Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

[PrescottCR]

Brent-
While I get a similar, albeit less pronounced bounce, that squeak you have at the beginning is not something I have experienced. I don't suppose you can tell where it's coming from? That might narrow the culprit down. It's loud enough that maybe you can narrow the origins down a bit. BTW- how cool is it that we can share stuff like that and get help from all over the world?

I know I found the single basket when correctly dosed had around 14g of coffee in t so I imagine the double would be more than 19g. The thing is to not concentrate on the weight as such but to fill the basket such that the silver ring of the tamper is just showing when you tamp. I know Phil McKnight did at some time post what the typical coffee weight was for a correctly dosed basket but I don't recall the number.

Regarding the flush, every video I saw Phil do shows him purging the group head before attaching PF and pulling the shot and that is what I do too even with my VBM.

Hey David-

THANX for pointing out the single basket holds that much. I pull enough shots that saving 4g+ each time matters. Not to mention the slight reduction in caffeine I get each time. You just made my life a little easier, so thanx even though you didn't realize your contribution After some very slight adjusting I now have my Compak set to pull good shots with 13-14g loads in the single.

I believe doing a purge is just a sound barista technique. It certainly isn't required on the Breville to get the group down to temp as you need to do on a HX machine that has been sitting unused for a bit. Maybe the way to look at it with the BDB is- the flush is a clean vs a purge. So how long to do it is really subjective. Do it until you feel clean!

Personally, I do not do a quick clean before putting the PF back in the group like some others here have already stated. I *DO* a clean/purge/flush after every shot, rinsing the PF and shot glass all at once. There certainly is no harm in doing one right before your shot even if you do a rinse after your shots. If you are seeing Phil McKnight doing this, or recommending it, then do it! I suspect he is more intimately acquainted with our machines than most of us.

The only time I flush before pulling a shot is the first time. I have the machine auto on, but with the PF not in the group head. When I first approach the machine I have to heat up the PF and that's when I prime it with hot water.

During a Barista class I was taught to take the PF out of the group because it will react with the gasket if it sits 8hrs+ unused, degrading the gasket quicker. This advise was for a commercial machine, where you leave it on all night and potentially with a different gasket material. Does anyone have an opinion on this practice? It may be less, or un-necessary with the Breville.

Also- at the end of the day/long session I'll do a couple back-flushes without any chemical. That seems to knock some grinds loose from nether-reagions.

[Barry_Duncan]

The guy I spoke to then explained to me that the brew head seals will need replacing every 8-9 months if I use the machine every day.

I use my machine every day. I back-flush after each coffee session and remove the portafilter while the machine is turned off. I do a chemical clean about once a week. Mine has the original brew head gasket after 1½ years. While leaving the pressure of the portafilter off the gasket while my machine is rested, I have never had to replace a gasket on any machine I have owned.

Barry

[Yelta]

Mine has the original brew head gasket after 1½ years. While leaving the pressure of the portafilter off the gasket while my machine is rested, I have never had to replace a gasket on any machine I have owned.

Barry

Morning Barry,

I suspect a major determining factor when it comes time to replace brew head seals is age and hardening, I've always looked after my machines, however over a period of 10 years had to replace 3 seals on my Silvia, when the old seals were removed they broke up like biscuits, replacing a seal on a Silvia is a sh*t of a job.
Have also just replaced the seal in my Bezerra after approx 2.5 years, was still sealing fine however was noticeably harder than the new one I had on hand, so replaced it before it started to leak.
I don't know what the seals on the BES900 are made of, perhaps they are more resistant to hardening than those used on other machines.
As an aside replacing or cleaning a seal on the Galatea is simplicity itself, couple of minutes, no tools and its done.

[dr.a.j.pickering]

Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Phil did make reference to group head seal on the bdb being different/hard/non compress able and suggested they wouldn't be adversely affected by leaving the PF in place

I have had mine form a week after sales began leave the PF in place and the seal I believe is getting better

[PrescottCR]

Thanx Doc,

That's good to know. They first came out about 2+ years ago? One head gasket lasting that long is a good deal.

[crazysurfanz]

I was under the impression that leaving the PF in place was recommended, since this helped to protect the seal from drying out - by virtue of it not being exposed I guess?

