I've had a few of these old glass vac brewers and the problem (if it is =
one) of the age hardened gasket has concerned me as well. 
A relatively simple solution to your problem might be to pull off the =
gasket or otherwise get it out of the way and then wrap the gasket =
seating point of the top piece with soft wrapping cord so that once you =
reseat the gasket it will be pushed further open by the cord beneath it. =
Should seal both against the pot rim below and the glass/cord/rubber =
above. Seems worth a try at any rate. 
This, at any rate, in more in keeping with the list theme and will =
supply my moral and intellectual superiors with a harder target to vent =
themselves upon. 
"It is almost impossible to get someone to believe something when he is =
being paid (*or has been conditioned) not to believe it." 
*My inclusion in the quote. 
SS
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At 8:53 PM -0800 1/08/05, Steve Schreck wrote:
<Snip>
FoodServiceDirect has gaskets that fit wide-mouth Cory brewers and the like. There is someone else that has them for the narrow mouth vac brewers.
The 'soak in ammonia' trick that Angelo mentioned seems not to apply to vac brewer gaskets from everything that I have read -- the trick was adapted from a posting on the internet about restoring rubber pinch rollers.
Best,
Edward

I picked up two from Food Service Direct, successfully ending stalled
coffee in my Cory...
On Sat, 8 Jan 2005 22:30:21 -0800, Edward Spiegel
 wrote:
<Snip>
-- 
Regards,
Brett Mason
 HomeRoast
      __]_
   _(( )_  Please don't spill the coffee!

I can confirm that "soak in ammonia" doesn't work for
Cory and Silex gaskets. What worked for me was
"painting" the gasket with food grade silicone caulk. 
Andy
--- Edward Spiegel  wrote:
<Snip>http://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip> ">http://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast<Snip>http://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip> 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Yahoo! Mail - You care about security. So do we. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

I can confirm that "soak in ammonia" doesn't work for
Cory and Silex gaskets. What worked for me was
"painting" the gasket with food grade silicone caulk. 
Andy
--- Edward Spiegel  wrote:
<Snip>http://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip> ">http://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast<Snip>http://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip> 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more.http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250

Rubber oxidezes over time.  The great way to preserve it is to treat it 
with food grade silicon.
This is how some divers preserve (my favorite) fins, scubapro jet fins.
Interestingly, silicon oxidizes as well, but that usually means 
discoloration.
I could go way into this.  Diving is one of my passions that I don't get 
to do very often.
Tight budget and living in the virtual middle of the us means I mostly 
get to practice.
Will
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 12:31pm, Andy Thomas wrote:
<Snip>
--Will O'Brien--

Well, I tried a technique of prepping the gasket using a soaking and
scrubbing in bleach-white, followed by a thorough scrubbing and
washing in the kitchen sink, after it dried off, I put it in a plastic
bag and am soaking it with armour all. After it soaks for a while, at
least a couple of hours or longer, then I'll wash it a couple of times
and hope for the best. It was kinda hard, when I realized that it was
made in the late 40's, it may benefit from the armour all.
Only time will tell.
Jim, I did test the vacpot without using any grounds, and it did not
have any problems.
John, I could hear the sound of air escaping the seal, as it was nice
and quiet today in my house. Just slightly, but probably enough with
the grounds to create the stall.
Setting the Rocky on '20' seemed to work better, but it still stalled
about 1/2 way through. So, now, I'll bracket my way back up 2 clicks,
see if that helps dial the grind in.
Thanks again, for all the help.
Gary
Andy Thomas  wrote:
<Snip>

