Breville Oracle Owners Thread BES980XL

[nixter]

Also meant to ask.. how does the machine determine it's descaling cycle? It asked me for the first descale after about 3 months of use, which I did. Then it asked me again about 2 weeks later and my amount of use hadn't changed. I live in a very low water hardness area. Almost didn't even register on the test strip.

[Ipoto]

Steam Wand squeaking

Hi all,
since a couple of day the Steam Wand of my 980 has started to jar whenever I lift or lower it.
It produced a quite anoying sound.
Any idea what I can do to stop that? I sense I can't just use normal oil to lubricate it...
Thank you.

[tiddler2]

Hi all,
since a couple of day the Steam Wand of my 980 has started to jar whenever I lift or lower it.
It produced a quite anoying sound.
Any idea what I can do to stop that? I sense I can't just use normal oil to lubricate it...
Thank you.

Hi, I had the same problem with my machine and googled 'food grade grease'. You can buy a small tube quite cheaply and so far I've only had to use it once. It's suitable for high temperatures, machines and has no taste or smell.

[RVtech]

Issue with froth/Foam: Our Oracle is 5 weeks old. The steam wand no longer produces any micro foam. This feature worked perfectly for the first 4 1/2 weeks. We use grass fed cream or grass fed whole milk and both have produced great micro foam until this issue started. All of the sudden, the pump got noisy and the foam stopped. Coffee is still great. We've followed all the troubleshooting procedures for cleaning including using the steam wand sachet. The steam wand is pristine. "O' ring and seal is perfect. We keep it very clean. I've tried replacing the tip with the included new tip with no improvement. The sound from the steam wand has changed and is very weak even with the tip removed. The milk gets hot, but no micro foam or froth whatsoever. This seems to be related to the extra loud pump noise/growling we hear when we use the hot water nozzle. I read another post with a similar issue. I wondered if there's a solution besides returning the machine for exchange/repair.

Talked wih Breville support today. The recommended disassembly of the steam wand, place steam wand in pitcher full of soapy water & let soak for 2 hours. We did this and found no improvement. Next they want me to email a copy of my purchase receipt and a video showing the issue.

[wfdTamar]

Oracle now at A$1999.20 at David Jones. Someone got 15% off that by signing up for a DJ AMEX card!

BES980 The Oracle Espresso Machine | David Jones

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/185519 (post near bottom)


As a Breville share holder (and victim of the recent fall in share price) I'm a bit surprised this machine is so hard to find in what is a huge market - North America. Come on Breville!

[tgolden]

Purchased mine at BBB with 20% off coupon. Just finished second cleaning cycle. It is running same as it did day one. Absolutely love this machine.

[Ipoto]

Hi, I had the same problem with my machine and googled 'food grade grease'. You can buy a small tube quite cheaply and so far I've only had to use it once. It's suitable for high temperatures, machines and has no taste or smell.

How did you apply the grease? It is kind of difficult to get it in between the layers.

[tiddler2]

How did you apply the grease? It is kind of difficult to get it in between the layers.

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear, I haven't got a Breville, I have a machine that you can remove the steam wand using a spanner and easily get at the ball joint to grease it. I didn't realise that the Breville wasn't the same - sorry if it doesn't help you.

[Sogg]

So i think my 1 month old oracle has also got issue....
-Randomly the pump will come on and stay on, 1 day it wont happen and 1 day it will happen after making a couple of coffees, stays on for ages unless machine is turned off.
-Milk isnt texturing good anymore.

Anyone know of any fixes for these or is a send the machine back job?
Pretty disappointed that a 2k machine will crap itself in under 1 month

[RVtech]

Talked wih Breville support today. The recommended disassembly of the steam wand, place steam wand in pitcher full of soapy water & let soak for 2 hours. We did this and found no improvement. Next they want me to email a copy of my purchase receipt and a video showing the issue.

I emailed the receipt copy and videos and then waited 1 day. I phoned Oracle support yesterday. They plan to replace our machine. No additional information as to what the issue is. It appears to me that the pump is weak as the pressure & flow from the water spout are slow and weak and the auto froth is no longer working. They told me to keep using the current machine as they are out of stock and it may be 1-4 weeks before they have a new replacement for me. They will send a Fed X prepaid return label. Once the original unit is in the Fed X system as "shipped" they will ship out the new unit. Since the replacement comes from California and we are in Ohio, I expect we will be without espresso for approximately 1 week. It seems like a company that manufactures espresso machines would have one in stock......but not so.

[Ipoto]

So i think my 1 month old oracle has also got issue....
-Randomly the pump will come on and stay on, 1 day it wont happen and 1 day it will happen after making a couple of coffees, stays on for ages unless machine is turned off.
-Milk isnt texturing good anymore.

Kate from Breville offered the following for your first issue:

Test 1 – Determine which pump is activating
1. Firstly please check the level of pump noise – To determine this, press the 2 cup button without your portafilter locked in – This is a fairly loud pump noise – Does the hum sound like this? Please Private Message me if it sounds like this.
2. If the pump noise is softer than this, please proceed to Test 2.

