View source for Cuisinart Programmable 14-Cup CBC-6400PC Coffeemaker

I zeroed in on this coffee maker with help from Amazon reviews. But because it was cheaper at Costco ([https://www.costco.com/Cuisinart%C2%AE-14-Cup-Programmable-Coffeemaker.product.100226551.html?catalogId=10701&langId=-1&storeId=10301&krypto=GCi81twTlWuLskCRYeMefLKT%2BAw05LduwD2lwex68l7MBEzHSdUGt9SIDRkYK7ZJW8KB2VErui0Y%0A8ARu8dcZHfXK0t4XMweW7dmT3TiqqO4%3D $60 plus $10 s&h] vs. [https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-Stainless-Coffeemaker-Programmable-CBC-6400PC/dp/B0164JVR7K/ref=cm_cr-mr-title $82 w/free s&h at Amazon], Dec. 2016), I bought it elsewhere. 

Because Amazon helped, after I studied it, I posted this review there -- only to find that it was invisible to most people because I was not a verified Amazon purchaser. (That's what most people see unless a product has very few reviews OR they dig really deep, specifically looking for reviews by non-purchasers. Which very few will do.) So I am posting it here because it's pretty much lost on Amazon, even though [https://www.amazon.com/review/R3LDFQ5WCN59YM/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv it's there] (posted 12/28/16).

I first used it 12/7/16. What follows is my Dec. 2016 Amazon review, extensively updated, through March 2018 (see [http://mikefay.info/wiki/index.php?title=Cuisinart_Programmable_14-Cup_CBC-6400PC_Coffeemaker&action=history this page's history] for updates):


[[File:Cuisinart Coffee Maker CBC-6400PC picture.png|thumb|right|300px|The Cuisinart Coffee Maker CBC-6400PC coffee maker. Rather handsome.]]
<big>'''The Cuisinart CBC-6400PC works pretty much as expected. Here are some details for anyone interested:'''</big>

=== Overall Review ===

I really like this guy. It's a keeper if you want mass quantities of coffee or don't mind half-caff Maxwell House sitting there a few days. (I personally never use the warming feature; see below.) Intravenous caffeine is preferable but this is the next best thing... as long as it doesn't have mold, any coffee is good coffee in my book.
[[File:Consumer_-_Cuisinart_Coffee_Maker_CBC-6400PC_Quick_Reference_Guide.JPG|thumb|right|Quick Reference Guide]]

Mold just adds a little adventure.

=== Some specs ===

==== Books and Pics ====

* [[Media:Consumer - Cuisinart Coffee Maker CBC-6400PC 100226551-Instruction Booklet.pdf|Cuisinart Coffee Maker CBC-6400PC Instruction Booklet.pdf]] (2.5 MB)

* Quick Reference Guide, to right

[[File:Consumer_-_Cuisinart_Coffee_Maker_CBC-6400PC_box_1.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Box art 1]]

[[File:Consumer_-_Cuisinart_Coffee_Maker_CBC-6400PC_box_2.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Box art 2]]

[[File:Consumer_-_Cuisinart_Coffee_Maker_CBC-6400PC_box_3.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Box art 3]]

* Box art: Click on thumbnail for much more detail

==== Dimensions ====

Unpacked and on your counter, it measures:

:14.5" inches high (22" with top lid open)
:9" deep (11" if you include the carafe handle extended fully outward)
:8 & 1/8" wide (widest at back)

It '''must''' have clearance for the top to completely open; you have to slide it completely out from under typical kitchen cabinets to open it. But then, many coffee makers are like this. See [[Cuisinart_Programmable_14-Cup_CBC-6400PC_Coffeemaker#This_little_b.26stard_always_spills_water_when_you_open_it|This little b&stard always spills water when you open it]] for more details.

==== Their volume measurement is accurate ====

It is "14 cups" but they define cups as 5 fluid ounces (typical for coffee makers, shrug). I compared the tared weight of a full carafe (14 cups) and the meter in the side of the pot and it's all in good agreement with weight of water as 29.57 grams per ounce. It was 2075 g vs expected 2070 (14 x 5 x 29.57), only off by 0.2% (within measurement error).