[Jaglover]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker here, just wanted to check a couple of things, namely

1. Has anyone managed to find a good mid sized filter basket they can recommend? My issue is that the single is too big for a single shot but too small for a double, and the double is too big. Lately I've been pouring two coffees with the single basket but not 100% happy.
2. Has anyone found any way to make the display start on the timer rather than the temperature instead of having to manually call it up every time? This is my number one annoyance with this machine; number two is the drip tray leak, and maybe number three is the time the shot timer is displayed which is too short IMHO - none of these are even remotely vital but nevertheless. If other people see it in these terms, I hope Breville is on the line as the timer things might be able to be fixed via firmware.
3. It has been suggested on a number of occasions that the machine does not produce the fullness that other / more expensive machines do with the same bean. I can't make a comparison but was wondering if this might be because of the water filter by any chance, i.e., if you were to (and this is a purely theoretical question) run the machine with the standard Breville filter removed, would it make any difference? (I hope I won't get shot at by Breville Police for even suggesting this)

Cheers

I felt the same as you after experimenting for a couple of weeks. I have just received the VST 15g basket from coffeeparts and it seems to have solved the problem I had. Am using same grind and dose. Pressure reads about the same, but the taste is much more to my liking ( and I'm sure it's not my imagination)
Cheers,
Phil

[DavidW1960]

Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

I was under the impression that leaving the PF in place was recommended, since this helped to protect the seal from drying out - by virtue of it not being exposed I guess?

And it also ensures the PF stays at the right temp. I leave mine in all the time.

[PrescottCR]

And it also ensures the PF stays at the right temp. I leave mine in all the time.

I believe we were talking about leaving it in while the machine is off.

[pcrussell50]

i took my BDB apart today to inspect the o-rings on the 3-way valve. mine were in great shape. BUT i use RO water, so there was very little limescale. very little. even still, there was some dissimilar metals reaction between the stainless base of the 3-way and the aluminum pad it sits on. if it were to become bad, one could easily see why a gasket might be a better sealing choice than o-rings... and based on what you guys are saying, that is precisely what breville is doing. if you use tap water and are off warranty, is STRONGLY recommend that you inspect yours. it's pretty easy, too. then again, you guys are not off warranty (forgot you get two years in oz. we only get one year here in the states and mine is off warranty). well, anyway, i thought the ones of you who are mechanically inclined might like to know hear about this.

-peter

[LaughingAtFate]

That could be a side effect of you using RO water... There's been discussions in the past about how that stuff is nasty with regards to leeching metals...

[pcrussell50]

makes sense. around here, the people in the municipal water business carefully control the mineral content of the water so i doesn't destroy concrete pipes and aqueducts.

on the flip-side, the breville team in los angeles say they use exclusively RO water in their office BDB. it may well be a case of "pick your poison" (pun intended)

-peter

[pcrussell50]

I know I found the single basket when correctly dosed had around 14g of coffee in t so I imagine the double would be more than 19g. The thing is to not concentrate on the weight as such but to fill the basket such that the silver ring of the tamper is just showing when you tamp. I know Phil McKnight did at some time post what the typical coffee weight was for a correctly dosed basket but I don't recall the number.

since i weigh, i have a lot of data on this. but i only use the double baskets. for dark roasts, as little as 18.0g will fill the double to the level of the silver ring when tamped and not leave a stuck puck. for light roasted SO's, which are much denser than dark roasts, i usually start at 19.0g, a HUGE difference, and have gone up as high as 19.5g.

-peter

[ajhclarke]

Well, I just got my Breville double-boiler this morning (slightly used; five months old and costing $800 on Ebay) and it pulled a perfect coffee first-up, certainly as good my pidded Silvia (which will now grace my son's kitchen) and a whole lot easier for my wife to manage as she hated having to wait for steaming if making several coffees on the run.
Just one thing I'm wondering about .. I note the coffee default setting is 93 degrees on the inbuilt PID, but the fellow I bought it from had set his to 95. What do most people here have their units set to? I'm 600 metres above sea level (Woodend) but don't know if that would make any difference......
The styling is a bit tacky, will date quickly compared to the Silvia's clean utility look, but I guess the ease of performance and comparable result makes the Breville a winner. And I think I got it for a pretty good price, for a unit which seems virtually brand-new.
Anthony

[Barry_Duncan]

Hello Anthony,

Welcome among the BDB owner group.

I think that most of us leave the temp at the defalt 93c. Some have experimented with other temps.

I see that at 600 metres altitude the boiling point of water is 98c while it is 100c at sea level. At 93c you should have no troubles.

I don't know what effect the pressure in the boilers has on the boiling point temp?

Enjoy your coffee.

Barry