<Snip>
I've had very little success rejuvenating old rubber gaskets and seals =
that
have become embrittled, especially if they show any cracks or crazing. =
We
used to soak 'em in Benzene, or occasionally Toluene, to soften and =
swell
them.  Not a good idea near food products.  For fixed (compression) =
gaskets
sometimes a Teflon filled grease will work . . . the grease provides the
seal, the (failing) rubber becoming matrix to hold it in place.  That
doesn't help with removable gaskets like a vacupot, though.
If there is only very minor surface crazing, or just a hard surface =
glaze,
then the "rubber rejuvenator" products from Varn and Hurst Graphics =
(used
primarily by offset printers on rollers and blankets) will sometimes =
clean
and soften the surface enough to restore a seal. I've used both, and =
still
have a little can of the Hurst stuff somewhere.  A danger with old =
gaskets
is overdoing it . . . then the surface can become a gooey, tacky mess =
(which
*may* eventually re-harden).  There are also clear silicone greases, =
like
stopcock grease, sometimes available from swimming pool suppliers . . .
"Aladin" is a brand name that comes to mind (that I have used).  Pretty =
much
all the clear silicone greases are "food grade", although they may not =
be
labeled or "approved" as such if not specifically intended for the food
service market. 
Coating existing vacupot gaskets with RTV will probably quickly fail, as =
the
thin RTV film will tear easily, but there are excellent casting RTVs
available . . . one might have better long term success making molds =
from
the old gasket and then casting new ones.  That, or cutting molds from a
pattern, is probably what the custom gasket places do.
I'm hoping that someone comes up with an easy solution, 'cause the =
rubber on
my 60 year old vacupot is getting a little hard  . . .
Deward

At 2:27 PM -0800 1/09/05, Deward Hastings wrote:
<Snip>
If your vac pot uses the same gaskets as the Cory or Silex pots, you can buy replacement gaskets. Foodservice Direct has wide-mouth gaskets and someone else has the narrow ones.
Best,
Edward

Food Service Direct has replacement seals for about $6.  I bought two,
one for now, and one in case...
Except for scientific documentation and the joy of invention (and I
know we like these), there seems little value in trying to fix a 40-50
year old seal when a new one is available...
Regards,
Brett
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 14:27:36 -0800, Deward Hastings  wrote:
<Snip>
-- 
Regards,
Brett Mason
 HomeRoast
      __]_
   _(( )_  Please don't spill the coffee!

<Snip>
Not yet determined . . . (in fact I've not yet determined even what brand .
. . it was an "inheritance", and I haven't been able to establish its
manufacture.  It was never much used, and there is an ample supply of cloth
filters with it.  I should get serious and establish what it is . . .
<Snip>
ones.
Non-responsive web site (at least today) . . . 
Deward

Here's the link that works for me...http://www.foodservicedirect.com/index.cfm/S/176/N/84837/CLID/597/Vacuum_Coffee_Maker_-_Replacement_Part.htmBest regards,
May all your coffee run south...
Brett
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 16:10:33 -0800, Deward Hastings  wrote:
<Snip>
-- 
Regards,
Brett Mason
 HomeRoast
      __]_
   _(( )_  Please don't spill the coffee!

At 4:10 PM -0800 1/09/05, Deward Hastings wrote:
<Snip>
There is a web site (I don't have the URL handy but a Google search should turn it up) that is a virtual museum of vac pots put together by a guy that loves them. You will probably find it there -- the site is pretty extensive.
Best,
Edward

This one?http://baharris.org/coffee/Collection.htmGary
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 23:29:22 -0800, Edward Spiegel
 wrote:
<Snip>

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 16:37:31 -0800
Brett Mason  wrote:
<Snip>http://www.foodservicedirect.com/index.cfm/S/176/N/84837/CLID/597/Vacuum_Coffee_Maker_-_Replacement_Part.htm<Snip>
I looked around at that site a little bit; I particularly like their
"coffee scoop" section. I don't think that any of them would work for
me...
                              James

<Snip>
These two sound like they could be fun!  Got any more info?

Surely there are rubber o-rings out there that could directly replace an old
gasket.

At 1:39 PM -0500 1/15/05, Tom Ulmer wrote:
<Snip>
As far as I can tell the shape of the gaskets (they are not typical washer-like gaskets) doesn't allow for such a substitution. Have you seen the large Cory/Silex gaskets? They are about two or three inches high and contoured (not a uniform cylinder).
Best,
Edward

Hi,
Have you tried giving them a rejuvenating dip?
Get some Blanket Wash from a printer. It is what they use to keep the
"blanket" on the offset printing machine clean and in good condition.
The gasket can be soaked in it over night even. It will swell up a lot if
you do it over night.
Give it a few days (in that case) and it will return to good working
condition.
You will be amased at how well it works. Just the normal dish wash clean to
remove any remaining "wash".
NOTE it is not the same blanket wash that drycleaners use for bed type
blankets.
Peter,

Perhaps while you're experimenting you could try one of the $6
replacements from Food Service Direct.  Maybe a pot of Uganda Bugisu,
perfectly brewed in the Cory.
Has anyone tried homemade glass caraffes rather than actually using a
purchased vacpot?
On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 13:06:46 +1300, Peter Morrin  wrote:
<Snip>
-- 
Regards,
Brett Mason
 HomeRoast
      __]_
   _(( )_  Please don't spill the coffee!

