Looks like this issue may be solved as its been a bit since anyone has written but I just stumbled upon it and thought I'd add my two cents.

I've owned the Breville DB 900 & 920 going on five years now. Simply put, if you want reliable results, you cannot use the volumetric function as there are just too many manually induced variables involved in the bean aspect to yield reliable results. Or, since it actually does work as a machine function, if you want to use it, just use it for milk based drinks.

Ok, so I said it does work and here's how you can test yours (which someone on this thread has already stated). Remove your filter basket from your portafilter, twist your portafilter into the group head and put a graduated beaker that measures in ounces under the spout(s). If your beaker has a wide enough opening, you won't need your portafilter. Program the volume for say 3 ozs of dispensed water into your beaker per the instructions in the DB manual. Once done, test it multiple times and if your results are like mine, the machine is very repeatable, shot after shot after shot you will get 3 ozs of hot water in your beaker. Now you know it works.

Now if you leave your machine set and don't mess with any of the settings from the previous test and simply grind, tamp and extract say three or four espressos in a row, you will see variability that will make your head spin, like it did for Jeff. If you want to remove all the variability from the process, go get a super automatic and just put up with whatever it gives you.

The Breville DB is packed full of features that you will not find in any other espresso machine under $3.5 - $5K. How do they do it? Ha ha, this is a residential, household appliance as compared to say an Italian E61 machine. That said, for $1.3K, its a dang impressive machine!

I can attest to it being an issue with the machine itself.

I worked as a barista for 7 years and setting my volumetrics on the machine was a 100% reliable way to extract the same weight each time, regardless of ANY other variables - effectively eliminating shot volume as a variable altogether. ie, even if I was way too fine it would still give me the same weight in the cup and so on.

The best work around for this machine would be to manually weigh your output volume with a good set of scales and just get good at stopping at an accurate weight. Tis a shame though as programming in a reliable volume was my main reason for trying this machine. I guess that functionality for so cheap was too good to be true

I wonder if a machine tech could modify it to work more reliably? I may give this a try at some point ( though I'm sure it would void my warranty )

Right, but my guess is that when you worked as a barista, the machines you used weren't in the price range of the BDB. Especially if they were volumetric commercial machines, they were way more expensive. Sure some of the expense might be if they had multiple groups but my guess is they were also of commercial quality, commercial components, etc. The BDB is really a household machine.

If I were to weigh the output volume and stop the machine when it reached the desired output, then I wouldn't want/need a volumetric machine. I still think it has a lot to do with the grinding process and possibly the flow control on the BDB is not very robust.

Well, anyway, those are my thoughts. Basically, I've made up my mind to sell it but that's due to the fact that here in the states, Breville simply will not sell owners spare parts, we are forced to send our machines back to Breville, well actually, they don't even go to Breville, they go to a third party appliance repair center that is horrible at diagnosing and repairing the machines. So, I'm moving on.

Marty

James, you're a pro barista (or have been)... I always wanted to ask... Even with a NASA-grade-precision volumetric dispenser, why would that ever be preferable to weighing the output (and the dose, for that matter)? Except maybe in the busy shop environment when speed counts. For the home barista, who has the luxury to cut no corners, I don't know why anyone wouldn't weigh in and out, every time. Anecdotally, the manual paddle version of the GS/3 seems to outsell the volumetric version by quite a margin in the advanced home barista community, despite being more expensive.

Marty, if you've already decided to sell your BDB, there's probably no changing your mind once you've made that commitment. BUT actual failures of major parts on the BDB are exceedingly rare, and would almost certainly result in a new (or FACTORY refurbished machine being sent your way). The rest is ordinary maintenance items: o-rings that you can buy anywhere, every couple-three years are $10 including shipping for more than you will ever use in your lifetime. Solenoid every three years or so, under $50 delivered, 15 minutes to change if you take your time. Steam ball valve... Recently no longer available from the usual place, but off the shelf replacements are cheap and common. There's really nothing else that comes up other than collateral damage that can occur if you allow your o-rings or steam valve to leak all over the inside of your machine. And even then, it's amazingly tolerant. I went months suffering all kinds of weird behavior until I changed the o-rings, and everything returned to normal as soon as it dried up after replacing the o-rings. In reality, it's a reliable machine that's easy to maintain, with easily obtained routine maintenance parts.

-Peter

Hi Peter,
If you're in the US, I wouldn't mind a PM with suggestions on where to buy the parts from. I was using ereplacementparts dot com until little by little, the parts were being labeled as no longer available. I had an order in with them for o-rings, steam ball valve assy, shower screen, inner shower screen and another part that escapes my mind at the moment.

When my order from ereplacement was not shipping, I contacted them and they said they were waiting on parts from Breville to fulfill my order. Finally, they sent me a note asking if I wanted to cancel the order or only receive the couple o-rings and outer shower screen they had in stock as Breville will no longer supply them with parts. The only other place I was able to find parts was from New Zealand and Australia with shipping costs that would make your head spin.

I called Breville service and talked with them about the symptoms, to make a long story short, for $350 they would send me a box with shipping label to their third party appliance repair facility, run it through a standard test procedure and fix whatever needed fixed to bring the machine back to factory spec, ship it back and give me a six month warranty. They refused to see me even one spare part. They also told me not to include a list of symptoms, their repair procedure does not include looking at customer supplied symptoms. They said that is what their test procedure is for.

So, I caved and sent them the machine only to have it come back with the exact same issues...I was pissed.
I complained and sent pix and that whole process ended up with them taking the machine back and sending me a refurb'd replacement. The replacement had to go back under warranty immediately, they replaced the pump and a couple other parts and this now is the machine I'm using. However, each time I have to send them the machine, I'm out of a machine and now the replacement is out of warranty. This is the future of ownership with Breville.
I do like the machine but don't like Breville.

