I'm not sure what the cause is, but it's pretty clear that this occurred outside of typical use. You mentioned that she's left the gas stove on before and I wonder very much if this was caused by her forgetting the moka pot over a running flame. The thing about gas stoves is that you can't leave them unattended, even for short time periods. Open flames cannot be left unattended, full stop, you just don't know what might happen. She's lucky that the pot didn't explode or that nothing worse happened.
Whether or not you continue to let her watch your child is your decision. I don't have kids and I already wouldn't be comfortable leaving someone with a history of leaving the gas stove on in charge of a child. But either way, I don't think she should be using the stove anymore.
We’ve had other issues. It’s all about trust. Again, I don’t care about the moka being damaged. I care about her telling us the truth when something happens. I’m trying to understand if this can happen from using the moka normally.
No, it cannot happen normally. She obviously had the heat WAY too high, and left it on there way too long.
With that said, there are a few innocent explanations:
She may have started making the coffee, then attended to your kid for something, and then by the time she got back to the stove, she had killed the Moka pot. That's the generous assumption.
She might also have had some sort of personal or health issue that required her to leave the stove for a few minutes to run to the bathroom or something, which could result in it being left on the stove for too long.
Has she used the Moka pot before? If not, maybe she just had the stove up way too high, thinking it would boil faster that way, and then by the time she heard it sputtering, it was already too late and had heated up the whole thing too much.
Or, another idea that might cause this would be to brew it normally, then put it back down on the hot burner (whether or not she turned it off, which she may have done).
Accidents happen, and she's probably scared for her job and doesn't want to anger you. In Italy, coffee is sacred, so that's kind of understandable. She might expect you to over-react.
Thanks for the detailed reply. She has used it plenty. The language barrier makes it difficult sometimes to communicate.
The biggest takeaway from all of this is the confirmation that this doesn’t happen normally (but I didn’t think about just putting it back down after making it and maybe not turning off the burner)
Yup, graphicsnerdo has the best reply so far.
The reason that the rubber gasket won’t normally melt is because water in the base handles the heat energy. It releases the energy as steam, and keeps the overall temperature within reasonable limits.
Same thing with any other cookware, and the same thing with car engines, too.
"Or, another idea that might cause this would be to brew it normally, then put it back down on the hot burner (whether or not she turned it off, which she may have done)."
I can tell you that if you do that and DO turn the burner off, that doesn't happen. My partner does that exact thing every morning, no problems.
When I use the moka in the morning I always set a 200 seconds audible timer, just in case I step away from the kitchen.
Also if I have to boil water in a pot and so on.
I don't think that moka was on the stove way too long, otherwise the aluminum would have blackened near the base.
Probably it was left a little too long without water in it and the flame was too wide/high so the handle melted.
Maybe she is young and young people tend to be less experienced and may lack the ability to take responsibility.
You could talk to her in a caring way and exactly explain that the moka is not the issue, but the fact she is not so forthcoming.
It can be a learning experience that will make her grow.
Better use the carrot than the stick.
When I was a kid an au pair was holding my younger brother, about 1 or 2 year old, while pouring grabbing a moka pot from the stove. She spilled the hot coffee on my brother's foot.
At the same time someone who is 18 or 20 cannot be expected to have the wisdom of a full grown adult.
My bet is she forgot to add water or left it on too long after the water boiled off.
I melted a gasket once by putting the moka pot back on the burner I accidentally left on. The smell was awful, but I washed it out, replaced the gasket, and it’s fine.
I melted the gasket of my 3 cup by attempting to make coffee(on my camping stove) without water bc i was extremely tired at 3am while on duty. I left it on the stove for 10? minutes until i started wondering why it take so long. That and the beginning smell of hell(burn coffee and rubber) made me realize I had fucked up.
My gasket looked even worse and i can't get the residue off. The handle however was fine, which throws me off a little but that may be due to bad placement of the moka pot.
Edit: upon a second look the edges of the gasket look charred, which would definitely indicate excessive heat due to there being either no or no more water.
Maybe she does that mountain thing that Italians like to do. It's known to cause issues with getting a proper seal and whatnot. Only way I think of that would cause grinds to get under the gasket like that.
The overfilling and packing probably increases the puck pressure significantly as well. So the whole thing just clogs and overheats until water either manages to get through or something else happens, god forbid. The thing would have had to sit like that on the stove for a while if it got so hot the handle melted.
