Ruint wrote:... This brings you to a 007...I know 008 is what you are needing for this particular part.....the 007 is for all the others???

Yes,-007 is for all the others... Only... in about early-mid-2018 Breville changed/improved the way they attach the tubes to tops of the boilers. It's now an o-ringless compression fitting. So the every three years replacement schedule may be a thing of the past.

Still, grab a bag of-007's anyway. Because while leaks in other places besides the top of the steam boiler are exceedingly rare and unusual, they're cheap enough anyway to keep around in case you are the rare exception.

And grab a small tube of food safe silicone grease. Every barista should have some in his kit, no matter what machine you have, BDB to Slayer and anything in between.

-Peter

pcrussell50 wrote:Hah! I bought TWO from Forum. Possibly the last two. But yes, totally and easily rebuildable. Probably won't even need any parts. You just flip the seals, and put it back together.

See here: Breville Dual Boiler ball valve detail, pics

That natty old ball valve (donated to me by Kevin/klund), is still going strong with just the old seals flipped.
(OT, my BDB is now plumbed, with a remoted rotary pump. Loving it and the smooth silence).

-Peter

Peter,

I disassembled the ball valve without much effort (no heat needed). Seals dirty, but after three hard years of use it actually looked pretty clean. No calcium deposits whatsoever (my water hardness is 1, and double filtered). I believe strongly (and I think you would agree) that this "clean" water has greatly attributed to my seals lasting so long. Anyway, after disassembling the ball valve unit I noticed that the ball itself was etched badly along a particular area (maybe where the steam hits it most?). I believe in order to rebuild this unit all I need is a new ball...but is that easy to find? Here is a pic of the ball.

Good job, Bob. I'd say, hit it with a wire brush and call it good. Or swap the ball orientation to the smooth side. I'm guessing your leak did not come from the etched ball surface but from the seals eventually cold flowing enough that they weren't tight any more. The ball valve I have on my new -920 is the nattiest, ancient thing you have ever seen and it's working a treat.

A quick note about the PTFE seals for those that don't already know about cold flow. PTFE "cold flows", which means that it behaves effectively as a VERY thick liquid. So when you flip them, they will slowly conform to the round surface of the ball. When I did mine, I didn't even need to tighten it down all the way. I just tightened it enough to get the same friction feel you get with a new one. When it eventually starts dripping again, I'll probably not even need to disassemble, I'll just tighten some more.

-Peter

Thanks Peter, all this is great to know. I'll polish up the ball, turn the seals upside down and reassemble. All the while, keeping a keen eye on the lookout for a new ball valve unit.

Remember, with the seals flipped, you probably won't need to screw both halves back together all the way. Just go till it feels right. Then the next time it leaks, screw it tighter.

-Peter

BaristaBob wrote:
I disassembled the ball valve without much effort...

I've got as far as removing the valve and unscrewing both ends, but I can't get into the valve itself to inspect the ball and seals. Is it that hex screw thing you can see when looking down the barrel? If so, it's stuck fast. But if I know for certain that is that, at least I can go at it with a bit more effort!

Many thanks

Dave

EDIT: Scrap that, I found it earlier in the thread. Apologies, should have looked properly in the first place.

Two of my four valves required heat to break loose. The good news is it doesn't take much. You're not freeing a frozen nut. You're softening a hardened sealer. When it gets hot, it slides open like butter. I used a creme brûlée torch/cigar lighter.

I have not tried it but it might even work with boiling water and not require a torch.

-Peter

pcrussell50 wrote:Two of my four valves required heat to break loose. The good news is it doesn't take much. You're not freeing a frozen nut. You're softening a hardened sealer. When it gets hot, it slides open like butter. I used a creme brûlée torch/cigar lighter.

You're a star Peter, amazing. I had a brûlée torch and it worked a treat. Unscrewed the valve after heating it, even though I had already partially blunted the head of the hex screw. Turned the washer round and it seals absolutely perfectly.

Thank you so much for giving me the confidence and know-how to do this. I'd already started looking at sourcing alternatives, which all seemed a bit of a fiddle, but this has been a free and (now I know what I'm doing) easy, repair.

Kind regards

Dave

Just a quick gratuitous update...

The natty old -900 ball valve that I re sealed by doing nothing more than flipping the original seals is still going strong and leak free on my nearly new -920. NOTE: I didn't even tighten it all the way down to squash the PTFE rings against the ball. I just tightened enough to provide enough friction that it felt "right". So when it eventually begins a drip again, which they all do, I won't even have to flip the seals... I'll just tighten the two halves a little more until it feels right. I'll only re flip the seals when I've tightened both halve all the way, and it leaks again. That may be several years from now though.

Here: Breville Dual Boiler ball valve detail, pics

-Peter

Fixed my valve today. This valve is 100% serviceable. If you buy a new one, sooner or later you want to do the mod described here.To disassemble, I took off plastic cover from external lever (the hard bit), took off top lid, took off top steam feed to valve, removed centre screw from hand lever, removed valve bracket, pulled valve free from lever, undid clip & exit pipe from olive seal. Disassembled valve, polished ball with metal polish, inserted stainless washer under bottom teflon ball seal, the thickness does not matter, wrapped teflon plumber's tape around boss thread and hand screwed home. Assembled in reverse. Lever now has a little more resistance and valve seals 100%. Can re-adjust without disassembly by tightening the bottom boss via pipe connector hex nut thanks to omitting sealant and use of teflon tape instead. Perfect and cost nothing. Please refer to pictures form others earlier in this post. I should note that I only removed half the parts that others did, so my process is simpler and faster.