If I could get the parts for self repair, I might consider keeping it. Thanks for your reply.

Marty

Marty, what were/are your symptoms? If it was any kind weird behavior like popping GFCIs or runaway heating, never getting hot enough, water puddles under the machine, they are ALL because of neglected routine maintenance, in this case, failure to replace the steam boiler o-rings that need replacing every 2-3 years.

Parts:
-o-rings: NEVER buy them from Breville or ereplacement parts for a $1.10 each plus shipping. They are $10 for 100 from Amazon or eBay, including shipping. McMaster, or any other industrial supply will charge a little more, but you don't have to buy 100 of them. size #007
-inner shower screen: available directly from Breville for under $3 (plus shipping) https://www.brevilleusa.com/collections ... 4622474385
-outer shower screen: should rarely if ever need replacement unless you somehow damaged it during cleaning. Backorder from ereplacementparts. I've never had to replace mine. soak it in espresso detergent or machine dishwasher detergent (not hand wash detergent like Palmolive), mixed in boiling water. all the brown coffee scum will come right off with almost no brushing.
-solenoid: every three-four years, $50 delivered from ereplacementparts. they do go on backorder, but keep checking. they get new ones in every two weeks to a month
-pumps: never had one go bad, BUT they are the same standard Ulka pumps that power 80% of espresso machines out there, available anywhere. last I looked they were about $40 delivered Amazon Prime. again, these rarely go out in the BDB.
-steam ball valve: this is a legitimate worry. they DO wear out their seals and begin leaking over time. they are becoming NLA (no longer available) from most of the parts houses. BUT I have a spare one I have been "dissecting" and... they are fairly standard items. they use 1/4" British thread in each end. the thread pitch matches our domestic 1/4" pipe thread and can probably be used in a pinch. This is what I know so far. It is a guarantee that the world is awash in off the shelf ball valves that will do the trick. Our job as a community is to find the one that is the closest or exact fit. you keep the threaded plugs on each end of the ball valve that came with your machine, and replace the middle part, which is the actual ball valve.

HTH

-Peter

Marty wrote:Hi Peter,
If you're in the US, I wouldn't mind a PM with suggestions on where to buy the parts from. I was using ereplacementparts dot com until little by little, the parts were being labeled as no longer available. I had an order in with them for o-rings, steam ball valve assy, shower screen, inner shower screen and another part that escapes my mind at the moment.

When my order from ereplacement was not shipping, I contacted them and they said they were waiting on parts from Breville to fulfill my order. Finally, they sent me a note asking if I wanted to cancel the order or only receive the couple o-rings and outer shower screen they had in stock as Breville will no longer supply them with parts. The only other place I was able to find parts was from New Zealand and Australia with shipping costs that would make your head spin.

I called Breville service and talked with them about the symptoms, to make a long story short, for $350 they would send me a box with shipping label to their third party appliance repair facility, run it through a standard test procedure and fix whatever needed fixed to bring the machine back to factory spec, ship it back and give me a six month warranty. They refused to see me even one spare part. They also told me not to include a list of symptoms, their repair procedure does not include looking at customer supplied symptoms. They said that is what their test procedure is for.

So, I caved and sent them the machine only to have it come back with the exact same issues...I was pissed.
I complained and sent pix and that whole process ended up with them taking the machine back and sending me a refurb'd replacement. The replacement had to go back under warranty immediately, they replaced the pump and a couple other parts and this now is the machine I'm using. However, each time I have to send them the machine, I'm out of a machine and now the replacement is out of warranty. This is the future of ownership with Breville.
I do like the machine but don't like Breville.

If I could get the parts for self repair, I might consider keeping it. Thanks for your reply.

Marty

Try this place for parts. Prices are CAD as far as I know https://www.forumappliances.com/brands/ ... t=featured

Randy

Hi Peter,
Thanks for the quick reply. The cost of the o-ring was the least of my worries back then, the steam valve was leaking and it was getting worse, I took it apart, fully apart, and saw that it had simply worn out. My wife and I like latte's so it gets used a lot. I didn't believe I could repair it and ereplacements showed it as available.

The inner shower screen & head was bad (see attached pix) there was no fixing these and this was the second time, the first time this happened they were replaced under warranty by Breville, so I saw it as a recurring design issue. ereplacements had the part available on their site but in the end, could not get it. Now with the 920XL, I see they have changed material and no longer need the plating they used to use. Due to the order dollar amount, I simply threw in the o-rings as a matter of convenience. Oh, the hot water spout, which is rarely used, also started leaking and of course would drop water into the latte cup as it was being filled with espresso. Ok, not much, but should it leak? Especially when its hard ever used?

Preinfusion was no longer registering on the dial, it would go from 0 straight up to its max of around 11. In fact the needle started pegging all the time, then bouncing back and fourth like crazy accompanied by a strange pump noise. I suspect the pressure was being maxed out with the regulator trying its best to bring it down.

When I sent my machine to Breville for service, I included these pictures and said I wanted the head and screen to be replaced. When I received the machine back, they had not replaced them. So, let's see, I was told to pay $350 and they would bring the machine back to factory spec! Hmmmm, I don't recall my machine looking like this when I bought it new! I'm just so fed up with Breville.





Right now the machine is working well, which is probably the best time to sell it. I don't relish going out and forking over $3K for a non volumetric machine but in the end, its been a struggle to get mine to work that way anyway.

Marty

Thanks Randy!

Welcome! The Breville parts actually start on this page https://www.forumappliances.com/brands/ ... t=featured

Good luck

Randy