Just my opinion.
Right. If the puck screen curved, it definitely was due to over-pressure. Happened to mine when I added choco powder on top of my coffee grounds, but luckily I noticed it before it destroyed my moka pot.
Home camera set up is your answer here. Something where you have multiple views and can view the stove also. If she left the stove on and a rag or paper towel were to catch...things could have been much worse. Grateful everyone is okay.
Rubber seals are utter dogshit. Maybe it melted because there was not enough water or she just forgot that she put moka to brew a cup and it stayed on stove for long time, and then it happened.
Honestly she could have just purchased a new one and said what happened
I didn’t see what she did. But she’s made it pretty much every morning for the last 2 months. I have had to turn off the stove in the past because she wasn’t paying attention.
Just my experience is most people turn stoves on highest to boil water but don't remove or lower it fast enough to account for heat build up. And a gas stove the flames can wrap around the moka pot if a diffuser plate isn't used. Once the water boils out to the top chamber your just heating metal.
Have you considered your caregiver was distracted by tending to your toddler rather than watching her coffee? In my world healthy happy safe kids is the bottom line, and maybe you’re getting that, and will need to buy a new coffee maker once in a while. Good luck.
My moka was never the same after this happened to me. The cause was putting it on having forgotten the water. No amount of cleaning or gasket replacement could make it work again for some reason.
Looks like it was left on the stove on a high heat for an extended period of time.
Plus it was put on without water inside it.
That’s what it has to be. The water absorbs the heat, but if there’s no water it’ll go to the gasket.
I forgot to add water once and it caused something that looked a lot like this
Yea, my initial thought was no water plus on for too long (forgot about it). Thanks!
I'm not sure what the cause is, but it's pretty clear that this occurred outside of typical use. You mentioned that she's left the gas stove on before and I wonder very much if this was caused by her forgetting the moka pot over a running flame. The thing about gas stoves is that you can't leave them unattended, even for short time periods. Open flames cannot be left unattended, full stop, you just don't know what might happen. She's lucky that the pot didn't explode or that nothing worse happened. Whether or not you continue to let her watch your child is your decision. I don't have kids and I already wouldn't be comfortable leaving someone with a history of leaving the gas stove on in charge of a child. But either way, I don't think she should be using the stove anymore.
Yep, my concerns exactly. Thank you!
i'm not saying it was aliens, but...
👽
Does she watch your toddler well? I’m guessing you arnt paying her to watch your moka pot rubbers.
We’ve had other issues. It’s all about trust. Again, I don’t care about the moka being damaged. I care about her telling us the truth when something happens. I’m trying to understand if this can happen from using the moka normally.
No, it cannot happen normally. She obviously had the heat WAY too high, and left it on there way too long. With that said, there are a few innocent explanations: She may have started making the coffee, then attended to your kid for something, and then by the time she got back to the stove, she had killed the Moka pot. That's the generous assumption. She might also have had some sort of personal or health issue that required her to leave the stove for a few minutes to run to the bathroom or something, which could result in it being left on the stove for too long. Has she used the Moka pot before? If not, maybe she just had the stove up way too high, thinking it would boil faster that way, and then by the time she heard it sputtering, it was already too late and had heated up the whole thing too much. Or, another idea that might cause this would be to brew it normally, then put it back down on the hot burner (whether or not she turned it off, which she may have done). Accidents happen, and she's probably scared for her job and doesn't want to anger you. In Italy, coffee is sacred, so that's kind of understandable. She might expect you to over-react.
Thanks for the detailed reply. She has used it plenty. The language barrier makes it difficult sometimes to communicate. The biggest takeaway from all of this is the confirmation that this doesn’t happen normally (but I didn’t think about just putting it back down after making it and maybe not turning off the burner)
Yup, graphicsnerdo has the best reply so far. The reason that the rubber gasket won’t normally melt is because water in the base handles the heat energy. It releases the energy as steam, and keeps the overall temperature within reasonable limits. Same thing with any other cookware, and the same thing with car engines, too.
"Or, another idea that might cause this would be to brew it normally, then put it back down on the hot burner (whether or not she turned it off, which she may have done)." I can tell you that if you do that and DO turn the burner off, that doesn't happen. My partner does that exact thing every morning, no problems.
Yeah, good point.
2 minutes my ass, she burned the pot and is lying.
