Single Serve Coffee Forums

Forgive me if this has been beaten to death; thanks to forum search rules, I can't search for "my k cup" because the words are too short... And it's my first post

My wife and I have been through 3 Keurig machines in the last 7 years or so (we can't quite remember how long it's been). We started with the one-cup-size (B40?) that we ordered from Keurig. That one died after about 2-1/2 years and we got the 2-cup-size "Elite" at Target. That one died after about the same amount of time, and we replaced it with the Elite again. And it is now starting to die - inconsistent cup sizes, taking a LONG time to brew, etc.

We have been using the My K-Cup and coffee we buy and grind locally for almost the entire time we've owned Keurig brewers. We have the latest version of that, and we grind our coffee at the largest grind available where we shop, based on Keurig customer support's recommendation.

I really don't understand why they're failing - seems like a coffee maker should last longer than 2-3 years. I'm hesitant to buy another Keurig machine, and don't want to spend 200 bucks to get the Cuisinart Keurig with a 3 year warranty.

I don't think the problem is scale - we always, always, use distilled water that we buy at the grocery store. There has probably been less than 3 gallons of "regular" water through all of our machines put together since we bought Keurig #1. When the de-scale light comes on (why does it come on with distilled water, anyway?), I'll do the de-scale procedure, even though there shouldn't be any mineral deposits in the machine.

So, I have to wonder, if using the My K-Cup somehow shortens the life span of the machine. Maybe it causes too much back pressure and kills the pumps?

Anyway, I'm frustrated, and dread the morning that's coming soon, when there's no coffee.

jswilson64 wrote:So, I have to wonder, if using the My K-Cup somehow shortens the life span of the machine. Maybe it causes too much back pressure and kills the pumps?

Possible, especially considering that the pumps have been a weak spot even for non-My K-cup users for a while now. Sorry to hear it! And welcome, by the way. Since you keep coming back to the Keurig, what do you like about it? If the answer ends up being "not a whole lot," I'd definitely recommend trying another single-serve machine or even removing machines from the equation altogether, e.g. switching to a pour-over cone or Clever Coffee Dripper. Do you buy k-cups at all?

jar wrote:Well, distilled water is generally not a good idea since it seems many of the coffee makers use some of the normal chemicals found in most water as part of the temperature control system.

I have not heard this, where did you see that?

Most recently, in the Bunn MC Home thread. Amanda@BUNN said distilled water would throw off the new Bunn IIRC. Ah, here you go: new-bunn-my-cafe-home-single-cup-pod-brewer-t8110-137.html

jbviau wrote:Most recently, in the Bunn MC Home thread. Amanda@BUNN said distilled water would throw off the new Bunn IIRC. Ah, here you go: new-bunn-my-cafe-home-single-cup-pod-brewer-t8110-137.html

Interesting, I dont use distilled water since we have "spring" water delivered, but always assumed cleaner water = beter

Distilled water does not taste as good as water with some minerals. Some machines that have a boiler level sensor, like most espresso machines, need the minerals to function properly.

Hmm, I didn't know that about distilled water. I, too, figured pure water=better coffee. And around here in the summer, when the water tastes like mud, I definitely don't want to use tap water.

So then are we better buying "Spring Water" or using filtered tap water with a brita or something?

VydorScope wrote:So then are we better buying "Spring Water" or using filtered tap water with a brita or something?

In my mind something that is filtered is better than spring. There is a severe lack of standards regarding the quality of spring water. Some of them are quite high in TDS (total dissolved solids) and that creates extra scale and could be cause additional issues with some of the more sensitive machines.

Distilled water usually has no taste at all because it's been depleted of any minerals (I have used them and they leave a sand like substance behind as the liquid evaporates and gets collected in a seprate container) but they are great for soups and such supposedly because since it has no minerals or (toxins) food cooks better in it and extracts flavor producing a better result. (in theory)

RO water that has a dionizer may extract to much and is not good for drinking and contains alot less minerals.

Both distiller and RO filtered water are great for mixing water for saltwater aquariums.

These filter may work for coffee machines because all minerals are not taken out except the toxins or poisons that are in the liquid itself: bigberkeywaterfilters.com and aquarain.com

I wonder then, what if we bought "Spring Water" or "Drinking Water" and used the Keurig filter in the water tank? I ask case I use this at work and I will be moving to a new office with possibly no easy access to a tap or water....