==== Brewing time ====

A full 14-cup pots takes:
* '''17 minutes for Bold''' (average 16:56; range 16:25–17:37, N=7) 
* '''13 minutes for regular''' (average 13:00, range 12:41–13:21, N=5)

The temperature of your tap water surely affects this some, so YMMV. I did not think to measure my tap water temperature at the time... In Dec. 2016 in Atlanta GA, our house temp was 67. The tap water temp was probably slightly lower.

The unit makes five beeps over several seconds when done. At a medium-level of volume; not real soft, not real loud. But it doesn't last long. If you miss it, you miss it.

==== Energy usage ====

Brewing with Bold uses an average of 866 watts and with regular is 1,062 watts. Interestingly when you consider that Bold takes longer, they use about the same watthours (244 for Bold, 230 for regular) - Bold uses lower heat over a longer time. The only real difference, then, is that Bold takes longer. 
* ''Watt measures are from [https://engage.efergy.com Efergy circuit-breaker monitors] and are probably off several percent, but are still fine ballpark figures, and the relative difference should be solid (1062 being 23% more than 866).''

==== Bold versus regular? ====

I'm no coffee connoisseur. I couldn't really tell a difference between Bold or regular. But I guess one may as well use Bold to get the most flavor out of the little beans that sacrificed their life for your morning's enjoyment, laugh.

Don't forget, you can pull out the carafe and pour a cup, before it's full. A nice little touch. (Do it slowly so the little spring-loaded cut-off kicks in; you can hear it if you listen close.) You will definitely notice a big difference in the richness of a cup taken from when it first starts pouring versus one at the end (or a pot full), if doing the max 14 cups.

=== Operation ===
I could swear I read somewhere that this unit heats coffee to a particular temperate, but I can't find it now. Maybe it was in the advertising.

==== Warming Tray Time ====
Yes, you can set the warming tray time from 0 minutes to 4 hours, in minute increments. If you're like me and don't want to warm it at all (so it doesn't cook in the pot), it is easy to set to 0:00, even though it defaults to 2:00 (2 hours).

==== 1-4 cups setting ====
In case it's not clear: The "1-4 cups" setting is not a command to tell the machine to only make 1-4 cups, when you have more water than that in the tank. 

It's the other way around: You are telling the machine you only have water for 1-4 cups in the tank, so make that. Or so the manual says.

This setting must change the brewing parameters somehow, shrug.

I wonder what happens if it has a full tank and you hit "1-4 cups", ha ha.

==== "Brew Pause" feature easily jammed, and easily cleared ====

This coffee maker has a feature wherein coffee will stop pouring while it is brewing, if you pull out the pot. That's great - you don't have to wait the full 15-18 minutes for a completely full pot. 

:For the record - because there is a slight amount of start-up time, you usually have one full cup of java in your pot after about 3 minutes. '''It will be a strong one, if you were making the full 14 cups.''' &nbsp; ''<small>espresso on the sly?</small>''

"Brew Pause" is a nice feature. It works by way of a little spring loaded valve that drops down and closes if your remove the pot. Just lift out the coffee maker's filter-holder cup and you can easily see and press the little valve.

:The manual (page 5) says '''it will pause for up to 20 seconds'''. 

:Have the carafe back by then or the filter cup will probably overflow coffee grounds big time – back into the main water tank – and make an ENORMOUS mess of your machine! Then, you have to turn it upside down and flush ALL the grounds out of the tank or they'll jam up the water-flow piping. 

: So DON'T LET THE FILTER OVERFLOW INTO THE MAIN TANK, lol.


More commonly, sometimes coffee grounds overflow the filter just a little and run down under it, into the filter cup below. This can happen for several reasons, including if you made a mess when you filled the filter, or if the filter is too small or isn't quite sitting right.

If this happens, the valve that lets the coffee into the carafe can get jammed such that it won't stop pouring if you take the carafe out briefly so you can grab a cup. 

The good news is that it's super easy to clean once you realize it's happened. Just take the filter-holder cup out of the machine and rinse it under a faucet. Play with it some as water flows through. Test whether it leaks any more. In no time, any evasive grinds will be cleaned out.

