Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

[artman]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Its a bit irrelevant due to differences between individual grinders/shims installed etc.

The amount of coffee you should aim for is as per Phils recommendation (and written above) having the top of the tamper level with basket after tamping. Aim to keep this constant.

Then adjust the grind to get the ~60ml in ~30 sec for a double, or there abouts.

Cheers

[dr.a.j.pickering]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

I know this varies

yes it does.
suggest you go back to basics.
get the dose right as per phils advice i.e. tamp to the depth of the cap (even better use some scales)
Change the grind until the coffee is perfect.

Easy

[dmull]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Ok. So I purchased my BES900 in early October. Super happy with the machine. Shots where silky and smooth albeit extracting at 12-13bar.
Then, the hot water tap began leaking as I pulled shots.
I decided to take it in to have the pressure regulated at 9bar and the leak sorted. 3 weeks in repair (thats longer in the workshop than on my bench). The result, hot water not fixed yet and the service man scratched the top of the machine.
I am yet to switch the machine on and test it. Vary frustrating...

[newbeanboy]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Hey all,

Just an update on my temp issue, the guys at Swift Appliances in Perth were appropriately swift, machine is back and seems to be working well. Nice guy there explained some technical details about the Ohms in the Thermistor that werent what they should be that went straight over my head!

Cheers

[dmull]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

So I turned my machine on with the hope of success. And the service guy has put the pressure up past 13 bar. Very, very disappointed. Will be calling Breville first thing Monday morning.

[samhighley]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Very, very disappointed.

That sucks mate. Ive been there so I know what its like.

Just be happy in the knowledge that Breville are being very supportive of these early teething issues, as they should be, because plenty of manufacturers arent.

[frangutz]

Inconsistent Pour

GUys,

I purchased my Breville BES900 beginning October. I watched Phils videos and made some great coffees. The lattes are even fantastic. Thanks for sharing the frothing secret phil!!

But.... last week I started getting inconsistent pours. One day i will hit 9 bar, another day it will only be 2.5. Not sure why as up to last week it was always reasonably consistent (well generally between 7 and 12 bar....)

I rang the helpline last week who advised they would get back to me in 24-48 hours. Still waiting

So, Im not sure why this is happening. Anybody have any ideas as to why im not getting consistent pours?

-F.

[clivejames]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Hi all - new member here too - just picked up a BES900 from Melb City Myer with their "$15 off every $75" sale - hope to start dialling it in this arvo! Moving from about 1 yr with EM6910 with EM0480 (staying with the grinder for a while). Never had experience with anything else so this should be interesting. Will let you all know what the OPV seems to be set at - someone on whirlpool forums recently bought a unit from the same store - extracting at around 10bar.

[LaughingAtFate]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

GUys,
But.... last week I started getting inconsistent pours. One day i will hit 9 bar, another day it will only be 2.5. Not sure why as up to last week it was always reasonably consistent (well generally between 7 and 12 bar....)

I rang the helpline last week who advised they would get back to me in 24-48 hours. Still waiting 

So, Im not sure why this is happening. Anybody have any ideas as to why im not getting consistent pours?

-F.

Go back to basics, are you adjusting your grinder between pours? are you using the same amount of coffee with every extraction (how do you make sure of the amount of grinds you use?), are you tamping in a consistent way?

Heck, it could possibly be a leak in the system somewhere (unlikely) or even just sheer bad ju-ju (even more unlikely, but not impossible), but unless youve got the consistency there, How can you tell its a mechanical issue?

[>mcknightp]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

I rang the helpline last week who advised they would get back to me in 24-48 hours. Still waiting

I havent had anything from our CCC, but if you drop me a PM with your contact details Ill give you a call.

Cheers, Phil

[>mcknightp]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Go back to basics, are you adjusting your grinder between pours? are you using the same amount of coffee with every extraction (how do you make sure of the amount of grinds you use?), are you tamping in a consistent way?

