"I'll take it home. Afterall I fixed our mixer."

This weekend was the parish breakfast. The Sunday timeline starts with 5:30 AM: Arrive at hall. Put coffee on. We run two pots: 100 cups of high test; 50 cups of decaf. By 7 AM both pots should be done. This Sunday at 7 AM we had 50 cups of decaf and 100 cups of scalding hot water. The breakfast service starting in about an hour, the coffee king, (our team member who brews the best 100 cups of industrial strength coffee), set up another pot, plugged it in and just as our first guests arrived the brew finished. We were saved.

But what about the broken percolator? We tried swapping out parts. No go. The tube that perked in its sister pot produced nothing. I suggested we trash the set up. "We can't have unreliable equipment when serving a parish community breakfast."

Before agreeing that the pot was heading for the dumpster, our coffee king said, "Maybe it's just a loose wire." And this is where the power of the mixer comes in. For I had fixed our mixer. And as before, we had nothing to lose. If I wasn't able to fix it, the mixer would've gone out on trash day. It would be the same for this 100 cupper.

Back home, the barrel turned upside down on our kitchen table I removed the bottom only to find all the wiring was in perfect condition. What now? ehow.com with the query: Percolator won't perk.

Nothing jumped out at me. Still puzzled I met up with some friends for our hike. While we walked I told them of my latest surgical kitchen experiment. With the final statement that I had no idea what I was looking for, a lesson on coffee makers resulted. Highlighting the all important seal between the tube and the can bottom.

Back home, the coffee maker in the sink, I scrubbed the point of insert. Yes, that could have been the problem. Using the tube that worked in the sister machine, I added water to the 10 cup line, assembled the rest of the unit and plugged it in. It worked!

Now to test it with it's own tube; a no go. I looked through the tube. It seemed clear. I could see daylight. Still, I stuck a nearby screw driver into the base, to discover it had a thick layer of coffee sludge lining the bottom end of the tube. The tube cleared, cleaned and reassembled in the maker and it perked as if it were brand new.

So what's the point of all this? I never would have tried to fix the 100 cupper if I hadn't attempted and/or been able to fix the mixer. Trying new endevours, learning new skills or ideas, is empowering.

(This morning we woke up to the dishwasher leaking all over the kitchen floor. It won't hurt if I take a shot at it. What do I have to lose? If I can't fix it, we'll either call a repairman or replace it.) :-)