I purchased my 900/A as a refurb through Amazon since it was too good of a price to pass up. When I started getting a drip from the hot water tap about 11 months in, I contacted customer service, and they sent me a 900/B for FREE, all I had to do was place a hold on my credit card until they received my unit, which was then removed. So I basically got a brand new 900/B after using a refurb 900/A for a year. The receipt was clear as could be, and they didn't seem to question it at all.

Once my current machine actually dies (hot water tap has some intermittent leaks again) I plan on spending the $350 for the "repair" (hopefully replacement with 920) and have no complaints. I know this machine is very polarizing on these and other forums, but for the price, quality of drinks, and excellent customer service, it should make it a no brainer for the beginning to intermediate barista looking for a quality machine. Other than this machine, my real next step up would be a LM Linea Mini or something of the like. Sure a chrome box E61 would look better on the counter, and would have better steam power, etc. but for the price I really don't think it's worth it. Just my .02

Open her up and you'll find teflon pipes that can be removed without any tools. Nothing stopping you from pouring in/out some descale fluid except the fear of spilling it everywhere. It's quite tight in there. You can at least visually inspect the brew boiler to see if it will drain completely without messing with the plumbing. Maybe just descale the brew boiler? Also, you can likely disassemble the entire machine, of course this would probably take an entire day. BUT, for 350, to get an easily descale-able new machine, I'd say go for it.

Zanderfy wrote:This is really interesting. I have a 920, and I've always ogled the La Marzocco portafilters. I'm assuming this is a fairly laborious and highly involved process, yes?

I'd modified it to fit the 900 when I got it so I could Scare it. A short while later Breville sent a bottomless free of charge which fit better. Luckily I was able to modify it further to fit the 920. As you can see it took a bit of grinding at the handle, reshaping the lugs and grinding outer diameter down to fit. Not hard to do using a Dremel alone, just a lot of wiping it down and test fitting.