a plate of food warm while I’m on the phone by placing the plate above the base, resting on the plastic edges.

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