Customer Reviews

Mr. Coffee DRTX85 8-Cup Thermal Coffeemaker, Black

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The coffee maker is fine. Cone filter basket, thermal carafe. All good items. BUT the lid on the carafe is very difficult to open. The design is such that you are supposed to insert your fingers into the groove on the top of the lid and turn. If you are a woman with FINGERNAILS, this can't happen. If you have arthritis or just weak hands, you are going to have to call for help to get this coffee out.

The main flaw in the design of this pot is the lid on the carafe. If Mr. Coffee can come up with a lid that's easy to open, they'll have a great system here.

I like it. I want my coffee hot & available without the burn from sitting on a hot plate.
Pros- Keeps coffee hot without burning it (2-3 hour)
Easy to operate
Shuts off after brew, no hot plate
Programable with clock
Cons- Must prep canister with hot water for coffee to stay hot for more
than an hour
Screw on canister top inconvient but seals heat well

Coffee pots, coffee pots, I have lots of them. 12 cup, 10 cup, 4 cup, 1 cup and 1 single travel mug cup; thermal pots and regular, some programmable and some with the sneak a cup feature. Like Goldie Locks some were too big and others too little.

I was looking for a 6 cup and found this 8 cup. It was on sale (50% off) so it was too good to pass up. All my coffee makers work well, do they each have their own quirks; pros and cons? Sure, and this new pot is no different but overall I am very happy with it.

I last bought the Black & Decker DCM18 Brew 'N Go Coffeemaker to use in our motorhome (I'm the only one who drinks coffee). It works fine but I found that I was making 2 batches of coffee; one when I first got up and the other for the road. Even the four cup was too little; hence the 8 cup. It is a bit large for the motorhome (to store as I actually have a large countertop area) and I probably will have excess coffee but overall is great, especially if I happen to have a fellow coffee drinker visit.

Now, what are some drawbacks? The on/off button is strange. It doesn't seem to be a simple press or a switch operation. I just kind of roll the button and so far it starts. When I take out the coffee filter basket (which I'm glad I can at least take it out easily, just move the inner pour spout) some coffee dribbles onto the bottom plate-no big deal, just wipe it up. The single travel unit does this too and also sprays coffee grounds up where the water pours out into the basket (I just clean the unit after every use). Personally I like all the features of this 8 cup, especially being able to sneak a cup and being able to program start times. It does seem rather tall and wide for the size of the pot but I am not complaining.

Would I have paid over $50 dollars-no, not at this time, I mean how many darn coffee makers does one need--but I would like to try the 6 cup--just kidding. Maybe!

Although it says in the specs there is no warming plate, that is WRONG! The plate is heated! I put a burn mark on my table when I took the carafe off the base and set it at our table upon my first use. It takes the carafe bottom about 5 minutes after you remove it from the base to cool enough to touch and place on unprotected surfaces.

The manual (which also covers the glass version of the unit) also states no hot plate. My guess is someone in China got the wrong base units mixed up with the stainless carafe model.

My guess is we will hear of a product recall soon on these.

UPDATE: It's not an actual heated warming plate (w/ heat element). I took the bottom off and found that the coil that heats the water is directly under the carafe. The heat this gives off is what is getting things HOT!

They should put stand off feet on the bottom of the carafe or insulate this area better. My other brand thermal carafe I have does not get hot like this one does.

We had given up on Mr Coffee products, but this Mr Coffee promised all the functions we need in this house: auto shut-off, 2-hour thermal carafe, mid-range capacity, simple controls, all at a sensible price. We used it, delighted with our choice, for almost six weeks, when one day we found ourselves standing by the coffeemaker to re-start it again and again just to complete a single brew. It simply shut itself off before the brewing cycle was completed. After a weekend of this infuriating routine, we returned it for a full refund.
Mr Coffee? Never again.

Made this review to back up a prior review regarding the carafe design of this product.

The carafe is literally the worst designed thermal coffee holder ever invented. I've used several others, and none of them have ever had the problems with opening/closing and pouring that this one has. I'm a big dude, nowhere close to weak, and I have to just about use a wrench to open or close it. No matter what I do with the cover, the coffee leaks and splatters when I pour it, ends up dribbling everywhere.

The rest of this design is solid, but the carafe is awful. Don't buy this thing - it is unusable. I'm planning on staying away from the Mr. Coffee brand until they drink a tall glass of get right.

Having purchased this about a year ago, we're now on our fourth replacement. After a few months, the device does not automatically finish the brewsing cycle so we have to stand next to the machine and keep turning it on, and on, and on. We strongly recommend against this machine unless you like the grief of having to call customer service over and over and over.

I purchased this coffee maker in March of 2009 and was very happy with it until about a month ago when it began to stop brewing after about 2 cups. I tried cleaning it but the problem has continued so I just called Mr. Coffee today and complained. The woman I talked to was very nice and quickly took my information and said they would send me a replacement within 3 weeks. All I had to do was fax my receipt to them so I am happy with their service. We'll see if I actually get the replacement.

I do love the low price and the thermal carafe. It brews very quickly and the timer is easy to use. I can't wait for my new one to arrive!

This item was not purchased on Amazon and is well worth the $40 paid.

What I like:
Programmable timer
Auto shut-off as soon as coffee is brewed
Size of carafe
Unbreakable carafe
Overall size of coffee pot
Coffee is still warm after 3 hours if lid completely screwed down
Easily stowed while RV in motion

What I dislike:
I have to remove the lid just like opening a pickle jar. A problem for arthritic hands.
The current time can be accidentally changed quite easily. Need for "Set Time" button.

I love that I can program this coffee maker and if I oversleep, I still have nice, warm coffee that is not burned three hours later. The stainless steel carafe, cord storage and overall size make this a great coffeemaker for RV trips (depending on your counter space). We used it in a 24-foot Tioga. While driving the coffeemaker is stowed on its side in the sink. Great!!!

I bought this a few weeks ago from the Amazon Warehouse. The coffee maker arrived in good condition and seems to be working well. I've not had any of the problems described by some of the other reviewers. This is my second Mr. Coffee coffee maker; I'd had my old one for almost ten years and decided to give it the boot because the insulation on the warming plate was wearing off and I was worried the carafe would get too hot and crack.

I set my coffee pot on delay brew the night before, which means I don't have time or the inclination to warm up the carafe first as suggested in the user manual. I brew just before I walk out the door in the mornings. On occasions that I am brewing on the weekend or for a dinner party I would definitely warm the carafe for five minutes with hot water before brewing. I like having a stainless carafe, and I like not having to worry about breakage with a glass carafe. I've had this happen in the past and have quite the scar to show for it.

I like the top load feature for the water, coffee and filters. Also, the device that brings water from the reservoir has a little arm that suspends over the basket. You have to move this out of the way to load the filter and coffee, and the lid has a plastic piece that ensures the arm is moved back over the basket when you close the lid. Very clever!

The one quirk of my old coffee maker is that it had a short in the on switch. Others have reported a problem with brewing stopping mid-cycle. I have not had this problem, but based on my previous experience wouldn't be entirely surprised if it happened with this maker.

Overall I'm very satisfied with my purchase.