This is NOT what it's advertised to be! I bought it only to heat water for hot chocolate for sporting events. The package says that it holds 45 cups & the advertisement says 42 cups. We filled it with measured water because it looked a little small to us just to make sure it will hold the stated amount. After filling it with 32 CUPS--we measured it 2 times using a measuring cup because those 32 cups went past the 45 cup mark in the container. There is NO WAY it can hold 45 cups of anything. If you wanted it for speed brewing-don't make that mistake either. For 32 cups it will literally take 32 minutes to become ready. The package does say that it will take 1 minute per 1 cup so at least they did get that part right.

We use this to make iced tea. We drink a lot of iced tea in our household and I was making it using a giant stock pot on the stove. I was looking for something better that would have a spigot to drain the tea into the jugs we put in the fridge.

Here are my notes on using this to make iced tea:
1. Remove the basket. Its not necessary.
2. Fill it with the warmest water you can from the faucet.
3. I fill it with 2 gallons of water because i want to make exactly 2 gallons of tea. That is above the 45 mark but it still works fine.
4. I put 9 bags of tea in. 8 Bags of Red Rose and 1 bag of Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey. I use a binder clip to clip the tea bags paper tabs together into one bundle and hang it over the side so the bags are floating at the top of the pot.
5. Close the lid and turn it to lock it. The strings from the bags fit under the lip OK and don't cause a problem for me.
6. I installed a 30 minute timer (Simple Touch C30004-Single Original Auto Shut-Off Safety Outlet, 30 Minute Setting for Curling and Flat Iron Hair Straightener and I press the button to activate it.
7. Go to bed!
8. Wake up and the tea is still a little warm but has had plenty of time to steep. Empty it into 1 gallon bottles and put it in the fridge. I then rinse with water and put it on the counter without the top to dry.

Without adding the 30 minute timer the unit kicks into a holding pattern after the water comes to a boil and stays on for what seems like forever. I turned it off after about an hour when i realized it wasn't going off on its own. So the addition of the time and starting with hot water means that it comes to a boil in about 10 minutes and then runs for another 20 with heat before it shuts down. I really think that for my purpose the additional timer is a must have.

Cons:
1. The outside gets very hot
2. The inside stains very easily. Not a big deal. Just cosmetic and who is really looking at the inside anyway?

Heats up quickly. As described, makes very good coffee. But let me point out the fact that it will not keep your coffee hot! Does not work like your typical coffee pot with the burner keeping that pot of coffee hot then shutting down automatically after 2 hours or so. My observation was that it heats up, brews the coffee then shuts off. So the coffee cools fairly quickly. For large groups it works well but if you have a group getting together for a full day you need to make a half pot and after a few hours make another half pot.This is not insulated. But it does work well and brews a good cup of coffee!

The water slowly drips from the spout and when I came the next morning there was a puddle of water underneath it. Would not recommend this particular one.

I was initially excited to receive this. It showed up today and I was so let down. As I was unpacking it I noticed it had someones dirty hands on it and left some type of unknown substance on it. I wasnt worried about that as I figured it would wash off. Then I look inside the urn to find an inch long scratch next to the handle screw where someone lost control putting in the screw. There are other smaller marks inside the urn as well. I dread having to return this item as much as I dreaded to see the damage on it when I received it.