Test 2 – Empty and refill the Steam Boiler
1. Turn your machine off & let it cool down for 1 hour.
2. Empty the drip tray and place back into the machine.
3. Fill up the reservoir to the MAX line.
4. Remove the black silicon descale cap located on the front panel just behind steam wand - a flat head screw driver may assist to initially pry the cap off.
5. Using the flat head screwdriver unscrew the right hand screw (closest to side panel) all the way. This will empty the steam boiler into the drip tray. Please note steam may still be present in the boiler – placing a towel over the drip tray whilst initially unscrewing the valve will shield you from any unexpected steam escaping.
6. Take your drip tray cover off & note when you can see that water has stopped flowing from below the descale valve – this will indicate that the steam boiler is empty.
7. Empty the drip tray and replace back into the machine. Leave the drip tray cover off.
8. Switch the machine ON – the steam boiler pump should commence trying to refill the boiler (constant humming noise) and you should see a small flow of water into the drip tray below the descale valve. If you do not see this happen please Private Message me.
9. Close the valve by tightening the screw fully which should stop water flow into the drip tray. The pump noise will continue as it fills the steam boiler.
10. Place the drip tray cover on again and refit the descale cap.
11. Once the steam boiler is full (humming noise should stop) the machine should return to Standby Mode and be ready for normal operation.
12. Use the machine as per your regular normal routine. Please Private Message me if this does not resolve the problem.

On the second issue:
Maybe it is just an issue of getting it thoroughtly cleaned. just give it a try by following the tips in this forum.

Hope that helps

[Sogg]

Kate from Breville offered the following for your first issue:

Test 1 – Determine which pump is activating
1. Firstly please check the level of pump noise – To determine this, press the 2 cup button without your portafilter locked in – This is a fairly loud pump noise – Does the hum sound like this? Please Private Message me if it sounds like this.
2. If the pump noise is softer than this, please proceed to Test 2.

Test 2 – Empty and refill the Steam Boiler
1. Turn your machine off & let it cool down for 1 hour.
2. Empty the drip tray and place back into the machine.
3. Fill up the reservoir to the MAX line.
4. Remove the black silicon descale cap located on the front panel just behind steam wand - a flat head screw driver may assist to initially pry the cap off.
5. Using the flat head screwdriver unscrew the right hand screw (closest to side panel) all the way. This will empty the steam boiler into the drip tray. Please note steam may still be present in the boiler – placing a towel over the drip tray whilst initially unscrewing the valve will shield you from any unexpected steam escaping.
6. Take your drip tray cover off & note when you can see that water has stopped flowing from below the descale valve – this will indicate that the steam boiler is empty.
7. Empty the drip tray and replace back into the machine. Leave the drip tray cover off.
8. Switch the machine ON – the steam boiler pump should commence trying to refill the boiler (constant humming noise) and you should see a small flow of water into the drip tray below the descale valve. If you do not see this happen please Private Message me.
9. Close the valve by tightening the screw fully which should stop water flow into the drip tray. The pump noise will continue as it fills the steam boiler.
10. Place the drip tray cover on again and refit the descale cap.
11. Once the steam boiler is full (humming noise should stop) the machine should return to Standby Mode and be ready for normal operation.
12. Use the machine as per your regular normal routine. Please Private Message me if this does not resolve the problem.

On the second issue:
Maybe it is just an issue of getting it thoroughtly cleaned. just give it a try by following the tips in this forum.

Hope that helps

Thanks,
Doing a deep clean on the steam wand last night using the supplied solution seemed to improve texturing. But seeing as there are only 2 packets of the solution, where can i get more? I looked on the cafetto website and they dont have the revive. Oracle hotline also pointed me to cafetto but couldnt specify which product to get.

Ill try the empty of the steam boiler when it next plays up, so far its been ok for 2 days...

[Ipoto]

Great to hear.

[wfdTamar]

You can get some things here (if you're in Australia):

Coffee Accessories

Thanks,
....... But seeing as there are only 2 packets of the solution, where can i get more? I looked on the cafetto website and they dont have the revive. Oracle hotline also pointed me to cafetto but couldnt specify which product to get.
.........

[RVtech]

Kate from Breville offered the following for your first issue:

Test 1 – Determine which pump is activating
1. Firstly please check the level of pump noise – To determine this, press the 2 cup button without your portafilter locked in – This is a fairly loud pump noise – Does the hum sound like this? Please Private Message me if it sounds like this.
2. If the pump noise is softer than this, please proceed to Test 2.

Test 2 – Empty and refill the Steam Boiler
1. Turn your machine off & let it cool down for 1 hour.
2. Empty the drip tray and place back into the machine.
3. Fill up the reservoir to the MAX line.
4. Remove the black silicon descale cap located on the front panel just behind steam wand - a flat head screw driver may assist to initially pry the cap off.
5. Using the flat head screwdriver unscrew the right hand screw (closest to side panel) all the way. This will empty the steam boiler into the drip tray. Please note steam may still be present in the boiler – placing a towel over the drip tray whilst initially unscrewing the valve will shield you from any unexpected steam escaping.
6. Take your drip tray cover off & note when you can see that water has stopped flowing from below the descale valve – this will indicate that the steam boiler is empty.
7. Empty the drip tray and replace back into the machine. Leave the drip tray cover off.
8. Switch the machine ON – the steam boiler pump should commence trying to refill the boiler (constant humming noise) and you should see a small flow of water into the drip tray below the descale valve. If you do not see this happen please Private Message me.
9. Close the valve by tightening the screw fully which should stop water flow into the drip tray. The pump noise will continue as it fills the steam boiler.
10. Place the drip tray cover on again and refit the descale cap.
11. Once the steam boiler is full (humming noise should stop) the machine should return to Standby Mode and be ready for normal operation.
12. Use the machine as per your regular normal routine. Please Private Message me if this does not resolve the problem.

On the second issue:
Maybe it is just an issue of getting it thoroughtly cleaned. just give it a try by following the tips in this forum.

Hope that helps

I followed this procedure. No improvement in our machine. It still has a loud growling noise and low water pressure output from the water nozzle and no microfoam from the steam wand on auto setting. The manual mode for the steam wand works well enough for us to use until Breville ships a replacement machine.