I found a Black & Decker DCM521 in a hotel room. Tried to use it following insructions to no avail. The cofee simply does not brew. The brewing light stays on for a few seconds and the water drips from the top container into the lower one. The gadget simply does not brew the coffee.

SOURCE: Black & Decker TCM700 Coffee Maker problem

the concept still applies. the heating element is usually dual functional. heating the water then keeping the plate warm.

SOURCE: water light keeps blinking and won't brew coffee?

it sounds like either the pump is giving out or the flowmeter.

since it is releasing water from teh steam valve, i'd aim more for the flowmeter giving out.

Not sure if saeco sells them to the public. Usually gets sent out for repair. Repair will run ya 100-150 usually.

SOURCE: spacemaker stoping before brewing pot have to keep restarting why?

If you live in an area with hard water it may just be that the calcium accumulation is preventing the water from flowing through the unit. Have you tried running a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water through the unit? I received a completely clogged unit and then ran the same mix of vinegar and water through the unit, allowing the water to cool each time, about 6 times before completely unclogging it. Make sure to use a fresh filter each time to catch any calcium that may dislodge from the various tubes in the unit.

If cleaning the unit in this way doesn't resolve the problem, without knowing with unit you have, then it sounds like an internal thermostat is getting too hot, shutting down the internal water heater. If that's the case then B&D is using a new design for their internal thermostats, one which resets itself when it cools off, and that thermostat may be bad and kicking off at too low a water temperature in which case your only solution is to return it for exchange or replace the water heater unit.

SOURCE: black and decker spacesaver coffee maker

There are two heat stages in the Spacesaver. One is the carafe heater you can see while the other is an assembly within the main housing. This assembly contains a heater, thermostat, and a section of metal tubing with high temperature silicon connectors at each end. when the water storage tank is inserted it fills the heated section of the tube and when activated the water boils as it passes through the one way valve and forces the water into the coffee container. This steam driven surge repeats until all water has been moved to carafe. There are several failure modes associated with this assembly an I have two. 1. is the heater opening which I have and 2. is the thermostat degrading causing incomplete transfer and ultimately no transfer because it brings the temp down prematurely. Another is crud on the check valve so many problems - no solutions

SOURCE: brewing cycle

The thermostat is proably faulty and makes the machine cut off early. Or it could be that your machine is getting too hot and the thermostat is cutting it off at the temperature when it is supposed to. No repairable parts inside. But a new one. Do not hold start button in. Machine can get very hot.