Breville Dual Boiler - fixing leaks and other maintenance - Page 8

#71: Post by **pcrussell50** » January 10th, 2020, 8:23 pm

bhennessy wrote:Peter in another thread you posted a link to PTFE washers for the steam valve on Amazon. Did you use those and did they work?

Did you ever get a third party valve working or too much of a PITA?

I had every intention of using those... but so far, just flipping the existing seals has worked so well they haven't leaked a drop yet. I do have a spare ball valve though. Maybe I'll throw the new seals in it and see how it works after my old ratty valve finally leaks again.No idea when that will will be. Typically new valves last at least a couple of years or more before needing servicing. I'm beginning to expect about the same out of this re serviced old valve.

-Peter

#72: Post by **BaristaBob** » January 10th, 2020, 9:18 pm

bhennessy wrote:For anyone following this thread and thinking they might so this themselves, I would say the greatest anxiety for me was just being able to get the parts here in Canada. Once I found them, the actual process is very easy, aside from the side of the steam boiler. If you look at earlier pictures, I think the hose connecting to the side of the boiler is too short and put too much pressure on the seal

I should have taken a picture of the steam ball. I would say not so much pitting but it looked/felt like a very thin layer had corroded away in the area that was against the inlet.

Thanks for all the help. Hopefully this will last some time.

Brendan,

Did it look like this? When I replaced mine, because it started leaking internally, not just dripping from the nozzle of the steam wand, I opened it up and observed "etching" on the ball. Not sure how that happened? My water source is top notch, never needing to descale in 3 and a half years. Hardness of one.

January 10th, 2020, 11:43 pm

Hi BB. Yes it looked exactly like that. Same black on the supply side ptfe bushing.

I use distilled with potassium carbonate at 100mg per liter. I don't use just distilled or RO so I wonder what the culprit might be?

Btw what water are you using?

#74: Post by **BaristaBob** » January 11th, 2020, 8:26 am

^^^
I'm fortunate with my water source...just city water from a reservoir in the Poconos. Considered to be one of the 10 best waters in the nation. I have a Coca-Cola bottling plant down the street...there brag about not needing to use any filters! However, I still filter my water, once through the refrig system, and then the BDB filter.

#75: Post by **cccpu** » January 11th, 2020, 10:49 am

Here's a question then: since I got my BDB used, but it did not come with the charcoal filter, but I only ever have and only ever will use Barista Hustle water recipes, should I still order a BDB charcoal filter and install it anyway?

January 11th, 2020, 11:05 am

I do not use the Breville in-tank filter. If the water going in is already how you like it, (in my case it is already charcoal filtered and scale components removed), there is no point. My tank has a small wire mesh screen that came with it for trapping any stray particles that might have made it to the tank.

-Peter

January 11th, 2020, 12:02 pm

cccpu wrote:Here's a question then: since I got my BDB used, but it did not come with the charcoal filter, but I only ever have and only ever will use Barista Hustle water recipes, should I still order a BDB charcoal filter and install it anyway?

I don't use it. I don't find any point since I'm using potassium carbonate and distilled. Plus if you forget about the filter it might get moldy or strange things like that growing in it. Basically there's just nothing left to filter with water that clean.

January 11th, 2020, 12:04 pm

Peter, or anyone else that has a new steam ball valve, is the ball shiny chrome on a new valve? If so you would think it would not tarnish and slightly corrode down to a black color. Just wondering.

#79: Post by **BaristaBob** » January 11th, 2020, 12:11 pm

^^^
What Peter said. However, I use two tanks and I switch them out once a month. Keeping one clean for my monthly total machine cleaning routine. One tank (the original) has no screen of its own, my newer tank is like Peter's, with screen. Because of where my grinder is (near the back of my BDB) I have found fine coffee grinds in the tank, so I'm just playing it safe by using the BDB filter on both tanks. It's just my particular situation.

January 11th, 2020, 12:30 pm

Re ^^^

Before I had a screen tank, I used the old style filter holder with some aquarium filter floss to trap particles.

Brendan, I'll take some pics of the ball inside my new ball valve. Too bad Dr. Pavlis isn't around any more. The "black ball" chemistry would be a yawner to him.

-Peter