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You’ve probably bought yourself some time, but you’ll still need to replace the 3-way solenoid. Once they get to that point they’re stuffed apparently. Don’t adjust your OPV upwards. The 9 bar that you’re seeing on the gauge is actually a fairly true reflection of group head pressure on the Dual Boiler and you definitely don’t want it up around 10-11 bar. I’ve actually adjusted mine down to 8 bar. Also I wouldn’t rush in and descale unless you saw evidence of lots of scale. Do you fill the machine with filtered water? If so then it’s probably ok, but if you just use tap water then a descale could be on the cards.
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Xanthine wrote "Sounds like an OPV problem but you don't say if you have tried a de-scale, which could help"
Sorry, I meant to say "solenoid" or "3way" but got led astray by you mentioning OPV.
I recently repaired a 920 with pretty much the same problem and it came good once I scraped out the deposits under the washers, although I also had to do some surgery on one of the plastic washers where the tiny metal insert had slid out and allowed the washer to deform and partially block the hole.
Before the repair the pressure was slow to start and climb and the water flow was considerably reduced, even with no portafilter in place. With the backflush disk in place the pressure would gradually climb to around 10 bar. The solenoid was also very noisy.Comment
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Tried some beans this morning and got a nice pour needle solid on 9 bar, bit buzzy during preinfusion then normal at full pressure. I will order a 3 way solenoid and change it out, they are about $80 from a quick net search. Do the white discs and metal inserts come with the valve typically?
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Cheers for the advice, I didn't notice any evidence of scale apart from inside the valve itself. I have a whole of home water filtration system that also removes calcium/lime (lots of that in Perth water) and this is all thats ever gone into the machine since I have owned it. Was 6 mths old when I got it off gumtree, unwanted new house warming present and owner didn't know or care to figure out how to use it.Originally posted by LeroyC View PostComment
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In that case as long as you’re swapping out your filter cartridges as required you should be getting nice clean water without a high TDS so I wouldn’t bother with a descale. The descale can sometimes cause as many problems as it solves.Originally posted by venno View PostComment
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I can’t remember sorry. I do remember having to be careful not to lose them and to put them back in the right place, but I can’t remember if they came with the new one or not.Originally posted by venno View PostComment
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Heads up if it's of interest - the BES920 is available for ~$1k. Good price IMO especially considering it's not readily sold without the grinder. Don't know of it's okay to link to a retailer so just do a search.Comment
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I sketched out the 920 hydraulic circuit as an aid to fault finding one I was asked to repair. Hopefully others will find it useful. Please let me know if you find any mistakes.
Bes920 hydraulic circuit.pdfComment
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Well the buzzing is back.....The pressure is still good though and the coffee is too.
I have ordered a solenoid valve and the 2 teflon washers from big warehouse spares, also ordered a gorup head seal as I figured after 9 yrs it probably needs changing.Comment
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Good price - First decent deal I've seen on the BES920 since pre-covid.Originally posted by Marek07 View PostComment
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Hey all, I'm joining the dual boiler club come Monday when it's delivered! I have a couple of questions:
1. How can I check the pressure at the grouphead? Will the pressure gauge tell me this if I have the cleaning puck thingo installed?
2. Has anyone tried an aftermarket naked portafilter? Looking at one on eBay with a wooden handle for $95, but curious if they're any good.
Thanks!Comment
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Hi
Congratulations on your purchase. Enjoy the coffee. If you place the rubber disk in the basket ( or use a blind cleaning basket) your gauge will show your max pressure. I am not sure exactly where the gauge measures its pressure,,, but if you get a value near 10.5 , i think it is too high. ( Mine was set from factory at 10.5 ish and i have adjusted down to reduce channelling)
Watch out for aftermarket portafilters, the lug position on the Breville BES920 is not the same as most machines. The Breville branded naked portafilters do come up every now and then ( either in stock at breville or second handComment
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Cheers! Am I allowed to link the item here to show you? Either way, it does say it's designed for this machine so hopefully it'll work out.Comment
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Hi Guys,
I just sold my automatic machine, and i'm looking to grab one of these and a decent grinder. Maybe a baratza-sette-270 or Eureka Mignon Specialita 55 if i'm lucky..
Are these still the way to go for a starter machine? Or should i look at something else?
Is there anything i need to know about them to make an informed decision?Comment
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