Too Much Coffee

It's a Bodum, I used it for the full 8 cups it can make, poured quite a lot of grounds in becuase I didn't want to make weak coffee, since I had guests. To put it simply the coffee didn't come down to the lower bowl. I think I may have put way too much coffee grounds in there.

Filter clogged I would say. I have a Bodum Santos, don't really ever use it anymore for that very reason - very prone to stalling.

But... how does the filter get clogged? I mean, you take it out and rinse it everytime, right? Did I grind the coffee too finely?

All coffee grinders produce a range of grinds.

To a greater or lesser extent there will always be fines.

The design of the plastic filter on the Santos seems especially prone to stalling, though I've had similar experiences with some glass rod filters.

Too much resistance from the coffee, or the lower chamber got too hot and didn't create a strong enough vacuum for the draw down.

I've had similar experiences with some glass rod filters.

+1 for that - I've found I need a coarser grind if i use my glass rod, than if I'm using the cloth filter that came with the vac-pot. Both seem to work, however - the vac-pot was a great find

(Must just add it to my sig...)

I have this small vac pot that I bought in Azores, so it's Portuguese I guess, and it's heated by a flame from a lamp. The filters are made of cloth. It has never failed me and I've used a pretty fine grind and quite a lot of coffee in it too.

Aggitation can be an issue I find. Get good rapid draw down and neat looking dome of grounds if stirred with any degree of finesse, slow or stalling if I'm clumsy.

My parents have an old "don Pedro", looks and works just like the Bodums - I use coarsely ground coffee with that one and it usually works fine. But with finer grind you may need to stir around with something (a caffe latte spoon works well).
The Cona "C" I have at home definitely wants the coffee to be stirred. Otherwise it won't mix with the hot water.