Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

[chuckash]

Hi all

My machine is around 3 years and I have replaced solenoid gasket seal and replaced opv. Pressure kept dropping below 10 bar from 11 bar so I kept adjust opv back to 11.

Got sick of adjusting all the time so I did Nicks brass opv mod and all was well for a day untill same thing happening. Now I'm at 10.5 bar with blind filter and opv maxed out.

Could this be my pump on its way out?

No strange sounds.

[kesa32]

Maybe your gauge is faulty........

[chuckash]

Don't think it the Guage or maybe the guage is a little faulty but now and again full pressure comes back and I need to wind opv back down again. I have the back cover off for over a month now so it's a quick job to re adjust. Waisting a lot of bean though so I really need to get it fixed. Is it true the pumps have 5 years warrenty? And does it have to be the pump or Guage or could there be a faulty seal?

Appreciate all your help.

[tombi]

Yes, Simon, that's the one. Mine had loud chatter as well, not faint buzzing.

Not sure if this is the same but my machine will make a loud chatter sometimes when hit the buttons (manual, single, double) and when the machine is hot. Particularly with the recent hot weather in Sydney. It sorts it self out within a second or so and runs correctly. Mine is maybe a 3 years old BES900

It sounds like a switch debounce failing and the machine is registering multiple presses for one click.

It might be an electronic fault - bad capacitor? I haven't had a chance to debug it.

Tom

[dlight]

Hi all

My machine is around 3 years and I have replaced solenoid gasket seal and replaced opv. Pressure kept dropping below 10 bar from 11 bar so I kept adjust opv back to 11.

Why do you have the pressure set so high? For Australian coffees, the professionals, ie baristas at the better coffee shops, set the OPV to around 8 bar or perhaps 9 bar maximum.

When I had my BES920 serviced they adjusted the OPV to 8 bar.

My "other" machine is a Vibiemme Replica commercial machine and it's also set to 8 bar. This is perfect for the single origins and blends I use.

[mr_walker]

Thanks Andrew,

I've already PM'd noidle22 to ask about parts, but he was not convinced my issue was a solenoid problem. Can you please confirm which relay are you referring to - the 3 way valve solenoid?

I'm thinking to replace it and see if it makes a difference.

(and yes I always use manual extraction because the volume meters on my machine are completely unreliable)

Cheers,

Simon

Update - in an attempt to resolve some of these issues I bought some Cafetto Espresso Clean powder and ran a couple of cleaning cycles. Not sure if it was coincidence, however the pre-infusion delay happened less frequently, however I did get occasional 3 way solenoid chatter.

Just when I thought I was out of the woods, the temperature gauge started oscillating between 60-75 degrees every second or so, and the machine would not consistently stabilise and allow operation. In addition, when it did settle down it seems the steam boiler is over-pressurising as it nearly blew my milk out of the jug! My current thought is that a scale build up on the temperature sensors is causing issues, and maybe its time for a descale.

Well ... just when I was thinking I'd have to fork out $1200+ for a BES920, Harvey Norman had a sale at $799, reduced to $699 with the current Breville cash back offer. For that price I couldn't pass it up!

I might see if I can resurrect the BES900 so I have a viable backup unit - haven't got much to lose at this point.

Cheers,

Simon

[Bacek]

Recently I found "broken" BES900 or actually Gastroback 42636 for about 120 USD. Fault was only solenoid gasket, there was no water flow trough group. Replaced gasket and machine seems to work fine. Unfortunately it was lacking original portafilter.
Maybe someone knows if BES980XL/07 portafilter will work properly on 900?

[genelmx]

Hi all! I recently bought a used BES900. However the pressure gauge doesn't seem to go above 5bars. I've been making alright coffee so I think the gauge is just faulty. I know lots of people say don't worry about the pressure gauge but I am still pretty new at this and the pressure gauge should help me dial in the machine properly.

The machine is still under warranty so do you think it's worth sending back for a repair?

[Barry_Duncan]

genelmx, welcome to Coffeesnobs,

When does your gauge show 5bars? While making coffee or when totally blocked.

The cleaning disk that came with my machine had a hole in the middle. I got one without a hole from Coffee Spares, a Sponsor here.

When totally blocked my gauge goes up to about 9bars. A little less while making coffee.

Adjust the pressure by adjusting the fineness of grind.

The main test is the flavour of your coffee in your mouth
.
Try to get a pour that takes between 25 and 35 seconds.

Barry

[genelmx]

Hi Barry, With the blind disk it maxes out at around 6 and while brewing its around 5. 0 when not brewing. To be honest the coffee tastes fine but I'm still getting a hang of making coffee so I feel like it would be nice to have. It should also be a good indicator if the machine isn't functioning right, like a worn out seal. From my reading it seems like plenty of people have had their gauges stop working. I don't know if Breville will try to convince me it's not a big deal if I call it in for a repair.

[Bacek]

If it's still on warranty than don't hesitate and send it for repair. They will replace solenoid gasket and maybe something more. Pressure gauge has proper brew pressure marked on it and definitely it's not 6 bar so don't see the reason why they could insist that current state is proper.

[Bacek]

Going back to portafilter maybe some of you could measure your portafilter? I'm looking for external diameter (red) and external diameter with wings/tabs (green).

http://images77.fotosik.pl/604/75144ec814f02346med.png

[genelmx]

Hey Bacek, thanks! I measured about 68-70mm (red) and about 78mm including wings.

[bb2wa]

My BES900 is 4 years old. At 2 years old it was serviced due to falling pressures. Similar thing happened again. Instead of 9 on the gauge I get 5 with a blind filter and about 3 when pulling a shot. I dismantled solenoid gasket area and replaced button gaskets with newer kit gasket and used the washers shown which prevent excessive crushing of gasket and fluted liners which are presumably to stop gasket spreading too much and blocking holes. However, it hasn't changed pressures. Any suggestions what else may be the problem?
Cheers
http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/p...0/IMGP0704.jpg

[noidle22]

The square gasket was a temporary solution for affected machines, the round teflon washers are the upgrade from that. There won't be an issue with running the square gasket, it's just not the repair that's carried out anymore.

Chances are your over pressure valve is leaking causing low extraction pressures. The pump can also be an issue in the older machines.
Does the pump sound very quiet or not operate at all during pre-infusion? Does the pump pulse or change in sound whilst pulling the shot? If yes to either or both of these, your pump should be replaced as well.