Hi All,
Today I finally found a vacuum coffee pot at a local flea market. It's aluminum with a metal filter. The bottom reads "Wooster DURALUX Ohio Pat. No. 153, 342. The metal filter sits on a 3/8" diameter metal rod 4-1/2" long. There are stops above and below the filter disk to restrain it near the center of the rod but allows about 1" of movement up or down. On end of the rod has a groove in it for an attachment that is not with my purchase. I would assume it might be for a chain or spring to hold the filter down. I tried the pot with just water and it seemed to work but didn't drain properly. I didn't realize that it wasn't working properly until the next try when I put some bad coffee in it for a test and saw that the seal was leaking so there wasn't enough vacuum to pull the coffee back down. The seal appears to be ok I just didn't put it together tight enough. The weight of the rod seems to hold the filter down. Is anyone familiar with this pot? Does it need a spring or chain? Any suggestions? I amazed when I see on this list that people have bought vaccum pots for reasonable prices on e-bay. I've been looking for a month or two and I haven't seen any bargains. Thanks for any information.
Walt
The seal: You can use food grade lubricant to make the seal work. Look for it near the soft-serve supplies at a restaurant supply store. Use as little as you can. The rubber seal is usually dried up and shriveled, and will swell some with use if it is coated with that silicone lubricant (comes in a tube like toothpaste).
I actually used 'rubber rejuvenator' on one, which is definitely not food-grade. It is a gnarly solvent that removes glaze on the rubber and swells it a little. After a couple of applications I let it air out for a week, then gave it a light coat of silicone lubricant, and the seal was as good as new.
The filter: [describing a Nicro] There should be a chain with a spring that goes inside the tube and latches at the notch. This keeps tension on the metal 'filter' so that it stays in place and you don't get a huge amount of grounds getting sucked back into the pot. I would think that it could be fabricated from a small spring (like from a ball point pen), some fine wire (in place of the chain), and maybe a small fishhook. This is assuming that the filter is actually all there...
[duralux] Sounds like this has a metal bar instead of the chain. You should be able to jury rig it to stay in place with a hook and a spring...
These used to be a lot easier to find, as they were VERY popular in the 40's and 50's in coffee shops in the US. Nowadays most people don't know what they are or how they work so even thrift stores toss them rather than putting them on the shelves.