Heck, it could possibly be a leak in the system somewhere (unlikely) or even just sheer bad ju-ju (even more unlikely, but not impossible), but unless youve got the consistency there, How can you tell its a mechanical issue?

OK, best way to check this is to grab a Dual Wall filter basket, put it in the PF, insert into the group head & with NO coffee, press & hold the 2 cup button to simulate a manual shot. You should see at least 6.5bar on the gauge. Without removing the PF, run several shots like this & see what happens. Let me know.

Cheers, Phil

[frangutz]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

[QUOTE=527F6B79767770795F6A587F6A7B1E0 link=1312978609/818#818 date=1321770266]

Go back to basics, are you adjusting your grinder between pours? are you using the same amount of coffee with every extraction (how do you make sure of the amount of grinds you use?), are you tamping in a consistent way?

Heck, it could possibly be a leak in the system somewhere (unlikely) or even just sheer bad ju-ju (even more unlikely, but not impossible), but unless youve got the consistency there, How can you tell its a mechanical issue?

Hi,

well, I suppose I cant be certain to all your answers. But, as I was having issues I thought perhaps it is the Sunbeam Grinder. SO i went out and got the BCG800.

So this ensures i get the consistent dose.... and grind (set at about 20-22 on the grinder :-) [tried a couple of settings] I have even tampered has hard as possible. Still not getting the pour. Actually it only ever goes up to about 5bar now.

Surely after using my machine for 6 weeks *both* my wife and I didnt just forget how to use it 

OK, best way to check this is to grab a Dual Wall filter basket, put it in the PF, insert into the group head & with NO coffee, press & hold the 2 cup button to simulate a manual shot. You should see at least 6.5bar on the gauge. Without removing the PF, run several shots like this & see what happens. Let me know.

Cheers, Phil

Thanks Phil. I actually saw this on YouTube last night when you back flush the machine. I did this after seeing the video. The gauge went up to (i think) 7.5 bar - which I thought was a good sign  :-? I then used the cleaning tablets, ran it through a clean cycle and made a couple of coffees....  :-[ Still only stayed down at about 3Bar.

I have tried again tonight. I did this 3 times and each time the gauge went to 8Bar  :-[

Please dont say its me  :-X When I watch your video and compare to my pours, Im seeing the flow coming out way too fast on mine and I dont end up with any real crema on top. The thickness is missing.

I rang Breville Service yesterday in Adelaide, and they said to drop it in - and they will take a look at it (just will be gone for a while  ). Will try to get up there later this week.

Kind of weird problem?

-F.

[>mcknightp]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Sorry, but you cant use the cleaning disk to effectively check the pressure. If you put in a Dual Wall basket & it got to 7.5bar, then the lack of pressure during extraction is, Im afraid, likely to be down to your technique.

If you have the correct dose, ie the firmly packed coffee is ~6mm below the top edge of the filter basket, then you need to grind finer.

With the shot clock on the LCD, you should not see espresso drop from the spouts until at least 10secs. Any sooner than that means you have under-dosed or ground too coarse. Depending on the coffee Im using & the espresso Im pouring I usually see espresso dropping between 11-14secs using the default PI of 7secs.

Let me know how you go.

Cheers, Phil

[frangutz]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

thanks Phil. I will give it another try tonight and let you know.

[frangutz]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

ok. Thanks Phil. I went back to basics. On my new BCG800, i set the grind to 22. I also set the dose to be 1 "click" more (i.e. the lcd display shows 1 bar). Not sure why i need to grind "extra" coffee to get the high bar pressure, but it works.

After tampering it real hard (too much coffee) it comes out excellent. At least 9bar shows. THis is using my cheap end Aurora cafe that I purchased for this kind of testing. Once i am comfortable, i will try the cheap ass stuff from the deli! Looking forward to buying my next lot of coffee.

Do bean types have an effect on extracation times etc?