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  • w00dy1981
    commented on 's reply
    Thanks for the recommendation.

    I’m undecided what type I would go for dual boiler or heat exchanger….

    Mon-Fri I make 4 coffees back to back for our morning coffees and my thermos travel mugs and on the weekends it’s 2 in the morning, lunch and arvo usually

    Would a heat exchanger be a better option for that many back to back as I’ve seen some videos show that after a certain amount of shots a heat exchanger can more consistent?

    sometimes my oracle pours 1 or 2 of those shots inconsistently but not all the time

  • tompoland
    replied
    I went from the Breville to an ECM Technika then to an ECM Synchronika. Both are very good quality and are stocked by site sponsor Casa Espresso along with Izzo range. https://www.casaespresso.com.au/dome...ines/izzo.html which are very good value, high quality machines.

    Also there is a link to get quotes and recommendations from site sponsors at the bottom of this page, look for "QUOTE".

    Leave a comment:


  • steiny555
    commented on 's reply
    Hi Woody, you can buy the Niche directly through their website to be delivered to Australia which will bring the cost down to around the $1000 AUD mark. This brings it much closer to Specialita territory $. The main downside is there's a wait of around 4-5weeks to get it from time of order. I ordered mine early October, and just got my email from Niche saying it's been sent and will expect it in a weeks time.

  • w00dy1981
    replied
    Thanks for the help and relies everyone

    so far since pulling out the fan and making sure the grub screw is tight and not towel drying the Portafilter it seems to be tamping normal again

    i will look at upgrading to either a specialita or niche grinder at some point as I had thought about it before.

    For down the track for those that have upgraded from an oracle or dual boiler what’s the next machine upgrade one would go to or have gone to?

    I’ve been looking at lelit mara x, Elizabeth, rocket appartamento and profitech

    obviously the Bianca looks awesome and has the glow control that I might want to dabble in down the track but it’s a hefty price

    I’m struggling to see which I might look to go to in terms of another dual boiler versus a heat exchanger

    Leave a comment:


  • w00dy1981
    replied
    So weird on this morning I pulled 4 out of 4 great tamped coffees and the only variable I did was to I not towel dry the Portafilter like I usually do in between shots

    I found a video on YouTube and reddit thread related to “wavy” tamps and it said that the Portafilter should be a bit damp with this machine so that the grinds have a bit of friction when the tamping starts and the whole thing doesn’t just spin inside

    I’m still unsure though

    I’ve started looking at the Eureka Specialita but the Niche about $1000 more though it’s also highly recommended

    Leave a comment:


  • tompoland
    commented on 's reply
    You've given it a fair crack of the whip but you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. (there are plenty more metaphors where they came from - sorry!)

    Honesty, it's time for a new grinder.

    Even at it's best the one you have is barley good enough. You will notice a world of difference with a Niche Zero or similar. An upgrade from where you are now to something like the Niche will be the best value upgrade you'll ever make. After that the returns are incremental.

    But you in the right place for a quantum leap. So jump already!

  • w00dy1981
    replied
    Thanks to all that replied with suggestions.

    I also reached out to my repair man in newcastle an he suggested the following,

    - Try emptying the hopper and running the grinder empty to clean it out.
    - Take out the inner burr and
    - Take out the tamping fan and get a small brush and vacuum and clean out the grinder and clean out the area where the tamping fan goes.
    - Put it back together. Make sure the tamping fan keeps running for two or three seconds after grinder stops.

    As for the filter basket falling out of the handle. It’s held in by a spring. Maybe try and reform the spring to more securely hold the basket in place

    So I just spent half an hour cleaning it all out,

    - Took off the bean hopper and burrs
    - Vacuumed and brushed out the debris in top
    - Took off the tamp fan and washed it
    - Washed out the bean hopper dried both
    - brushed out excess grounds from up above tamper where grounds come out. A lot of build up there
    - I found that the magnetic screw the tamp fan attached onto was loose which might have made tamping inconsistent so I tightened in back up best I could
    - put it all back together

    I ground 5 shots and on the 3rd and 5th got untamped loose coffee grounds

    I factory reset the machine in case my tweaking along the way WELL before this all started had messed with the tamping

    I got the same results again after a few shots

    It seems even after cleaning and resetting it’s being inconsistent with the tamping

    Not sure if the tamp fan needs tightening more or adjusting it to bring it close or further away from the shower screen when it goes to pour a shot?

    the following photos show the tamp fan grind build up on the top of the fan as well as where the grinds come out of the shoot and the non tamped 3rd and 5th attempt

    Attached Files

    Leave a comment:


  • tompoland
    replied
    Wow that is one seriously messed up tamp.

