Ditch Breville BES900 for Nuova Simonelli Oscar II?

#1: Post by **TheJavaCup77** » July 31st, 2016, 6:13 am

I've been thinking about upgrading from a Breville BES900 to a Nuova Simonelli Oscar II..

I've sent the Breville to an authorised service center to get it's steaming issues fixed (the steam valve doesn't close and open completely)

So far, i've been looking at the Oscar 2 as a potential upgrade...

But i'm worried that HX flushing is yet another unnecessary variable that might cause inconsistent results between every shot...

HX flushing seems nightmarish...

It seems that if your brew time is longer/shorter the temperature curve will be different.. and that if you've flushed 5mins, 10mins or 1 mins ago you would need to vary the flush volume.... it seems finicky to me....

Is HX flushing inconsistent? and does better steam power really produce better quality steamed milk?

So far i've a few reasons to get an Oscar 2..

- Very powerful steaming (Breville has no chance in this area)
- Readily serviceable
- Reliable and Durable
- Better build quality

but i've also got a few reasons to keep the Breville...

- Faster heatup than the Oscar II (heatup time is important to me)
- Temp Stability
- No HX flushing
- Programmable pre-infusion (the Oscar II has a non-programmable 1 second pre-infusion)
- Auto clean cycle

Which option is better?? Keep the BES900 or get an Oscar 2? and why??

#2: Post by **CoffeeBar** » July 31st, 2016, 6:55 am

Hi, If I were you I would get a NEW ROCKET APPARTAMENTO with Eric's thermometer = Easy HX flushing control???

#3: Post by **russel** » July 31st, 2016, 11:29 am

The HX flush isn't a big deal, but it's a lot simpler to understand and keep track of if you have an e61 with an Erics thermometer. I preferred both the coffee and the user esperience of my e61s to my Oscar.

That being said, if the cost of having the Breville repaired is low, I would suggest running it until the repair costs get too high, all the while putting a little something aside for an upgrade when it does reach the end of its life.

I would absolutely wait on any pump machine purchase to see how the Decent Espresso machines turn out. If you're in the market for a lever, well that's whole different thing.

#4: Post by **Compass Coffee** » July 31st, 2016, 11:59 am

TheJavaCup77 wrote: and does better steam power really produce better quality steamed milk?

Yes.

#5: Post by **Bill33525** » July 31st, 2016, 12:13 pm

you might get lucky and receive a 920 back.

#6: Post by **ash4889** » July 31st, 2016, 4:22 pm

CoffeeBar wrote:Hi, If I were you I would get a NEW ROCKET APPARTAMENTO with Eric's thermometer = Easy HX flushing control???

Your right its a great little machine, much better than the Oscar

#7: Post by **CoffeeBar** » July 31st, 2016, 7:53 pm

russel wrote:
I would absolutely wait on any pump machine purchase to see how the Decent Espresso machines turn out.

Yes +1 to Decent Espresso and they are ready to taking order soon. Properly in August