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Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

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  • #16
    Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

    Well I should of had the machine today but a major stuff up with the courier meaning the machine only left melbourne today > so hopefully by wed / thur Ill have it.

    There goes a waste of a rec day I took to take delivery seeing as its too large to get delivered to work.

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    • #17
      Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

      G’day all,

      I really don’t feel like I can offer too much compared to the more experienced CS members but thought I’d comment on my experience with the BES900 so far. Please forgive me if it comes across as basic.

      Packaging
      Excellent. Very similar to the BES860 that came before it. Everything arrived in tip top condition with an easy to read instruction booklet that is well thought out.

      Initial impressions
      Very impressive! When I was setting it up I couldn’t help but notice how much more sturdy the portafilter feels compared to the previous model. Same can be said (though slightly less so) for the tamper. Specifically on the tamper - it actually fits the basket this time =D On the BES860 there was a good mm of space around the edge of the basket.

      The water tank filling mechanism at the top of the machine is incredibly handy, especially in my situation where the microwave is situated directly above the machine.
      The steam lever initially feels a little on the cheap side, however in operation I found it very smooth and is certainly a pleasure to use compared to the dial I’m used to. Side note: steam on demand is legendary!

      The machine is also very quiet compared to the BES860. Not having to listen to the machine flush/purge the thermoblock after each use is heavenly.

      Initial shots
      Took me a little longer than expected to ‘dial it in’ and finally produce a decent shot. I’ll happily put that down to my lack of experience and the left over coffee I was using. When I switched to the fresh beans – wow – far easier =) By the second day I was getting beautiful extractions of about 30-35 seconds (shot clock is another feature I’m a fan of).

      Operation of the steam wand I’m still trying to get used to. Going from the 1 hole tip to 3 has been an experience I’m enjoying the speed at which the milk heats up but just need to experiment a little more on positioning to get the ‘hiss’ right. I’m sure I’ll get there over the coming days. Looking forward to getting back to the same quality microfoam I was managing on the BES860.

      Overall
      Absolutely loving it! =D

      Question
      In the manual it instructs you to not descale the machine. This I’m a little curious about. I thought that was standard/recommended practice for all coffee machines? Could anyone shed some light on that?



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      • #18
        Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

        I spoke to Phil at Breville regarding descaling. He confirmed there is no way for the user to descale the machine at present. Youll have to take it back to a service centre. However, the built-in filter should slow down the need to descale.

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        • #19
          Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

          Originally posted by 5A54595B534C5D59380 link=1312978609/16#16 date=1313383071
          Question
          In the manual it instructs you to not descale the machine. This I’m a little curious about. I thought that was standard/recommended practice for all coffee machines? Could anyone shed some light on that?
          Originally posted by 4B59564B674B574D5B51380 link=1312978609/17#17 date=1313383670
          I spoke to Phil at Breville regarding descaling. He confirmed there is no way for the user to descale the machine at present. Youll have to take it back to a service centre. However, the built-in filter should slow down the need to descale.
          Hello FxdTea,

          The advice in the quote above is correct. The machine will actually recommend it be taken in for a descale when it is required - its a long time before you will need that.

          We do recommend the use of the water filters supplied by Breville. They have made these available at a very low cost to encourage their use and frequent replacement.

          Great review!

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          • #20
            Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

            Sweet no worries - thanks gents.

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            • #21
              Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

              Ive just been speaking with Phil from Breville and informed that the "message" I referred to isnt part of this generation of machines (maybe one day).

              Depending on the quality of water going into the machine, and regularity of filter changes, and amount of usage, a descale will be required once the machine is between 3 and 4 years old.

              Apologies for having misinformed yall.

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              • #22
                Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

                It’s great to hear from you FxdTea.

                I too have upgraded from a BES860 which I have had for about 3 years. I thought my 860 gave good coffee, but the 900 is so much better.

                The 860 is still working well so I have passed it on to a friend.