    The Breville grinders are OK-ish. There are worse. But I would definitely upgrade the machine with a seperate single dose grinder like the Niche Zero. You could do a lot worse than get a new or near new Breville Dual Boiler and if you purchase new just get an extended 5 year warranty. You won't beat that as a top notch "bang for bucks" combo.

    Anything more than that dynamic duo (Niche and BDB) is going to be much bigger dollars and will offer only incremental improvements.

    That said, there are rumours of those on this forum who spend untold money just for bragging rights and to play with new toys. Not that I know any of them (very) personally.

    Leave a comment:


  • noidle22
    replied
    Check the tamper fan, make sure the rubber sweeper inserts on the edges aren't missing or damaged. Also check the surface of the fan, see if there is any pitting or damage to the chrome. These are usually both culprits when tamping is not working properly.

    If it looks ok, next thing would be to fully disassemble the grinder and clean it out. This includes removing the inner burr, sweeper and felt washer (be very careful with the felt washer, they break easily). Often after a few years there will be a large accumulation of solid coffee grounds/oils under and around the sweeper which can cause the grinder to work inefficiently. Any problem with the grind size, tamper fan or restrictions in the grounds outlet path can cause an issue with the final tamped result.

    Also, how long is it taking to grind for a double shot? A normal functioning machine with the grind size at the correct setting should be between 15-20 seconds. Any shorter than this, the grind is too coarse and it won't tamp properly, any longer than this and it's too fine and can also not tamp properly.

    If you had a gearbox issue, you would either hear an unusual noise coming from it or the machine would give you an error.

    Leave a comment:


  • WhatEverBeansNecessary
    replied
    Personally I would upgrade to a better grinder now, particularly if you are happy with the pour on the Oracle.
    Then think about upgrading the oracle in the future when it finally quits for good.

    You could look at the low end single dose grinders like the Mingion, DF64 even a Niche etc. But there are plenty of options out there and bargain send hand ones too.

    Leave a comment:


  • Ted2013
    replied
    One option is to get a good grinder and just use the current machine to make coffee. The Eureka Mignon Specialita on offer here at the moment might be worth consideration ( I personally have no interest in this unit).

    Never been keen on machines with inbuilt grinders because of the added maintenance complexity etc.

    Leave a comment:


  • w00dy1981
    started a topic Breville Oracle unsure where to go next

    Breville Oracle unsure where to go next

    Hi, I had have had my breville oracle BES980 (non touch) since December 2015 so going on 6 years now and have had ups and downs early on but have gotten the hang of it over time

    Whats frustrated me the most is over the past year I’ve had so many things replaced and the latest issue I’m not sure what to do next

    Since August 2021 I’ve had replaced the following,
    • Steam boiler seals
    • Repair heater control circuitry
    • Leaking inside, replaced seals common problem with 1st gen
    • Pump solenoid replaced
    • Air pump replaced - gets weak
    • Replaced Solenoid Venturi
    ​And now to add to my frustration just after it came back from the replaced air pump and solenoid Venturi I am having issues with the grinder/tamper

    As i make 4 coffees in the morning one after another, one for my wife and I and two for my thermos travel mugs throughout the day every couple of days on the 3rd grind I’ll take the portafilter out and there will be a mass of uneven coffee grounds in the portafilter. When i tip it upside into the knock box to remove the excess the whole grounds empty out which leads me to believe that the tamping function isn’t working consistently on every grind.

    I’be attached a couple of images of what it looks like.

    I’m unsure as to what I should do going forward and would like some options. As most of the machine has been replaced it pulls pretty good coffee and froths milk really good after the last repair.

    Do I,

    - buy a new oracle touch & sell this?
    - buy a seperate grinder and distribution tool

    If I were to buy a new touch then i would get this machine looked at and repaired again before selling to recoup some cost

    I had thought about upgrading to the next level and get maybe a Lelit Bianca or similar as well as good grinder but thats a significant price cost I cant do right now

    Apart from the grinder/ tamping being inconsistent its a very convenient machine or my wife and I to use in the morning when time is of the essence.

    Has my machine seen too many failures in its lifespan and is this normal or should I reach out to breville and express my frustration an hope they might help out with something given the amount of failures I’ve seen the last year?

    Looking forward to the responses and ideas

    Click image for larger versionName:	3C8F272B-99D1-440F-8158-0D5838436BEA.jpgViews:	68Size:	238.9 KBID:	931957
    Attached Files
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