The $5 Vacuum/ Syphon Coffee Maker

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I made this coffee maker for around $5 because I wanted one but didn’t want to pay $150-$300. I haven’t used my regular coffee maker since. Anyone want to bu…

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artofbreathtaking says:

like MrGadlo said, 2 years ago. a sock would work the same. pour 200 degree
water into a mason jar, with the grinds, then put a sock over the opening
and pour it out. [clean socks, optional] You canNOT compare to the Vacuum
Presses on the market. They pour hot water on the grinds, then the water
gets pulled through the grinds. This device doesn’t perform the, crucial,
2nd step.

Jimkbbh says:

I hope that glass is strong enough to withstand the internal forces

Gadeer H says:

can i have that

cooldesertknight says:

Awesome !!!

jmcshane3317 says:

do you have a filter of any sort?

kennyt1230 says:

I have a glass-top stove and I use a pyrex percolator. To use Pyrex on it
you need a metal trivet or else you risk shattering the pyrex–also, you
shouldn’t move a hot pyrex glass to the cold burner or else you can also
shatter due to the instant change from hot to cold. Just turning off the
burner should make the coffee flow back into the glass pot.

kccustomuph says:

Dude, you are a genius. I have tried many vacuum brewers and nearly NONE of
them will create a good seal. If you buy an old one on Ebay, the rubber
seals are dried and hard. I just spent a frustrating morning trying to get
an old corey to work when I broke the funnel to my recently purchased Yama.
The Yama didn’t work unless I stood there and pressed down on the funnel
the whole time so the seal would not break. I am typing this with blistered
fingers. As I said, U R A GENIUS.

NOENTROBCAP says:

How do you create the vacuum?

robot797 says:

why not all our water lines are made of it

chrisfic says:

@JacobSijsma I don’t own a regular drip filter coffee maker but I have
filter coffee at work. I have tried bringing my own fresh ground beans
hoping it will be better but no luck. I like the vacuum syphon coffee much
better. I’m not sure why it is so much better but it is. I have seen
postings about vacuum syphon coffee on the internet but haven’t done much
reading about it.

Eduo Gutierrez says:

lol no. Pyrex doesn’t do this, man. That’s the whole point of Pyrex.

chrisfic says:

To make it more compact, I didn’t like how far apart the two containers
were. Later I made another one without the curl and it looked boring.

phorce1 says:

So, what ever happened to a video of your improved siphon? I’d be
interested in seeing it.

chrisfic says:

Thanks for the tip, I’ll go get my blood tested tomorrow.

Crazy Hans says:

@kennyt1230 No, what differentiates pyrex from conventional glass is it’s
ability to withstand rapid temperature change, this is why it’s used in
labs.

DrummerKaran512 says:

how did you filter the grounds?

MORONICO3 says:

do u have to have a sealed top on the erlenmeyer flask or can u just put
the tube in?

purplemutantas says:

@elShoggotho United Nuclear has cheap borosilicate lab glass. They have 500
ml Erlenmeyer flasks for $5 plus shipping. That’s pretty cheap. I have some
Erlenmeyer flasks and beakers I got from them. Once I get some copper
tubing and stoppers I am going to try this.

chrisfic says:

Yes, I split the end of the tubing lengthwise first in half then turned it
a quarter turn and split it again about 1/2 inch. I bent the four ends out
perpendicular to the tubing, filing the edges to remove the sharp edges. I
used a key ring (just the round part) about one inch in diameter to make
the “filter” round having a little more surface area. Cut a piece of cotton
cloth about three inches in diameter. Lay the ring on the cloth, set the
cut ends of tubing in the middle and tie with string.

zemaoumasta says:

don’t use copper !!!

chrisfic says:

@elShoggotho You can buy erlenmeyer flasks online with a rubber stopper for
about $3.00. Use copper tubing, it bends really easy by hand.

Mike Sananikone says:

what did you use for the filter?

chrisfic says:

The loop doesn’t do anything, I just didn’t measure anything and didn’t
like how far away the two containers were from each other so I put the loop
in the tubing to shorten it up. I guess it just adds some character.

chrisfic says:

First, don’t buy the cheapest piece of crap flask you can find if you’re
going to be subjecting it to heat and pressure. Second there is not much
contraction going on, just enough to “suck” the coffee back into the flask.
It is more dangerous during the first part of the process when the water is
being forced out of the flask. I’ve had the rubber stopper blow off before
but I’ve never had a flask break. Remember kids, don’t try this at home.

baguazhang2 says:

@chrisfic Luckily, I run a few laboratories, so I will be trying this later
with some flasks when no one is around. I also have some very high quality
Teflon tubing that runs a few hundred dollars for a small roll. Melting
point is over 340 degrees C, so no worries about melting. Tell you what,
research any potential health effects of using such tubing for drinking hot
liquids, and I’ll mail you some if you’re curious. I’d like to see a video
of you using it.

