Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

[Pavoniboy]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Well... I give up. I cannot pull a decent shot with the BDB.

This thing is the most expensive paperweight Ive ever bought.

I want my EM6910 back!

I still think the problems with your machine are the nut on the end of the portafilter, and the OPV hasnt been adjusted - but the OPV being too high is a minor issue which should not cause you to not be able to make a good coffee.

Going back to your video. Your dose is way too high. It will be getting squashed up against the shower screen and ruining the puck before you even begin and thus causing channelling through the puck. It will also not be giving sufficient room for the puck to expand.

Your flow is happening way too early - it seems its beginning during preinfusion! You should definitely not be getting any flow during preinfusion, and not til quite some time after the preinfusion - first drops around 12-14 secs should be good. This may be due to the channelling from the ruined puck before you begin but is also likely due to the grind still being too coarse.

You say the extraction is 30 secs, but you need to remember the preinfusion youre using is 7 secs and thus for a 30 sec extraction - thats 37 secs on the shot clock.

Your OPV is set high like most were in the early batches. This should not stop you from making good coffee, but an adjustment will add to the mouth feel. Given it is set high, you should not be aiming for a 9 bar reading on your guage but more like closer to 11/12. If you have a blind filter - put it in and hold down the 2 cup button and see what the pressure gets to - you should probably be aiming for about 1/2 a bar lower than that when extracting.

Be careful blaming the tools, we all know the old adage.

[Pavoniboy]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Hi Guys
Can someone  do me a favour  please .  Just need someone to flush hot clear water into EMPTY double PF which has the plastic insert taken out) to see if the flow into 2 separate glasses is even or like mine the left hand spout delivers double the amount of liquid that the right spout does.
Thanks Again.

Mine runs evenly between the two spouts. From what you can see in the spouts - is there any rough surface, unfinished machining or similar in one side of the spout?

[frenchey55]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

I have tried lowering the dose to 18g, using the cap on the tamper as a guide. I have tamped lighter/ heavier. I have tried grinding finer/ coarser. I have been through about 10kg of beans in 6 weeks. Nothing works!

[shapeshifter]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

BluMeanie, where do you live? Have you had your OPV adjusted yet (although in saying that you should still be able to get your shots on 9 bar regardless)?

[Pavoniboy]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

I have tried lowering the dose to 18g, using the cap on the tamper as a guide. I have tamped lighter/ heavier. I have tried grinding finer/ coarser. I have been through about 10kg of beans in 6 weeks. Nothing works!

What have been the results of all of this? We need info, and videos like you posted before are a huge help.

Did you get the extraction beginning its first drops around 12-14 secs? Did you get somewhere in the ballpark of 37sec on the shot clock at around 60mLs out of the spouts? (Im personally liking around 50mLs in about 32secs give or take on the shot clock, but this comes down to personal preference.) Are you sure you are getting good even distribution in the basket? Have you done a puck autopsy?

[Pavoniboy]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

although in saying that you should still be able to get your shots on 9 bar regardless)?

Yes, but you wouldnt want to. If the OPV is up around 13 like some, a shot which extracts at a reading of 9 bar will be a gusher. Really, forget the pressure guage for now and focus on time and volume. But I do agree, get it adjusted to 9 bar when you can.

[avsv63]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Hi Guys
Can someone  do me a favour  please .  Just need someone to flush hot clear water into EMPTY double PF which has the plastic insert taken out) to see if the flow into 2 separate glasses is even or like mine the left hand spout delivers double the amount of liquid that the right spout does.
Thanks Again.

Mine runs evenly between the two spouts. From what you can see in the spouts - is there any rough surface, unfinished machining or similar in one side of the spout?

Thanks Pavoniboy, no rough surface on the PF, Ive used this PF in another breville and its perfect.
Thanks for your time bud.

[avsv63]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Groover, sorry I was going to do that this morning for you, completely forgot, if someone doesnt do it before hand, Ill do it when I get home and let you know.

Thanks

[Bames]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

Hi Guys
Can someone  do me a favour  please .  Just need someone to flush hot clear water into EMPTY double PF which has the plastic insert taken out) to see if the flow into 2 separate glasses is even or like mine the left hand spout delivers double the amount of liquid that the right spout does.
Thanks Again.

Do you have a level at home? If not, I know you can download a level app on the iPhone if you have one. It might be good to check how level a few things are:
- Your bench... and if its level;
- Your BDB on the level bench... and if its level
- Your group / shower screen / PF when inserted into the group
That last one would be hard to check, but the only thing I can think that could cause that with an empty PF is how level this stuff is.
You could also try putting some paper etc under the left hand legs to prop it up a bit and see if that makes a difference.

[nickoyang]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

That last one would be hard to check, but the only thing I can think that could cause that with an empty PF is how level this stuff is.

Hi,

There is one purpose of the plastic insert put in the PF. The plastic base can be a splitter to evenly split the coffee pour into two spouts. The plastic insert has no affect to the pressure inside of the PF.

Thanks

Nick OY

[frenchey55]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

The problem I am having is simply this: I can grind up to the point where the flow rate is as seen in my video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jpGIu5y7f0

If I grind finer and/or lower the dose, the machine starts to choke and the extractions times exceed 50 or 60 seconds.
Obviously, grinding coarser doesnt help either.
Again, I am using the Smart Grinder with beans, at present, that are about a week post-roast.

[Pavoniboy]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

If I grind finer and/or lower the dose, the machine starts to choke and the extractions times exceed 50 or 60 seconds.

You need to lower the dose then. And grind courser to accomodate the 60mL in 30sec approx (+ preinfusion).

If lowering the dose is slowing/choking the extraction you are still overdosing.

[jaysonleow]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

If I grind finer and/or lower the dose, the machine starts to choke and the extractions times exceed 50 or 60 seconds

Quick question, what is the volume of one of those shot glasses?
It seems to be a lot more than 30ml, and you might be letting the extraction carry on for a bit too long.

[frenchey55]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

I have measured the shot glasses and they are, in fact, 30ml each in volume. Cheers.

[rustic]

Re: Breville BES900 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

There is one purpose of the plastic insert put in the PF. The plastic base can be a splitter to evenly split the coffee pour into two spouts. The plastic insert has no affect to the pressure inside of the PF.

There was discussion earlier in this thread around the purpose of the plastic insert. I believe the theory is that it is there to keep the first shot of the day warm if the portafilter was not preheated.

I dont believe there has been an official response from Breville about the purpose of the plastic insert.

While it probably does help distribute the flow of espresso evenly between the two spouts I doubt that was the intended purpose of the plastic insert.