:''Careful, coffee grounds stuck in the valve can sneak up on you. Watch for unexpected drip marks on the tray under the pot.''

==== Ridiculous water filter ====
I would not dream of bothering with the little water filter that comes with this machine. To me, it's just a gimmick. Either your water is pure enough to drink, or it's not. (In which case you should be filtering all your water.) 

I'm a chemist of sorts. Coffee itself is a bit of a molecular trap (a la organic carbon). And the heating/brewing weeds out volatiles as well. So the idea of using some teeny-tiny filter as if it can make much difference is pretty absurd. 

But I'm sure Cuisinart would still love to sell you little wads of paper at an incredible markup.

Our first coffeemaker lasted years until we broke it, when grounds accidentally overflowed into the tank (arguably due to bad design, not our fault). We rarely did a vinegar flush and it always worked fine. After all, we're just talking about sucking water through pipes ... it essentially gets flushed with clean water every time you use it ... so what do you need a filter for. It's not going to help much if any if you have hard water problems, but we don't have hard water.

==== When will companies put a little non-volatile RAM in their appliances? ====
Sadly, they did not spend the extra 2 cents to give this machine a tiny bit of flash RAM (which remembers settings across power loss). So, you guessed it, you will have to re-set everything every time the power goes out for more than a minute. I can understand it on a cheapo coffee maker, but this one's top of the line. Come on designers, give us a break! 

And so, yes, you will forever have the time-of-day clock wrong unless you want to hassle with it across every power loss or long unplugging. No, it does not default to simply not showing any time, if time has not been set. And it does not even flash if it got reset, so it's one more clock that's stealthily wrong in your house. What an oversight. When will these guys get simple details right.

Can't they have included a battery for the clock? But not for the settings, which always should be non-volatile. (So they persist even if the battery dies.)

As its specs say, there is a 60 second grace period where it remembers settings. I try to keep records of how often electricity fails. Interestingly, this machine lasts much longer than PCs and other devices that reset with only 2 seconds of power outage (or whetever). So if it seems like power may have gone out in the middle of the night, but you're not sure for how long, see if the coffee maker didn't reset, if your other more-volatile devices did. If they did, you know power was out for more than a few seconds, but less then a minute. 

I always keep the heating tray set to "L" but it defaults to "M", so '''it's easy to see at a glance if it got reset'''. I have never once bothered with my machine's clock, so it's always wrong and completely ignored. 

Sure, the clock matters if you want to brew at a particular time. But don't you deserve a battery? 

And don't the rest of us deserve the clock defaulting to not showing anything if it knows it's probably wrong, like all good appliances do?

==== No "Decalcification" here ====

As long as we're covering everything conceivable: After 4.5 years (May 2021), our "decalcification indicator" never came on. (It's the lower-left button on the front of the unit.) This is without using any of the built-in filters (the slot sits empty), using paper filters (not the gold filter), and only ever flushing the machine with vinegar once. I think it's safe to say my tapwater is pretty soft. Compare how [[Fridge_Filter_Flow_Rate|our refrigerator filters show almost no sign of being clogged after two years' use]].

=== Other notes ===

==== Lightweight Sliding Caddy Not Recommended ====
We tried one of the $7 [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LQZKIC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Handy Caddy Sliding Kitchen Under Cabinet] little moving shelves sold on Amazon, but it is very problematic for this unit. The way the carafe works is that the carafe lid is slightly caught by a spring-loaded valve which rests right against the drain below the filter. This is a good thing; it's part of the grab-a-cup system that shuts off dripping for a short while when you pull out the carafe. 

But it means that every single time you get a cup of coffee, it always wants to move the whole machine if it's on something as lightweight as this caddy, which always makes the caddy slide out past its stop, or even pulls the machine right off the caddy. Likewise, putting the pot back in the machine needs a slight amount of force which is no big deal except that with the lightweight caddy, it's enough the push the machine off the back of the caddy. 

In other words, this machine is always trying to slide around on your caddy, coming or going. It's '''not''' a problem using the feet of the coffee machine (without any caddy), but is a problem with the caddy, unless you're very careful, or double-sided tape it down or something. 