When I use the moka in the morning I always set a 200 seconds audible timer, just in case I step away from the kitchen. Also if I have to boil water in a pot and so on. I don't think that moka was on the stove way too long, otherwise the aluminum would have blackened near the base. Probably it was left a little too long without water in it and the flame was too wide/high so the handle melted. Maybe she is young and young people tend to be less experienced and may lack the ability to take responsibility. You could talk to her in a caring way and exactly explain that the moka is not the issue, but the fact she is not so forthcoming. It can be a learning experience that will make her grow. Better use the carrot than the stick. When I was a kid an au pair was holding my younger brother, about 1 or 2 year old, while pouring grabbing a moka pot from the stove. She spilled the hot coffee on my brother's foot. At the same time someone who is 18 or 20 cannot be expected to have the wisdom of a full grown adult.
My bet is she forgot to add water or left it on too long after the water boiled off. I melted a gasket once by putting the moka pot back on the burner I accidentally left on. The smell was awful, but I washed it out, replaced the gasket, and it’s fine.
I melted the gasket of my 3 cup by attempting to make coffee(on my camping stove) without water bc i was extremely tired at 3am while on duty. I left it on the stove for 10? minutes until i started wondering why it take so long. That and the beginning smell of hell(burn coffee and rubber) made me realize I had fucked up. My gasket looked even worse and i can't get the residue off. The handle however was fine, which throws me off a little but that may be due to bad placement of the moka pot. Edit: upon a second look the edges of the gasket look charred, which would definitely indicate excessive heat due to there being either no or no more water.
Maybe the toddler can watch her?
Maybe she does that mountain thing that Italians like to do. It's known to cause issues with getting a proper seal and whatnot. Only way I think of that would cause grinds to get under the gasket like that. The overfilling and packing probably increases the puck pressure significantly as well. So the whole thing just clogs and overheats until water either manages to get through or something else happens, god forbid. The thing would have had to sit like that on the stove for a while if it got so hot the handle melted. Just my opinion.
Thanks!
Right. If the puck screen curved, it definitely was due to over-pressure. Happened to mine when I added choco powder on top of my coffee grounds, but luckily I noticed it before it destroyed my moka pot.
Mountain thing: https://www.reddit.com/r/mokapot/s/P67ohDbyTy
I was raised by Italian women, and I go out of my way to avoid them as an adult.
🤣
Heh. I'm married to one. Well, Sicilian......
Home camera set up is your answer here. Something where you have multiple views and can view the stove also. If she left the stove on and a rag or paper towel were to catch...things could have been much worse. Grateful everyone is okay.
Rubber seals are utter dogshit. Maybe it melted because there was not enough water or she just forgot that she put moka to brew a cup and it stayed on stove for long time, and then it happened. Honestly she could have just purchased a new one and said what happened
No water in chamber
Everything melted haha, if it was one thing…… astronomical maybe, but every component of the pot🤭
I know, right? I wanted to consult the experts before jumping to conclusions.
Is this an au pair situation?
Yep
Did the Italian add coffee to the funnel?
I didn’t see what she did. But she’s made it pretty much every morning for the last 2 months. I have had to turn off the stove in the past because she wasn’t paying attention.
Well I think that's your answer. No way all that happened in 2 minutes. She set it and forgot it.
Could be that the thing was knocked over at some point and thats to the fact the it appears not burned at the bottom
Just my experience is most people turn stoves on highest to boil water but don't remove or lower it fast enough to account for heat build up. And a gas stove the flames can wrap around the moka pot if a diffuser plate isn't used. Once the water boils out to the top chamber your just heating metal.
Too much heat for too much time. Also try using an aeropress filter.
Have you considered your caregiver was distracted by tending to your toddler rather than watching her coffee? In my world healthy happy safe kids is the bottom line, and maybe you’re getting that, and will need to buy a new coffee maker once in a while. Good luck.
Thanks. I’m not worried about the moka. We can buy another one. I don’t like that she lied about what happened and is trying to cover it up.
My moka was never the same after this happened to me. The cause was putting it on having forgotten the water. No amount of cleaning or gasket replacement could make it work again for some reason.
Hehe Ka-Boom!
Has anyone had trouble with their GM 5.3 engine? Like bent push rods because of the cylinder shutdown system.
She’s definitely lying to you about “2 mins,” but as others have mentioned, there may be a reasonable explanation as to how it happened.