Coffee too weak

For 36, six ounce cups of coffee add two cups of perk-ground coffee to the basket. You can make up to 36 cups; however, the West Bend manual suggests that you brew no less than 12 cups. CUPS TO BE BREWED AMOUNT OF GROUND COFFEE TO USE * 36 3 1/2 cups 42 4 cups 48 4 1/2 cups 55 1 pound

When the coffee is weak, that is often because the water is not at adequate temperature.

Check if the coffee is in right quantity and pressed in the right way. If it is than it means that the water was not hot enough.

Check water temperature, if water is completely cold, the element mus be replaced, if water is hot, but not enough, then replace thermostate activating the pump.

USING YOUR PERCOLATOR
1.Wash the Percolator thoroughly before using for the first time.
(See "Cleaning Instructions" section in this manual.)

2.Remove Cover, Basket, Spreader and Pump Tube. Use cold, fresh
tap water to fill Percolator. Fill according to markings on inside
of Percolator for number of cups desired. Use cold tap water -
the automatic brewing cycle is timed to begin with a cold
water start.
NOTE: The bottom of the Pump Tube Spring marks the maximum
capacity of the Percolator.

3.Wet Coffee Basket to help keep small particles of coffee from sift-
ing through. Place Basket on Pump Tube. Add desired amount of
regular or percolator grind coffee to Basket.

4.Place Pump Tube with Basket into Percolator so bottom of tube is
set into Center Well. Place Spreader on top of Basket and snap
Cover onto Percolator. Attach cord to Percolator and plug into
standard household 120 volt AC wall outlet. Brewing begins
within seconds and continues at a cup-a-minute speed

5.When coffee brewing is complete, percolating will stop. The
Percolator automatically switches to "KEEP WARM" setting to
preserve fresh-tasting coffee at hot, ready-to-serve temperature.
For best flavor, remove Coffee Basket, Spreader and Pump Tube
when brewing is completed.

There is a thermostat in the bottom of the percolator that is broken. It would normally cut in to perc the coffee and then cut off the percolator heating element after the water reaches a certain temperature. It can be replaced but it takes a little skill. There is a video on eBay.

If you want to bypass the thermostat and just unplug the percolator, time it for 1 minute per cup.

Hi,
Use approx. 1/2 cup of coffee to 10 cups of coffee....so for a full pot use 1-1/2 cups... then adjust to taste..

heatman101

If it's the thermostat, the water may not be reaching a high enough temperature. I'm not too sure how percolators work, but you could maybe try running another "cycle" to extract more from your ground coffee? Otherwise, try a finer grind to increase the strength of the brew.

Try an experiment - brew a test cup, but use only a small amount of grounds in the brew basket (use a paper filter) [or else, put the grounds in the gold tone filter basket]. See if the machine makes coffee (albeit weak coffee). If it does not make coffee, see if the water is draining properly from the brew basket, or if it is leaking over the sides of the brew basket. Also, make sure the lid to the brew basket is completely open and in the correct position.

If you still get water only in the caraffe, replace the brew basket. The part costs about $11.95 with shipping - or even call Cuisinart to see if your 3-year warranty will cover the issue.

-Tha Mp3 Doctor

I thoroughly cleaned my 4-cup percolator by brewing a couple of pots of plain white vinegar and scrubbing the build-up from the bottom of the pot (and running a couple of plain water brews through the pot after all the cleaning). The percolator now brews hot, strong coffee again!

Sounds like the thermostat is weak and turning off at too low of temp.