clynch wrote:Could somebody explain to a newbie what a blind filter is? I'd like the check the opv on a Breville that was purchased in November. Thanks.

blind filter is a basket with no holes in it, commonly used for backflushing.
It completely closes off the water path - the pump pumps against the blind filter and no water gets through.

If the machine doesn't have a 3-way valve, then after you turn the pump off, the portafilter will be pressurized with this water, and when you remove the portafilter from the group, you'll get a sneeze of hot water all over the place.

If the machine has a 3-way valve, then when the pump is turned off, the 3-way valve relieves this pressure (and water) to the drip tray.

For example:

http://www.espressoparts.com/F_156

Thanks for the quick response. The bdb has a disk. I take it there is a 3-way valve because the puck is dry after pulling a shot. Its never sneezed, even after over tamping. I'll put the disk in and pull a shot monitoring the pressure on the pull. That will be the opv pressure. Thanks kindly, great help. Love this forum!

What is your gauge reading during a normal shot?

Dialing in my new Breville DB today. The plastic insert seemed to be causing some annoying water retention in the portafilter (causing it to dribble while grinding / dosing), so I just removed it.

I unscrewed the spouts, pinched the retaining clips together, and pushed the plastic insert out in one piece.

Now I can't get the spouts to properly align when screwing them back on. They should be perpendicular to the portafilter handle, but mine are about 30 degrees short of that. There are four parts to assemble -- the portafilter body, a washer, a spacer, and the spouts. I wonder if I could have the washer oriented the wrong way? The washer is shaped like a bagel slice. Right now I have the "buttered side" (i.e. the concave side) facing the portafilter body.

If Phil or any other users could chime in with advice, I would really appreciate it!

portamento wrote:I unscrewed the spouts, pinched the retaining clips together, and pushed the plastic insert out in one piece.

Now I can't get the spouts to properly align when screwing them back on.

Bummer, mate. You could have just reached in with some needle-nosed pliers and just yanked out the plastic disc. You would never have had to touch your spout. My plastic disc came out undamaged, so I could even use it again... not that I ever will. IIRC, Phil McKnight (Breville rep for the BDB), said that Breville will stop installing the plastic disc.

-Peter

Hi all, some of you might remember me from such places as

I just thought I'd get the information out there that I have so far posted on my blog/website about the BES900, workings and additional extras that are now being made

http://nic.steve-tek.com/

My gauge has been all over the place. I'm still trying to dial it in. The serial # starts with 1137. I thought it might be best to test the pressure before trying to dial it in. The machine comes with several baskets but no blind basket. It does have a round disk. I thought if I dropped the disk into the basket it would block the flow and I should get a good pressure reading. No such luck. The water ran past the disk and my reading was, of course, extremely low. I thought the disk was for blocking the portafilter and doing a backflush. It doesn't make sense. Any suggestions?

itch808 wrote:Does anyone know how often Williams-Sonoma does sales like this?

I wouldn't hold my breath for it to happen again. I've been on their mailing list for 4-5 years and this is the only time they have had a sale like this in that period (although the did have a 20% off sale about 3 years ago that they called the biggest sale they'd ever had at the time).

portamento wrote:Now I can't get the spouts to properly align when screwing them back on.

Solution was much easier than I realized. Turns out all I needed to do was apply more force. Easy with the additional leverage of a screwdriver across the spouts. I recommend wrapping the screwdriver in a towel so nothing is scratched.

clynch wrote:It does have a round disk. I thought if I dropped the disk into the basket it would block the flow and I should get a good pressure reading. No such luck. The water ran past the disk and my reading was, of course, extremely low.

On my machine, the rubber backflush disc does block the flow completely when used with the Breville single basket (single walled). It is shaped to fit tightly into the conical single baskets, rather than the more cylindrical double baskets.

But for convenience, I typically backflush with a standard no-name $5 flat rubber backflush disc in the double basket.