Breville Dual Boiler, five+ years on - Page 49

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
kuato
Posts: 2
Joined: 4 years ago

#481: Post by kuato »

Heya, I hope someone can help me out here, because I dont really know what I'm doing. My partner just bought one of these machines second hand and I suspect there's a problem with the solenoid valve. The machine will show a decent pressure on the gauge if I run it with the no-holes cleaning thing in the portafilter but with a normal one filled with coffee and tamped down as per the instructions, the needle doesn't move at all. Coffee will come out but I dont belive its being extracted at all properly.

I would really appreciate any advice chasing down the exact problem or if there's some setting that just needs adjusting or something id be happy to feel like an idiot.

Tonefish
Posts: 1401
Joined: 7 years ago

#482: Post by Tonefish replying to kuato »

Sounds like you may just need to grind finer? How long did it take to fill the shot?
LMWDP #581 .......... May your roasts, grinds, and pulls be the best!

kuato
Posts: 2
Joined: 4 years ago

#483: Post by kuato replying to Tonefish »

About 30s. Actually, I think you might be right, testing further with the single cup basket produces pressure although on the low end. But we are still on a basic bitch grinder so it's deffo possible its just not going fine enough.

pcrussell50 (original poster)
Posts: 4001
Joined: 15 years ago

#484: Post by pcrussell50 (original poster) replying to kuato »

With the capability of this machine, you really need to use fresh beans and the best grinder you can afford. Some of us even use the best grinders money can buy, with this machine.

-Peter
LMWDP #553

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lancealot
Posts: 1136
Joined: 7 years ago

#485: Post by lancealot »

I was just on WLL's site. The BDB is now $1499.99. I went to Breville's site and confirmed the price. Is this a recent increase?

mianor
Posts: 45
Joined: 5 years ago

#486: Post by mianor »

I know the manual says I shouldn't, but have anyone tried to clean the drip tray and water tank in the dishwasher..?

pcrussell50 (original poster)
Posts: 4001
Joined: 15 years ago

#487: Post by pcrussell50 (original poster) »

I have not, but I'd be money it's fine to do. And even if it eventually accelerates wear, (at least in the USA), replacement drip trays are available for pretty cheap directly from BrevilleUSA, if not eBay. With that in mind, if I thought it would improve my life to wash these parts in the dishwasher, I would not hesitate to do so.

I can see the possibility that the dishwasher might be a little hard on the yellow "empty me" sticker, but I can't imagine what else.

-Peter
LMWDP #553

mrjag
Posts: 343
Joined: 9 years ago

#488: Post by mrjag »

Sadly it's happened to mine twice while someone tried to be helpful in the kitchen. Everything turned out fine for the most part. The plastic looks pretty much the same and surprisingly, nothing happened at all to the yellow sticker. The metal trim along the front developed a faint rainbow shimmer, but you can't really tell until you get up close.

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retireddude
Posts: 233
Joined: 4 years ago

#489: Post by retireddude »

pcrussell50 wrote:Fully undeserved, too. I'm not going to be so classless as to start pointing fingers, but go look around the repairs and the machines thread for reported problems with La Marzocco, collective e61's and Slayer even, what have you. There are plenty. I think the undeserved reputation of the BDB has to do with a pre determined mindset. When something no matter how small, goes wrong with the BDB, it's labelled as disposable consumer appliance trash. When you have a $500 repair on one of the other, it is forgiven. You fix it or get it fixed and that's the cost of doing business. I divide reliability issues into frequency and severity. I would say the frequency of issues with the BDB, no matter how small, is slightly better than average in comparison to establishment machines, and the severity of issues with the BDB is much better than average in comparison to the establishment. IOW the common issues with the BDB are very easy to fix. -Peter
Speaking to the reliability question, I can contribute my experience. I bought a BDB in the spring of 2012. Two years later I was already on my 3rd machine (typical problems with various leaks). Breville, as others have mentioned, was great about sending new replacements each time I had a problem. No doubt, with some research, these were all issues I probably could have fixed myself, but the experience left me with zero confidence in the machine. Also, no matter how well a company stands by its product, it was a pain in the butt to box up and send back each time. The same way it would be a pain to replace o-rings or valves on a semi-annual basis, or what ever else frequently goes wrong. It's just not something I wanted to deal with. In my case, after I become disgusted with the lack of reliability, I sold my 3rd BDB and bought a Rocket R58.

5 years, and approximately 5,000 shots later, the Rocket has been flawless. I've loved being able to concentrate on the amazing espresso and not deal with chronic problems. I have no idea what the true frequency repair is between Breville and some of the higher end products like Rocket, ECM, Quick Mill, etc, but in my personal experience it was a night and day difference.

As an aside, it's baffling to me that the BDB, on the market now for many years, is still plagued with many of the same issues. It's almost as though Breville has no interest in addressing them; they're obviously aware. Personally, I'd much rather invest in a well made machine that is reliable and durable, than one that offers great warranty support that you're almost certainly going to need.

Having said all that, I'm glad that people have found work arounds and methods for self-repairs. It's a cool product with a lot going for it, especially at that price point. I was actually thinking of getting one for a summer vacation cottage, but was disappointed to see the same problems I dealt with still appear to be an issue.

pcrussell50 (original poster)
Posts: 4001
Joined: 15 years ago

#490: Post by pcrussell50 (original poster) »

Dialing it back and cutting to the nut:

Why is maintaining a BDB considered a "work around", while maintaining an Italian machine is ... [insert apologetic excuse here]?

-Peter
LMWDP #553

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