Keurig 2.0—Big Upgrade for Little Money

 I freely admit that I am often a late adopter of new technologies, tending to wait until I can get what I want on the cheap--like thrift store cheap. This has certainly been the case with Keurig coffeemakers. It seemed like everyone was getting them when they first came out back in the early and mid-2010s, but I held out as I watched the wave of castoff drip coffeemakers on thrift shop shelves crest. Then, in about 2017, I spied a one-cup Mr. Coffee, built around the Keurig system for about the cost of a fast food meal and I decided that was cheap enough to give it a try. 

Not surprisingly, I was immediately hooked on the convenience and variety, and every year or two, I'd find an irresistible deal on a newer, fancier machine at a dirt cheap price and decide an upgrade was warranted, and move my previous favorite to my office to make room for the new one at home. The previous office machine might get donated back, passed on to a friend or family member, or simply put on a shelf as an extra, in case one of my daily use machines went bad.

Seeing a Keurig at a a thrift shop at all used to be a novel experience and it would never stay on the shelf long, but in the last couple of years, first generation Keurigs have started proliferating the shelves and the occasional 2.0 machine began to catch my eye. Inevitably, it seemed, they were missing parts, usually the drip tray, and they always wanted a premium price, even in rough condition, so I decided to content myself with what I had.

That all changed a few weeks ago, when I spotted a Keurig 2.0, complete for $15. I initially resisted it, but eventually gave in to temptation a week later and went back to have a second look at it. The machine was still there, but there was another one next to it on the shelf, in slightly better condition for $10. Such are the vagaries of thrift store pricing. Then, as icing on the proverbial cake, I found the stainless steel carafe to go with it on the next aisle over, priced separately for $4, so I bought both.

Even though I have been using Keurig machines for five or six years, I've always kept a drip coffeemaker next to it for those occasions when I wanted to make a pot of coffee. It's not every day, but sometimes, that's just what's needed. This new acquisition offered the potential to streamline things down to only one machine.

Making a pot of coffee with the Keurig requires one of two things: extra large--and extra expensive--K-cups or a large capacity, reusable coffee pod. Either of these options unlock extra menu options for the carafe and large commuter mugs. Since I have a good amount of loose ground coffee on hand for the drip coffeemaker, I opted to go that route and ordered a two-pack of reusable pods online. To be honest, I rarely see the larger K-cups in the store and they're usually over-priced when I do.

As I suspected would happen, my first attempt, using the same two scoops of coffee grounds that I would put in the drip coffeemaker, resulted in somewhat weak tasting coffee, albeit a little better than I had experienced with single-cup reusable pods. On my second attempt, I employed a trick I had successfully tried with single-cup pods on other machines, which is to add a tiny amount of instant coffee, which yields stronger flavor without inflicting instant coffee's often bitter edge onto it. 

With that little adjustment, I have decided the flexibility of the Keurig 2.0 is sufficient to justify not only the cost of acquisition but is justification to finally retire the drip coffeemaker. I know that I will not use the carafe every day, but on the occasions when I want or need to do so, it combines the convenience of the Keurig with the larger capacity of the drip coffeemaker into an excellent single solution. 

UPDATE—Now that I've had this machine for about a month, I've found it to be a worthwhile investment. The drip coffeemaker is retired and off the kitchen counter, and the few times I have wanted a pot of coffee, the carafe setup has been more than adequate. My only minor gripe about the machine is I can't manually shut it off. The virtual power button on the touch screen will turn it on, but then touching it after making a cup o coffee will not turn it off. I do not know whether this is a design feature or a malfunction, but the easy workaround is to set the automatic shutoff for 15 minutes. All in all, it's a quirk I can live with.

UPDATE: January 2025--A few months ago, I found a better solution for the weak coffee problem when using ground coffee in the reusable pods. I got hold of a coffee grinder and grind things up a little finer. It yields richer tasting coffee without resorting to adding instant. 

Let There Be (More) Light

A few years ago, I decided my front walk area was too dark at night, so I replaced a non-functional gas post light with a solar LED fixture that fit on the gas light's post. Equipped with a simple photocell, it turned itself on at dusk and usually remained on until the battery ran down, putting out enough light to be ornamental but not enough to make a functional difference. The fixture was fairly expensive and the internal battery, which was charged by the solar panel on top, only lasted a short time before it would no longer take a charge. Replacements were expensive and hard to find.

In time, I decided I needed something more practical, so I got a couple of motion activated, solar powered LED floodlights, which helped greatly; however, because of their placement between the two front windows, the ends of the walkway were still in relative shadow. 

For whatever reason, most likely laziness, that remained the status quo for several years, but as one light has grown noticeably dimmer over they years, I finally decided more light was needed, so I ordered two more solar lights of a similar design. 

The new lights arrived yesterday and I promptly installed them. Even with a proper masonry bit, drilling holes in bricks is no easy task, but now that they're up, the walkway is without shadow from end to end. The new fixtures are not identical to the old ones; they actually offer more illumination with their 144 smaller LED's versus the old ones' 20 larger LED's. While the older ones have their LED's only on the front, the newer ones have them on the front and sides, offering a wider spread of illumination. 

Perhaps the biggest difference is the presence of a push-button switch on the front of the new ones, which toggles between four operational modes--constantly on (dim), dim/bright (contstantly on dim, automatically going to full brightness when motion is detected), (off/bright) (off until motion is detected, then to full brightness), and completely off. I'm using the off/bright mode to mirror the operation of the older ones, which have no switch and are simply motion activated. 

The beauty of these motion activated lights is that they are only on for less than a minute at a time, providing light only when it is truly needed. This means the internal storage batteries are never fully depleted. Also, each one costs about the same as a conventional floodlight bulb and they require no wiring. They are completely self-contained and are ready for service almost as soon as they are mounted. A simple, practical and cost-effective solution, these lights are an excellent value, well suited for the needs of renters and home owners alike.