To make a long story short: Don't use a caddy. Just pull it out the entire coffee maker out from under your kitchen cabinet when filling it. It's really only very slight effort, but more importantly, it's zero more '''''time''''', especially if the unit slides off the caddy or goes askew. Which it always wants to do with a lightweight caddy. Maybe these caddies work fine for lesser units, but this is a 14-cup beast.

So this is one place where you can save your money and time and ignore an extra (the caddy).

==== Using its gold filter versus paper filters ====
The "gold" filter is indeed quite useful by itself and you won't necessarily ever have to buy filters if you don't want. They only allow a very fine amount of coffee grinds through, sort of like if a half pinch of flour got through on a complete 14-cup pot, and no more. But it does mean your pot will need to be cleaned fairly often (but only a little sooner than you would anyway, shrug). It also does mean that you should not use the carafe to fill the machine unless you wash it every time (which I sure as h*ck am not going to do, and bought a pitcher instead, below).

After a months' use, I have decided I'd rather use a filter (just 2¢ each) than having to dump and then rinse the metal filter every single time, plus get my hands wet right when I'm handling coffee.

For what it's worth, our previous coffee maker used generic "8-12 cup" round basket filters. These rounds one are working fine in this coffee maker, until they run out and I then use the recommended cone type. Just saying: You don't have to trash old basket filters if you switch to this coffee maker. They might leak a little coffee every 20th pot, but it's better than wasting them.
[[File:Rubbermaid Bouncer 72-Oz Pitcher.png|right|thumb|250px|Rubbermaid Bouncer 72-Oz Pitcher]]

==== The 72-ounce Rubbermaid "Bouncer" pitcher works great with this unit ====
We bought a 72-ounce Rubbermaid "Bouncer" pitcher ([https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J9SN52Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 $17 on Amazon]) to fill this full, easily, without re-using the pot. Careful, "72 ounces" is the theoretical max for this pitcher (only when spilling over the sides); more realistically it holds 68 or so without spilling. 14 cups times 5 ounces is 70 ounces, so it's pretty damn close. And you could always just make a little less than a full 14 cups and be fine, shrug. That's what I'm doing. Let caution take me to the winds and perhaps I will survive if I pour 69 ounces instead of 70.

:<small>Here's my [https://www.amazon.com/review/R3NTMVJWSD0ULG/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv detail-oriented review of the pitcher].</small>

==== The Cuisinart CBC-6400PC versus Cuisinart's very similar DCC-3200 Coffee Maker ====
The very similar [https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DCC-3200-Programmable-Coffeemaker-Stainless/dp/B00MVWGQX0/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1484416275&sr=1-1&keywords=cuisinart+3200 Cuisinart DCC-3200] may only be cosmetically different. I only found them clearly compared side by side [https://www.amazon.com/forum/-/Tx2V8XGIR2AID8L/-/ref=ask_dp_lsw_al_hza?asin=B00MVWGQX0 in one place], where Amazon reviewer RJHamilton said (4/17/16), "I have both. The Costco one ''<nowiki>[</nowiki>CDC-6400PC<nowiki>]</nowiki>'' is still new and therefore not tested long enough. The Costco one has black plastic housing vs the stainless steel. However, both are making a good hot cup of coffee that stays hot for 4 hours".
:<small>It's kind of sad when not even manufacturers explain differences in their product lines to consumers these days, but if you look closely you see that a lot, especially with all the re-branding and store-specific lines these days. For example, water heater companies and door companies (Masonite) make different models for Lowes versus Home Depot. These extremely minor store-specific variations don't show up on manufacturer's sites so you have to figure out specifications and what these nonsensical store-specific model numbers are relative to actual model variants, as though you were a detective.</small>

=== Hope you enjoyed my in-depth review ===

Why not leave me a comment if you did? (Contact me, Upper left) I do this under the premise it might be helpful to others. If no one much comes here, my time could be better spent.

For the record, I first made this review Janaury 2017. I made the bulk of it then,. but have updated it from time to time.

If you have found this, or anything else on my site useful, let me know. I spent days researching this coffee pot and making this article, and as of 1.2 years later (March 2018) only two people left comments. Google stats show this as being the most-clicked article on my site. 

So I have decided, my entire site is not worth my time, laugh. Let me know if you think it wasn't wasted time.