                The 860 does so much wheezing and purging that I often let the drip tray overflow. The 900 has a much more visible yellow flag that sticks up out of the drip tray when full.

                The steam lever on the 900 works on a ball valve, while many other machines use a needle valve. They tends to leak.

                Barry

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                • #23
                  Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

                  Will all retailers be stocking the replacement filters?

                  I assume you can clean the shower screen yourself by unscrewing it with the hex bolt?

                  and can you use manual to backflush instead of using the pre-programmed cleaning mode? such as a nightly water backflush?

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                  • #24
                    Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

                    Originally posted by 75545F5F5842310 link=1312978609/18#18 date=1313384089
                    The machine will actually recommend it be taken in for a descale when it is required - its a long time before you will need that.
                    I read some very interesting comments elsewhere on this issue. FWIW, Id argue that there are not too many people with the time nor expertise to successfully, safely and correctly descale a HX machine, letalone a dual boiler machine. Its not just a case of chuck some descaler into the tank, Silvia style.

                    Users will be able to backwash their machine and I know that we CSers consider water quality- as it influences shot quality. Id expect to see very slow scale accumulation in most machines. My machines, Breville included receive their water via a Brita C150, so high water quality is a given.

                    Routine maintenance is fine, but I for one am not surprised at all that Breville consider descaling to be a service item. I see no problem with backflushing.

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                    • #25
                      Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

                      So, a question re backflush.

                      As a snob I intend to do a little more than average to keep my machine clean. I am not at all keen to only do a cleaning cycle each time it is due.

                      So, can I backflush regularly just using manual? Or do I need to run the complete cleaning cycle?

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                      • #26
                        Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

                        Backflushing should be fine. With general home use, Id only use water on a daily basis and chemical every 2 or 3 weeks (again, dependent on usage).

                        Cleaning the screen - the manual recommends to just use a cloth and run some water through it.

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                        • #27
                          Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

                          Originally posted by 5F6E796061666D60760F0 link=1312978609/24#24 date=1313390810
                          So, a question re backflush.

                          As a snob I intend to do a little more than average to keep my machine clean. I am not at all keen to only do a cleaning cycle each time it is due.

                          So, can I backflush regularly just using manual? Or do I need to run the complete cleaning cycle?
                          Regular back flushing is fine and to be honest we recommend it.

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                          • #28
                            Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

                            Originally posted by 6B64637E62690C0 link=1312978609/22#22 date=1313389291
                            Will all retailers be stocking the replacement filters?

                            I assume you can clean the shower screen yourself by unscrewing it with the hex bolt?

                            and can you use manual to backflush instead of using the pre-programmed cleaning mode? such as a nightly water backflush?
                            You can buy replacement water filters through our customer service centre

                            http://www.breville.com.au/parts-accessories/beverages/espresso/replacement-charcoal-water-filters.html

                            The machine comes with 7 filters, so thats 14months supply for regular use.

                            We recommend just clear-water back-flushing after each coffee making session. This reduces the build-up of rancid coffee oils in the coffee paths & helps maintain coffee flavour. Empty & rinse the drip tray at the same time. Wipe the dispersion screen, rinse & wipe the porta-filter & coffee basket. I would use cafetto or similar espresso cleaner every 2 or 3 kgs, again to keep your coffee tasting the way it should. You can drop the dispersion screen & soak this with the group handle and coffee basket in espresso cleaner for 10-20 mins to remove rancid coffee oils from places you cant see to clean. We supply an allen key for this purpose.

                            Cheers, Phil

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                            • #29
                              Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

                              Thanks Phil,

                              As the machine doesnt have a valve it might help a few people if you gave brief directions of the clear-water back-flush process.

                              Ill see if I can record a video of it next weekend.

                              Cheers,
                              Danny

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                              • #30
                                Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

                                Originally posted by 6476796448647862747E170 link=1312978609/28#28 date=1313448075
                                As the machine doesnt have a valve
                                Che? It has lots of valves. If youre referring to an Over Pressure Valve (OPV) then yes, it has one of these too.

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