Broken Keurig
January 3, 2012 10:51 AM Subscribe
I have a Keurig B31. I love it, but it's already not working right after just a week of use. The problem comes when I put water into the resevoir, open up the head to put in a cup, close the head (which should then allow me to brew) but instead leads back to a cycle where it keeps asking me to add water, then open the head. When it's finally ready to brew it makes about half of what it should, and it also seems like there's water building up in the reservoir (which, according to the guide, shouldn't happen as each brew should empty whatever is in the reservoir). Is there anything I can do to reset the machine or otherwise make it work correctly?
It seems like they're good about customer support, so my next step is to call the manufacturer, but it's frustrating that they thing is already broken.
It seems like they're good about customer support, so my next step is to call the manufacturer, but it's frustrating that they thing is already broken.
We had the same issue with another Keurig brewer. Worked great for about a month or two, then did the same - would only make about half a cup of what it usually did and when brewing, it seemed the water was "refluxing" back into the reservoir. It also kept giving the same add water warning.
We filled the reservoir with vinegar and ran it until we emptied the reservoir. Worked well and haven't had the same issue since. Worth giving it a shot before you call.
On preview, what k8t said.
posted by defenestrated at 10:57 AM on January 3, 2012
We filled the reservoir with vinegar and ran it until we emptied the reservoir. Worked well and haven't had the same issue since. Worth giving it a shot before you call.
On preview, what k8t said.
posted by defenestrated at 10:57 AM on January 3, 2012
Response by poster: Should I attempt to empty the water that's currently in the reservoir? It seems like tilting it upside down and letting the water drain might harm components and might also not be very effective in getting rid of the water.
posted by codacorolla at 10:59 AM on January 3, 2012
posted by codacorolla at 10:59 AM on January 3, 2012
Look, it's brand new. Stop futzing around and call them and say, "My brand new machine is broken." They'll most likely replace it.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:19 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:19 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I had what sounds like exactly the same issue on the weekend when using my brothers Keurig. It turns out that I was simply using it wrong.
Before attempting to return it: when you pour in the water and then open the head, do you allow all of the water to drain out of the reservoir before closing the head with the coffee inside? If not, you'll end up with only about a half cup of coffee and the rest of the water just sitting in the upper reservoir.
If it's not working, return it. But, just make sure that you are using it correctly first, otherwise you'll have the same problem with the new one.
posted by asnider at 11:20 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Before attempting to return it: when you pour in the water and then open the head, do you allow all of the water to drain out of the reservoir before closing the head with the coffee inside? If not, you'll end up with only about a half cup of coffee and the rest of the water just sitting in the upper reservoir.
If it's not working, return it. But, just make sure that you are using it correctly first, otherwise you'll have the same problem with the new one.
posted by asnider at 11:20 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Call them. Did you register for the warranty? Regardless - call them.
Our machine was 8 months old and we had problems with it powering on. I emailed them, they called us at home, escalated us to a different level of tech support, then sent us a new machine and restarted our warranty. I tend to be cynical about customer service these days, but they were stellar. Even threw in a free 12 pack of k-cups in one of my favorite flavors for the problem. All we had to do was send them back a part to prove we'd destroyed the broken one. Don't fiddle around with us to trouble shoot (which we did, and frankly was a waste of our time) - call them.
posted by librarianamy at 11:25 AM on January 3, 2012
Our machine was 8 months old and we had problems with it powering on. I emailed them, they called us at home, escalated us to a different level of tech support, then sent us a new machine and restarted our warranty. I tend to be cynical about customer service these days, but they were stellar. Even threw in a free 12 pack of k-cups in one of my favorite flavors for the problem. All we had to do was send them back a part to prove we'd destroyed the broken one. Don't fiddle around with us to trouble shoot (which we did, and frankly was a waste of our time) - call them.
posted by librarianamy at 11:25 AM on January 3, 2012
Call keurig. Their customer service ROCKS. They are not affraid to send you a new keurig.
posted by majortom1981 at 11:51 AM on January 3, 2012
posted by majortom1981 at 11:51 AM on January 3, 2012
Long time Keurig user here, with multiple different types of machines.
Nthing descaling first with vinegar. (And do check you are using it correctily as asnider says.)
If that doesn't work, call them. They really do provide wonderful, speedy customer support. They will send you a new machine, no problem.
In future, I recommend running clean water through the machine, without a pod, every two or three brewings. Then you'll never again have to descale, honest.
posted by bearwife at 11:54 AM on January 3, 2012
Nthing descaling first with vinegar. (And do check you are using it correctily as asnider says.)
If that doesn't work, call them. They really do provide wonderful, speedy customer support. They will send you a new machine, no problem.
In future, I recommend running clean water through the machine, without a pod, every two or three brewings. Then you'll never again have to descale, honest.
posted by bearwife at 11:54 AM on January 3, 2012
I have a bigger keurig machine that has pump issues where it only fills the cup halfway up. Googling around, the workaround is to smack the machine around (pretty hard) while cussing it out. Surprisingly, it works. There is something really nice about the whole process - machine acting up, you beat the crap out of it, then it submits and makes my coffee.
posted by H. Roark at 12:57 PM on January 3, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by H. Roark at 12:57 PM on January 3, 2012 [2 favorites]
nthing calling them to request a replacement.
In the future, it's not *completely* unusual for the machine to "backwash" a bit of clean water back into the reservoir, although it is a symptom of something beginning to get clogged up somewhere -- vinegar usually does the trick.
posted by schmod at 12:58 PM on January 3, 2012
In the future, it's not *completely* unusual for the machine to "backwash" a bit of clean water back into the reservoir, although it is a symptom of something beginning to get clogged up somewhere -- vinegar usually does the trick.
posted by schmod at 12:58 PM on January 3, 2012
Response by poster: For the record, it was just user error. I misread the instructions, and it turns out that you have to leave the cup-head open to let water enter the machine from the reservoir. I'd been closing it early instead of letting it do its thing. Thanks for the help!
posted by codacorolla at 12:54 PM on January 15, 2012
posted by codacorolla at 12:54 PM on January 15, 2012
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posted by k8t at 10:54 AM on January 3, 2012