I'm Not "Cheap" - I'm "Thrifty"

S

SifuPhil

R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
So here's how far I go these days to save a few dollars ...

As you might know by now I'm fond of coffee. Hell, "fond" nothing - I'm ADDICTED to caffeine, and outside of heroin and cigarettes I don't know of a worse habit to break.

Not that I'd want to.

But here's where the che - um, thrifty side of me comes out ... I've got this one coffee maker that is quite old; so old, in fact, that the plastic lid on the pot has warped to the point where the little pause-and-serve gizmo beneath the filter basket no longer makes contact with it. In a word, when you try to make a fresh 10-cup pot of java the brew refuses to leave the filter basket, instead backing up until it overflows all over the counter and thence to the floor.

Which isn't quite a disaster, but when SnagglePuss and Tigger see it they start lapping up the hot brew. THAT'S when the real problems start - Snaggle starts to literally climb the walls, while Tigger jumps on the loveseat and starts dry-humping the pillow that says "Welcome to Niagara Falls".



Coffee Makers 001.JPG
The Offending Machine,
with Fork In Place

Rather than spend the measly $10 or so to get a new one at the Dollar Store I've come up with a system that would make Rube Goldberg proud. I rolled up a strip of duct tape and stuck it to the top of the lid. This is what I call the Temporary Accessory for Providing Egress (TAPE).

When it's time to brew a fresh pot I merely slip the pot into its usual place and then deploy the second phase of my invention - the FORK (Fixed Orthogonal Replacement Kit). I gently (and skillfully, if truth be known) wedge the tines of the fork upside-down so that they contact the TAPE, while the rounded back of the FORK makes contact and pushes upward on the filter basket valve, thus allowing free, non-spilling flow of the hot coffee.

Coffee Makers 002.JPG
FORK in position

Coffee Makers 003.JPG
Exploded view of
FORK and TAPE

Coffee Makers 004.JPG
Close-up of Filter
Basket Valve


I DO have a back-up coffee pot, of course - what coffee-hound wouldn't? - but it's only a 4-cup machine, which is sort of like giving a Great White shark a bag of airline peanuts for dinner.


Coffee Makers 005.JPG
Party pot and Wimpy pot


So for the price of approx. 6" of duct tape and the use of an already-present common kitchen utensil I have once again foiled the robber barons of Big Industry - HA!
 

:clap: It warms the heart to learn of your loyalty to a good and faithful servant in it's terminal years. Well done sir.

It's not about the money, some gadgets just deserve more than casual interment in the bin. I'm sure it's extremely grateful for your care,
.... and the disability aids.
 
Ever hear of cowboy coffee, Phil. Ya just boil some water and dump in the smashed up beans . . . and enjoy.
 

Diwundrin said:
:clap: It warms the heart to learn of your loyalty to a good and faithful servant in it's terminal years. Well done sir.

It's not about the money, some gadgets just deserve more than casual interment in the bin. I'm sure it's extremely grateful for your care,
.... and the disability aids.
Click to expand...

Heck, it's a member of my nuclear family at this point. I just can't see myself taking it to the ASPCCM yet ... I'd rather it die at home, among those who love it.

That Guy said:
Ever hear of cowboy coffee, Phil. Ya just boil some water and dump in the smashed up beans . . . and enjoy.
Click to expand...

You mean ...

... broke-back beans? :adjoint:

Thanks, but I'll stick to my TAPE.



(See what I did there?)
 
Ya know, sometimes spending a few dollars, or in this case 10 .. might save you a disaster down the line....
a meltdown or a fire. .. all over $10. :greedy_dollars: Silly boy!
 
Boo's Mom said:
Ya know, sometimes spending a few dollars, or in this case 10 .. might save you a disaster down the line....
a meltdown or a fire. .. all over $10. :greedy_dollars: Silly boy!
Click to expand...

... but if there's a fire, then I'd have to be rescued by firemen who would then as a standard procedure have to transport me via ambulance to the local hospital where a crack team of doctors would check me out by passing me to the head nurse who in turn would delegate my care to some hot young candy-striper who falls in love with me when she hears about how I saved SnagglePuss and Tigger from the Dancing Flames of Doom by selflessly dashing back into the burning building and carrying them out one at a time in my mouth because my hands had been totally burned from the TAPE & FORK invention and let's hope for pity's sake she doesn't hear about how I forgot my roomie was in there as well.

:sentimental:

Anne said:
There, you fixed it, Phil!!!! :lofl:
Click to expand...

I done good. I proud. *preen, preen*

I get cookie?
 
Good job but I think there might be an easier way. If you have an old pen that has the spring in it, use it to extend the spring on the basket. Or better yet, if you have a cork or bottle cap, tape that to the top of the pot then you won't need the fork. Just a suggestion..... (been there - done that).

Either way, enjoy the java!
 
]
SifuPhil said:
... but if there's a fire, then I'd have to be rescued by firemen who would then as a standard procedure have to transport me via ambulance to the local hospital where a crack team of doctors would check me out by passing me to the head nurse who in turn would delegate my care to some hot young candy-striper who falls in love with me when she hears about how I saved SnagglePuss and Tigger from the Dancing Flames of Doom by selflessly dashing back into the burning building and carrying them out one at a time in my mouth because my hands had been totally burned from the TAPE & FORK invention and let's hope for pity's sake she doesn't hear about how I forgot my roomie was in there as well.
/QUOTE]
Click to expand...

When you get the bill for the ambulance, local hospital and crack team of doctors, you won't have two cents left to rub together for a cup of coffee, let alone enough dough to woo a young candy striper....better buy a new pot!
drinking-coffee-35.gif
 
TICA said:
Good job but I think there might be an easier way. If you have an old pen that has the spring in it, use it to extend the spring on the basket. Or better yet, if you have a cork or bottle cap, tape that to the top of the pot then you won't need the fork. Just a suggestion..... (been there - done that).

Either way, enjoy the java!
Click to expand...

You'd be amazed at all the things I tried. I no longer have any of my tools or boxes of "parts", so I just went with what my roomie had in the kitchen drawers, which was not much either.

The pen springs would be too small and weak compared to the basket spring, but the cork / bottle top idea is a good one. Unfortuantely, no corks or bottle tops around here.

Ozarkgal said:
]

When you get the bill for the ambulance, local hospital and crack team of doctors, you won't have two cents left to rub together for a cup of coffee, let alone enough dough to woo a young candy striper....better buy a new pot!
drinking-coffee-35.gif
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's true too ... :(
 
Thats a good one Phil... I`d do the same to get the coffee, I have weaned my self off a lot of the
cups of coffee I used to have as I used to do night duty at the hospital and to stay awake or alert we
had coffee on hand so that was my fix.. but I agree I`d do the same like you if that was the only thing
broken.. if it works why pay $10 if its not dangerous..
 

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