Andar Lucifer says:

Pyrex can break from thermal shock, just like any other glassware. Pyrex is
not perfect.

gurwurtzenger says:

I tried this technique, didn’t work, just save your money and buy the real
thing. The copper tubing makes it taste awful. Yes, copper poisoning can
happen from this.

Pwall000 says:

I totally though about this too since I had an E-flask due to my brewing
starter kit. One suggestion, you should have have the copper pipe just a
little bit (eg: 1cm) off the bottom of flask so that not all the water is
able to be pushed through. This allow you to infuse the coffee
appropriately, in terms of time, while removing the risk of contraction
breakage of your Flask! Just curious though, what did you use to filter the
coffee? Did you just tie a piece of cloth taut to the copper pipe?

Jane Eccles Payne says:

wow..i was hoping to try cause can’t afford to buy one and our coffee maker
broke..u should make instructional vid..with that warning of course so no
one blows up. lol

stiff304 says:

i made this in Australia with a 500ml flask for about 15-20 bucks still
worth it, but to answer your question for me about 7-8 mins not too long

chrisfic says:

I have used this hundreds of times with no broken flasks. If you don’t get
the stopper down in there good enough the pressure will blow it up to the
ceiling. I’m certainly not advocating that anyone build and use this thing,
it can be dangerous. I put it together more as an experiment to see how it
would work and if the coffee would be good. That’s a good trick filling the
tube with sand, thanks.

Aaron Gray says:

Could you potentially use this for the creation of hot cocoa?

chrisfic says:

It’s a bit of t-shirt material. I flared out the end of the tubing for more
surface area, I tied it on with a piece of string. I use it every day and
only had to replace the filter material one time in about a year.

chrisfic says:

@kennyt1230 I also have a glass top stove and have no problems using Pyrex
on it. And it’s not like you are moving the hot Pyrex from the stove into a
bucket of ice water, so there’s no problem there. People have been cooking
with Pyrex for decades. Thanks for your concern.

Bogdan Tiflinsky says:

Did you time the water when it came to a boil? Or did you start recording
when it just started boiling? Also what was your grind, medium? Thanks!

chrisfic says:

Magnets, I mean a vacuum is created.

chrisfic says:

BeautifulBeau, you need to try your search at least three years ago.

Optimatorz says:

Is the curl in the pipe necessary, or did you do that to make it more
compact? Awesome!

Andar Lucifer says:

@chrisfic There is potential for a problem there. People have been cooking
with Pyrex for decades and some of those people have disfigured faces now
because they opened the oven door, or set the glassware on the stove top.
There is always that small chance so be careful.

Krinogen says:

@chrisfic actually, the pipes are normally no more in copper. Heavy copper
leaked in beverage are only bad for gastric reason. Have a little copper in
a beverage is good for health, I think a coffee/day like that would be
good for you. But don’t forget to wash the copper tube because the coffee’s
acidity will corrode it, and this, is bad for health. If copper pipe never
hurt anyone it is because there was no acid coffee in it !

chrisfic says:

Sealed

cm3ars says:

Reminds me of the setup gale had in Breaking Bad

baguazhang2 says:

Oh, is my video private? I’ll get it changed to public then.

Nick Steele says:

Clever stuff, clever stuff! This looks superbly easy, and I’m going to make
one. Thanks a bunch for putting this up!

mrGadlo says:

For Pete’s sake, just buy a damn siphon. They aren’t that expensive.
Certainly not $150. With the featured setup, you don’t get to: -control
brew temp -avoid leaching copper into your coffee -see any real advantage
from the vacuum in terms of more efficient filtration You might as well put
your coffee in a sock, immerse it in hot water then remove the sock when
done. You would have more control of the temp and lose no filtration
efficiency. Your coffee would be better.

Tori Stellar the Storyteller says:

@chrisfic what does the loop de loop part of the tube do?

dorotwhy says:

Interesting! Sounds like it would make a perfect cup of coffee but too
scientific for m. Do you deliver? ;O)

baguazhang2 says:

I’ve just finished making my own coffee maker with a ton of improvements
over the original vacuum siphon design. Adjustable brewing time, faster
water transfer, ideal water temperature as a result, and no need for
filters, all achieved with nothing more than the flasks, stoppers, and
tubing. I’ll post it on Youtube in a few weeks. I also used Teflon tubing
after feeling unsafe about the copper.

georgem21275 says:

Coffee Nerd! =) Nice work.

chrisfic says:

I’ve found that the rubber stoppers I use are kind of hard and slick when
new, so I have to really push it down in the flask hard. After some use
they soften up. I’ve had it blow up to the kitchen ceiling twice with new
stoppers, luckily they come straight out and there’s nothing holding the
other end in the coffee grounds so the containers don’t tip over. I tried
boiling a new one before using it and it helped a little. I’ve only had to
replace it once in the original coffee maker.

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