Brett:
<Snip>
replacements from Food Service Direct.  
You keep saying that, apparently unaware that Food Service Direct does =
not
provide gaskets for many, perhaps even most, of the old vac pots that =
other
list members might have.  I'm glad for you that they have the parts you =
need
for your pot . . . what do you propose for the rest of us?  
Deward

At 10:53 PM -0700 9/15/05, Deward Hastings wrote:
<Snip>
Deward,
What kind of vac pot do you have? Do you have a vac pot with a narrow gasket? While there are certainly a huge variety of old vac pots the majority of them either use a large gasket like the one found at Food Service Direct or a narrow mouth gasket that is available online for a similar price from a company that makes them out of food-grade silicone. Someone posted the info this past summer, but since I don't have a narrow-mouth vac pot, I didn't save the URL.
Perhaps the person that posted the info about the narrow-mouth gaskets could re-post the info?
Maybe your vac pot is compatible with the narrow gaskets that some old Cory and Silex pots used (and others).
Best,
Edward

Hi Deward,
I was thinking along the same lines as Edward explained...  I picked
up my last Cory for under $20 online.  If the seals indeed are hard to
find, perhaps a switched pot might be easier and still economical?
Regards,
Brett
On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 00:50:14 -0800, Edward Spiegel
 wrote:
<Snip>
-- 
Regards,
Brett Mason
 HomeRoast
      __]_
   _(( )_  Please don't spill the coffee!

Depending on the contact of the gasket to the glass when sealed, sometimes a 
wrap with that silicone type tape that isn't sticky but *melds* to itself 
will work fine and last a long time.  BTDT.
Also, the local ACE hardware also has a VERY wide selection of plain old 
corks that can be bored, for the narrow necks, I am thinking.
Respectfully,
Rich Adams

HomeFOUND glass lab equipment, yes.  HomeMADE, no.

Correction..  "rubber type tape", not silicone.

<Snip>
<Snip>
I can't believe that.  Considering everything *else* that goes on regularly 
here, surely someone is blowing their own glassware!
Gene Smith
who has blown many things, glass not amongst them

At 10:45 AM -0800 1/16/05, Brett Mason wrote:
<Snip>
I want to be clear. I am not suggesting that Deward switch -- I am just suggesting that if the wide-mouth Cory-style gasket doesn't fit his vac pot that the narrow-mouth gasket might since those two gaskets seem to fit a pots from quite a few manufacturers and that these are available too (though I don't have the URL).
Best,
Edward

At 2:19 PM -0600 1/16/05, Gene Smith wrote:
<Snip>
Hey Gene,
Let's keep it clean!
:)

<Snip>
How can you complain about my tiny addition to a post with the subject
line "Hard" Old Rubber Vac Pot Gasket?  Seriously though, I have seen lab 
glassware being made and it's pretty fascinating.  Sure would be nice if I 
knew somebody here in Houston who did that...it would certainly make 
fitting high-quality glass chimneys to poppers a lot easier!
Gene Smith
riding the wild learning curve, in Houston

Gene Smith writes:
<Snip>
y though, I have seen lab glassware being made and it's pretty 
fascinating.  Sure would be nice if I knew somebody here in Houston who 
did that...it would certainly make fitting high-quality glass chimneys 
to poppers a lot easier!
You can get lab glassware made where I live.  I broke the roasting 
chamber of my Scirroco long after they were still available.  I had one 
made at the University.  They just charged hourly to do it.  Cost me a 
half an hour.  The trick is to find stock glass they can easily modify 
to what you need.  Any resident of my state (AZ) can get this done.  fjm

I really want to learn to blow and work glass, but never have.  On the 
other hand, I have cast and made my own gaskets, o-rings and such in the 
past.  I considered offering now, but just don't have the time.
Sometime around 12:19 1/16/2005, Gene Smith typed:
<Snip>
--
John Nanci 
AlChemist at large
Zen Roasting , Blending & Espresso pulling by Gestalthttp://www.dreamsandbones.net/blog/http://www.chocolatealchemy.com/

<Snip>
Good tip!  I think I may have to cruise the labs at my old University to 
see if they make glassware!
Gene Smith
riding the wild learning curve, in Houston