Bret wrote:Hmmm... I recently sent mine in (hissing sound inside) and they sent me a shipping box, had me keep all of the removable items (tray, tank, portafilter, etc.) and just ship the body to them. They couldn't repair it (or it wasn't worth repairing) so they are sending me a new one. When I did this a while back, they sent me a new in box replacement with all the goodies, and never requested the older removable items back... They did not request them back this time, either, but I guess when it arrives on Wednesday I'll find out if it comes with all of it. Hard to imagine it is coset effective for them to stock and track partial units.

Getting a new machine is nice. Did you have to pay the $350? That would make it less nice. In any event, in case you don't want to pay the $350 in the future, the steam hisses are easy and cheap to fix yourself... The factory o-rings seem like they are good for 2-3 years, before needing to be redone.

-Peter

We're back in business!

pcrussell50 wrote:Getting a new machine is nice. Did you have to pay the $350? That would make it less nice. In any event, in case you don't want to pay the $350 in the future, the steam hisses are easy and cheap to fix yourself... The factory o-rings seem like they are good for 2-3 years, before needing to be redone.

-Peter

It was under warranty (expires in November), so no cost at all other than a bit of time to pack it up and ship it. I did assume it was an o-ring, but since it was free (and perhaps even if it wasn't) it was worth it to send in since they check the state of the entire machine, descale, etc. I'm guessing it was not the o-ring, or not just an o-ring, since they decided to replace with a new machine instead of repair.

It arrived today, so I'll get it set up and use it in earnest tomorrow. Getting a little late for me to be drinking coffee

*sigh* wrote:We're back in business!

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Awesome! We'll nearly be twins soon, I have a Flat on order

Nice! It's a fantastic grinder.

Between the flat and the BDB there are plenty of variables to play around with if you like to tinker. You definitely will not get bored with that setup.

Interesting: I just got the new one set up and pulled a shot. Group head seems MUCH more snug, and looks slightly different (though I don't have the older one for reference). I neglected to max out steam temp/pressure beforehand, so I was at the default steam setting, and got a really nice milk texture on the first attempt, so I may stick with the default. Maybe I was fighting the process by altering it before. First latte art pour in a month was better than the last several before sending the machine off before.

Man, it was embarrassing how much I had forgotten my workflow after using only a Bonavita for a month -- at least no one saw how random it was just now. Back in the flow tomorrow. But dayam, this first latte in four weeks sure tastes good.

Bret wrote:Interesting: I just got the new one set up and pulled a shot. Group head seems MUCH more snug, and looks slightly different (though I don't have the older one for reference). I neglected to max out steam temp/pressure beforehand, so I was at the default steam setting, and got a really nice milk texture on the first attempt, so I may stick with the default. Maybe I was fighting the process by altering it before. First latte art pour in a month was better than the last several before sending the machine off before.

I noticed that too. Though i has actually bought some replacement steam rings/gaskets for my machine and threw one in my cousins' and it's about as snug, so I'm not sure if they changed the gaskets, or if I just didn't realize how much it broke down.

There are definitely a few changes too, the group head seems to be attached with screws from the bottom which should make it easier for maintenance, the water filter holder is slightly different too. I'm sure there are more slight tweaks, but I'm Gld Breville is continuing to work on it.

I think I read on CG that the gasket changed to a slightly thicker format.

I also retained all my old accessories when I received a new machine.

baristabazza wrote:I didn't say that they aren't temperature stable. The BDB has 2 pids, one in the group and one in the brew boiler. The one in the brew boiler is adjustable, the one in the group is fixed.

Do you really think the BDB has more control over temp than a slayer or gs3?

Yes, yes I do. The BDB has been Scace tested against the GS/3 at least twice, by experts, and has come out even both times, (slightly better than the GS/3 actually, but not enough to crow about). Sadly I have not saved the links, but they are out there. One was by Mark Prince of coffeegeek.com. Now having said that, Scace devices are not _that_ expensive and a few hobbyists own them. It would be interesting to see how the BDB stacks up when Scace tested by other than pro's, but ordinary users who own Scace devices.

It is temperature stability precisely that is the BDB's strength. It is popular with home-roasters who want to dial in a roast, where they can set a temperature and know with certainty that the temperature they set, is the temperature they get, and that it will remain that way again and again.

-Peter

So, a couple of "things" to add to the list of things that may require attention over five+ years with the BDB. These are things that can be more or less reliably counted on to need attention, and are easy and inexpensive to fix.

Two more things to add to o-rings, solenoids, and steam ball valves:

-Plastic group collar (recently become NA from the parts houses). This may last much much much longer if you err on the side of twisting in your portafilter looser rather than tighter. I have had these machines a long time, and never had this problem. But I put my pf in as loose as I dare. I get about three spinouts a year. Nevertheless, with my finger on the pulse of the community, worn group collars are a thing.

-A new one that I had not noticed until recently. After five + years my machine suddenly stopped pre infusing. You could still program it the same as ever, both duration and intensity, but when you went to start the extraction, the timer would count up (the BDB has a built in shot timer), but the pump would not run during pre infusion, then when the time you set for pre infusion had elapsed the pump would come on as usual. Then I noticed someone over at CG who is a fairly regular participant in the BDB thread over there having the same issue. So now I begin to see that it might not just be a one-off that I got stung with. I thought it might be the pump itself going out, so I replaced it real quick and put a nice brass OPV on, too. That made the vibe of the vibe pump more muted and quieter (neato), but didn't fix it. At this point I suspect it's something like a burned capacitor on the main board. Not wanting to mess with that, I punted and sent the machine in for their $350 (which includes FedEx both ways) repair or replace program. This was my first out of pocket for this machine since I got it in fall of 2011 besides some DIY repairs: 50 cents worth of o-rings, $40 for a solenoid, and $30 for a steam ball valve. New information in another thread indicates that at least some solenoid replacements might not be necessary.

So that's the latest. If you are going to be a long termer with the BDB like me, you might face a failure to pre infuse issue. If it's a burned capacitor on the main board, and if the main board transistors are surface mount, you might be SOL and have to send the machine in for repair or replace. In another thread, someone said they had raised the rep or rep price from $350 to $400. Yesterday, when I pulled the trigger, it was offered to me at $350. Maybe because I had a record of having bought it brand new, at an "official" dealer? (Williams Sonoma 30% off fall sale in 2011).

-Peter