Breville BES920 Dual Boiler - Owners thread

[russellb]

@jamc0
Have you tried a brief press on one of the brewing buttons? I have found if a puck gets stuck that will release it, haven't met the basket sticking.

[rusty888]

I just moved house and when I went to turn it on the screen is blank and the water led to the bottom left of the gauge is flashing. Nothing Changes. I'm not sure if water got in or not. Anyone know what might be the cause

[noidle22]

I just moved house and when I went to turn it on the screen is blank and the water led to the bottom left of the gauge is flashing. Nothing Changes. I'm not sure if water got in or not. Anyone know what might be the cause

Hot water tap is probably open so the machine won't turn on. Make sure the tap is closed and try again.

[rusty888]

Hot water tap is probably open so the machine won't turn on. Make sure the tap is closed and try again.

And now I feel like an idiot [emoji15]

[jamc0984]

@jamc0
Have you tried a brief press on one of the brewing buttons? I have found if a puck gets stuck that will release it, haven't met the basket sticking.

Hi there, I have tried this with mixed results. It has worked and also not. It also makes a helluva mess!

I actually think the single basket is no longer true. Just slightly out of square (or circle!) which is causing it to stick. I will buy a new basket me thinks.

I am also having a solenoid issue i believe. Machine works, but just get a buzzing sound when coffee is expressing coming from in behind the buttons. I read back in the threads someone having a similar issue. I am just working up the courage to part with it for an extended period to get that fixed on warranty. Fortunately, the Breville recommended repairer in Brisbane is about a 5 minute walk from my home, but that doesn't make the 5-7 days lead time quoted from drop off to when it will be looked at and a further 5 days (max) for repair... sigh!

[mikeev]

Heya all, I used this site to decide that i wanted to purchase a BDB bes920 and did so a little while after them came out... I have been extremely pleased so far but have just recently ran into an issue. Perhaps someone can help me out.

Firstly, I understand that descaling these machines is a big problem, something i learned after doing it. I was able to complete the cycle even though I got the valve error many times. I just kept flushing until it completed...

Now the Issue, when i turn it on, or it turns itself on, steam pours out of the left side of the drip tray. It clearly comes out of the same opening that releases the pressure during the cleaning cycle on the bottom left side of the machine. here is a video. https://youtu.be/rDJXyMTH-Dwi can only get it to stop by turning it on and off a few times and run the first 60 seconds of the cleaning cycle

any suggestions??

[CraigB]

Quick update from me...

Three weeks in and l'm loving my BES920. My wife has even accepted the red - having bought me matching colour espresso cups (le creuset)

I finally got digital scales and I'm dosing a double basket at 26g (not the breville basket), brewing ratio about 1.6-1.7 (42-44g output) in 30sec plus 7 preinfusion making great espresso for me - now trying to replicate with a slightly lower dose.

A highlight for me was whilst bingeing on the TV series Hannibal over the Easter weekend, I noticed Dr Lecter has a BES920 (or 900) in his kitchen - presumably for a nice espresso after having a friend for dinner.

[ms1]

Which basket are you using CragB? Curious whats around, I am using a 15g VST which is going pretty well but is very close in volume the the stock double. Its been good though for making strong single cups which is all I ever make and uses slightly less beans.

[jordmike]

I just descaled mine. Make sure the right screw in the descale access is closed tight.


[QUOTE=mikeev;574695]Heya all, I used this site to decide that i wanted to purchase a BDB bes920 and did so a little while after them came out... I have been extremely pleased so far but have just recently ran into an issue. Perhaps someone can help me out.

Firstly, I understand that descaling these machines is a big problem, something i learned after doing it. I was able to complete the cycle even though I got the valve error many times. I just kept flushing until it completed...

Now the Issue, when i turn it on, or it turns itself on, steam pours out of the left side of the drip tray. It clearly comes out of the same opening that releases the pressure during the cleaning cycle on the bottom left side of the machine. here is a video. [url]https://youtu.be/rDJXyMTH

[rusty888]

Quote direct from breville re the 15 minute shut off

The Auto Shut off timing is now 15 minutes - This is due to a change in Government Regulations relating to Power usage/Energy consumption standards. Unfortunately there is no way of the user changing (increasing) the stand by timing. Hope this helps with your enquiry.

Really wish this could be changed.

[CraigB]

I don't know - bought it from a local coffee machine/parts store. I bought my 920 without baskets so can't compare but it's straight walled.

[leafrust]

Hey All, have had my 920 for 2 weeks and it is making awesome coffee (bought from the Good Guys on eBay with 20% off for $1132 delivered which seems to be a pretty good price). I have found the single shot basket works best for me, not sure why but always get a 9 bar brew and the correct amount of espresso in my cup after 30 seconds. I have the SG grind set on 16 which seems really high compared to most on this post and I grind for 9.8 seconds with my medium-dark roast coffee beans. I have rainwater and my climate is really dry so my beans seem to be lasting well. The steaming wand produces fabulously textured milk with little effort especially in the jug that goes with the machine. Great coffee with little fiddling. Maybe I am just lucky but my husband can't believe how good his Saturday morning latte is, so much better than anything I can find in town. My pucks look great and always expel from the group head with little effort.

[leafrust]

So you just get a portafiller handle?

[mattyu2]

Thinking of one of these for an upgrade to a BES840, is it a worthwhile upgrade? thanks

[Andracula]

Is this normal or indicating a problem for servicing?

I *think* I may have an issue with my 2yr old BES920 and I hoping someone can advise me or recognise whether my unit has a problem or not (and I can get it checked before the warranty ends in May). I have always done all the recommended clean and descale processes. The concern I have is whether the machine is behaving normally or losing pressure, failing mechanically etc. I can't remember back to when I first got it in order to compare performance, so hopefully my description of what currently happens might be recognised by one of you kind dual boiler owners and you can enlighten me.

Often on initial use or if the machine has been sitting unused for a while, when I press a shot button there is no pump sound to start, just a gurgling sound for a couple of seconds as if air bubbles or water is being displaced. Apart from the initial 'clunk' when activating a shot button, the machine seems to stay quite until around 11secs when the pump audibly kicks in. It appears that there is no pre-infusion or low-pressure pumping prior to that point (Im guessing) and I am generally forced to extract much longer than I used to despite same bean, same grind and dose when all was good. Disturbingly, the double-shot basket now falls short of what always used to be dead-on 9 bar pressure. The single-shot basket remains on 9bar during extraction.

The initial gurgling and apparent lack of response or pump action until 11sec doesn't seem right. I thought that may be I didn't descale properly at one point and that somehow air is trapped where it shouldn't be, thereby preventing proper pump action. So I conducted the descale process again, just to drain and refill the boilers. Behaviour persists.

Any thoughts? (big thanks in advance).