BrianW wrote:

> Does anyone have experience with a vacuum coffee maker? Do they work
> good and make a fine cup of coffee? I have heard horror stories of them
> getting too hot and exploding or cracking.

The last time I used a vacuum coffee maker was back in 1965 when I worked
in a snack bar. I didn't know that they where still being used. You put
the coffee in the top level and water in the bottom and then put it on a
burner. When the water boils the steam forces it into the top and you take
it off the burner and the vacuum sucks the coffee into the bottom. The make
good coffee.
I don't imagine it would be too hard to overheat the bottom pot if you left
it on the burner too long after all the water had been forced out.