Posted Thu Jan 31, 2008, 11:53am Subject: Re: Bunn BX-B Inital Impressions, Some Questions, Have Comments?
My 2 cents.
I am a home roaster and love my bunn except for the balance between weak coffee and overflow. I really appreciate the dialog in this thread and it has helped me dial things in.
I use the tall filters and have been playing around with the spray heads. The original brown plastic 5 hole head overflows (I use 3 oz of coffee.... its a lot but yum). The overflow never hits the actual drinkable coffee but the mess gets old.
The bunn flow restricter is way too slow and I do not like the coffee. I played with the 5 hole plastic OEM head using toothpicks and got closer, but do not like the idea of the toothpics and because of the odd pattern I do not think the spray pattern will be even. I do not have access to Tim Horton's spray head.
My solution...... I found a stainless steele replacement spray head at Mar-Bek that is a 6 hole model. It is part number 6-078-0000. I am not sure if it is Bunn OEM or not but it fits and works perfectly. I would guess it is a commercial part.
6 - holes that run even faster than the original 5. But, has a two triangle pattern. I took j-b cold weld and cold welded 3 of the holes closed in a triangle pattern, leaving a triangle pattern of three holes open. I was worried about toxicity of j-b cold weld but called them and they assured me their product is non toxic. As a matter of fact it is commonly used to fix hot and cold pipes (heat resistent to over 600 degrees).
Now I have a sprayhead that looks EXACTLY like the Tim Horton model. And most importantly my coffee tastes better than ever.
Posted Sat Feb 9, 2008, 1:11am Subject: Re: Bunn BX-B Inital Impressions, Some Questions, Have Comments?
I have the NHBX and have never had any trouble with overflow. Overflow is commonly the result of soft water swelling the grounds. I should know I work for BUNN but I am not biased. Having access to the restrictor head, I don't think anyone in my dept ever thought of using toothpicks to restrict the flow. It sounded interesting so I tried it on my home model. Using round toothpicks, I cut the round part into 3mm lengths and plugged two holes. I soaked the sprayhead in water to swell the wood and got a good seal. The brew time increased by about 2 minutes and I did notice a slightly stronger brew but I was not blown away by the difference. This test was done using the SCAA gold cup standard. As for the 6 hole sprayhead, that is a commercial brewer part. For the record it is best to order the 3 hole sprayhead as it is only a few bucks and never try the toothpick trick on a commercial pourover or automatic brewer. Commercial brewers can use a low flow sprayhead where the number of holes are the same but the diameter of the holes is smaller so you still get an even spray.
This may be a better solution for the home brewer instead of the 3 hole sprayhead. Take JB weld and plug all five holes let it set then take a real small drill bit and drill 5 small holes so you still get an even spray over the grounds.
Cosmo Senior Member Joined: 13 Sep 2006 Posts: 90 Location: Portland OR Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Coffee Gaggia Grinder: M4 stepless Vac Pot: nope Drip: *bucks barista :( Roaster: saving for a Gene Cafe
Posted Sun Feb 10, 2008, 10:10pm Subject: Re: Bunn BX-B Inital Impressions, Some Questions, Have Comments?
Well, my Canadian friend has mailed me a official Tim Horton spray head. Unfortunately, it does not fit American units as it does not screw onto the little central screw that the water comes out of. It looks like it is supposed to screw into a much wider plastic somthing or other mine does not have.
The good news is that I am really happy with my procedure for making coffee, and I love the coffee I am getting. I use the normal filters, the normal five hole head, and start the coffee maker by lowering the lid. After 35 seconds, I lift the lid, and wait for the dripping coffee to mostly stop. (this takes maybe a minute) I then slide out the coffee filter holder (with wet grounds) and the thermal carafe keeping the filter holder centered on the pot to catch any drips. At this point it is obvious the coffee has bloomed and is sitting high up on the sides of the filter. I take a spoon and push the grounds from the sides of the filter back towards the center of the filter, then reposition everything and restart it by lowering the lid. In about two more minutes, my coffee is ready, and does not have that weakness that running it straight does. I'm good to go, and I'm happy enough with this that I'm not looking for anything else. (For drip, anyways)
goleaf Senior Member Joined: 24 Apr 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Hamilton, ON the home of Tim Hortons Expertise: I love coffee
Grinder: Solis Maestro Drip: Tim Hortons Roaster: Nesco Pro
Posted Thu Apr 24, 2008, 2:10pm Subject: Re: Bunn BX-B Inital Impressions, Some Questions, Have Comments?
My 2 cents.
I am a home roaster and love my bunn except for the balance between weak coffee and overflow. .....................
I had the same problem with my Tim Hortons coffeemaker (same as the NHBX-B). Switched to the BUN20116 filters & now home roast has no problem with overflows.
dwkdnvr Senior Member Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Denver Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Mon May 5, 2008, 3:43pm Subject: Re: Bunn BX-B Inital Impressions, Some Questions, Have Comments?
I have a couple questions regarding the BTX-B, as I am considering it as an alternative to the MT500 which is my current default plan for our next machine (looking at the Capresso instead of a TV due to the timer. Yes, i know the downsides, but coffee first thing is important during the week. It's only the fast brew cycle of the Bunn that would seem to make it an alternative).
Has anyone looked at the high altitude versions of the Bunn units? Are they really necessary at altitude (I'm in Denver)? Is the 'cost' of going with the regular unit simply slightly lower brew temps?
Is it possible to get access to the hot water reservoir in any way other than brewing? Being able to decant the pre-heated water for a mid-day Aeropress or FP brew for example would be a nice selling point.
Does everyone leave theirs on all day? Obviously the always-hot reservoir is a big part of the attraction, but it seems a bit wasteful. Has anyone slapped a Kill-A-Watt on it to guage the daily power draw when idle?
Posted Mon May 5, 2008, 4:16pm Subject: Re: Bunn BX-B Inital Impressions, Some Questions, Have Comments?
dwkdnvr Said:
I have a couple questions regarding the BTX-B, as I am considering it as an alternative to the MT500 which is my current default plan for our next machine (looking at the Capresso instead of a TV due to the timer. Yes, i know the downsides, but coffee first thing is important during the week. It's only the fast brew cycle of the Bunn that would seem to make it an alternative).
You can have a brew cycle anywhere from the stock standard 3 minutes, to 4 minutes plus if you want. Please check my posts above & elsewhere to see the different ways how.
Has anyone looked at the high altitude versions of the Bunn units? Are they really necessary at altitude (I'm in Denver)? Is the 'cost' of going with the regular unit simply slightly lower brew temps?
I know Denver's the "mile high city" @ 5,280', but I've forgotten what water boils at altitude there & I'm not going to Google it @ the moment.., something like 200°F? The stock brewer brews @ 200°F at sea level. Well, I just went & looked anyhoo: http://www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Calib-boil.html so 202.5°F approx.
Is it possible to get access to the hot water reservoir in any way other than brewing? Being able to decant the pre-heated water for a mid-day Aeropress or FP brew for example would be a nice selling point.
Yes, you run a pot of water into & through the top resevoir to pull out the hot 200°F brew temp water. Take off the spray head if you need a lot of hot water fast, & the water will flow out very quickly.
Does everyone leave theirs on all day?
No, I don't., it only takes 11 minutes for my unit to come up to brew temp. {;-)
Posted Mon May 5, 2008, 7:30pm Subject: Re: Bunn BX-B Inital Impressions, Some Questions, Have Comments?
TimEggers Said:
Hi Craig,
No I haven't plussged the stock head yet. I think I am going to try it though. I would like the coffee even stronger. Here is a photo of the spray head that Bunn sent me, is this the one hole?
Tim...uh...why not just grind a touch finer?...in my limited experience with flat basket filters, I nearly always observed some grind that was not saturated. Seems to me that these companies built these brewers for folks who use 2 month or worse still, pre-packed coffee. My Technivorm had the blooming problem with a Swiss Gold filter...and that was only 6 bean scoops...50 grams grind....45oz water. You shouldn't to do all these machinations...it's a $100 coffee brewer...i In 4 minutes, I have 40oz of superb coffee with my Chemex. No problems, and I grind as fine as I can stand. IMHO Convenience isn't so when it comes with inconvenience...swapping heads, grinding coarse to prevent overflow, etc. You're using $600 worth of equipment (SJ and Bunn) to drip brew...I save my SJ for espresso, and use my $90 Solis and a $30 Chemex. Delicious. "Oh Joy, Oh rapture!" (sayeth the Scarecrow, Wizard of Oz) Whew...I ALWAYS wanted to rant at SOMEONE!! Able to direct my invective simultaneously at 2 moderators. muwawhahaha As they say here in the Bible belt, "you boys keep foolin' with those fancy machines, you'll go blind!" "Around these-here parts, we do jes fine with our old dependable Folgers Instant...umm, good!" Respectfully, RJ Edited to say...just kidding, guys!
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