CoffeeGeek - Espresso: Espresso Machines, Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Espresso: Espresso Machines
Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Barista Tools

Large selection of tampers, pitchers, milk frothers and much more!
www.espressozone.com

Not Logged in:

updated topics	new posts	new unanswered
search	faq	sign up

Discussions > Espresso > Machines > Breville Dual...

view previous topic | view next topic | view all topics

showing page 153 of 222

first page | last page

previous page | next page

Author

Messages

Cordes
Senior Member

Joined: 9 Feb 2013
Posts: 2
Location: Missouri
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville 900xl
Grinder: Mazzer Mini
Roaster: Gene Cafe

Posted Sun Feb 10, 2013, 6:10am
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

MerleApAmber Said:

Paul,
I wish I had your reflexes.

Posted February 9, 2013 link

Maybe I just have less demanding tastebuds and friends ";^)

PrescottCR
Senior Member

Joined: 19 Dec 2012
Posts: 52
Location: Prescott
Expertise: Pro Roaster

Espresso: Breville
Grinder: Baratza
Roaster: Diedrich

Posted Tue Feb 12, 2013, 9:24am
Subject: Re: Bottomless PFs in USA

AlexKilpatrick Said:

Answering my own question. A rep from Breville got back to me within minutes and offered to take an order over the phone.

Thanks for the tip, guys. These aren't supposed to be available in the retail channel until May. Gah.

Posted February 1, 2013 link

Alex- mine arrived yesterday so if you ordered one soon after I did, it should be there soon!

I also ordered a smaller milk pitcher from Breville, it was listed for a different machine. The size is much nicer for doing smaller amounts of milk, but the pinch at the spout could be better. Then again, I'm not a big latte art guy and maybe I need more practice.

bmccoupe
Senior Member

Joined: 11 Jun 2008
Posts: 11
Location: Bay Area, CA
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler +...
Grinder: LeLit PL53

Posted Tue Feb 12, 2013, 3:34pm Subject: Re: Bottomless PFs in USA

i also found the included pitcher a little too big. I am sticking with my 12 oz rattleware pitcher (straight) and is working great with the machine.

arc0300
Senior Member

Joined: 13 Feb 2013
Posts: 3
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Wed Feb 13, 2013, 11:35am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

hi, i got a DB as a gift about a month ago from my wife. it took me about 2 weeks of off and on reading to finally finish this thread. it was very informative. i'l have to post a video of my espresso making process for future suggestions soon. but i had this one question....does the DB if left plugged into the wall, still use any power (vampire power) - i believe the breville smart grinder does too right?

AlexKilpatrick
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 117
Location: Austin

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Bairtiza Vario

Posted Wed Feb 13, 2013, 12:17pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Any electrical device with a display will use some power, although it should be negligible. If you are interested in this kind of stuff, you can buy a device called a kill-a-watt Click Here (www.amazon.com) That will tell you how much power any device is using. The BDB does use power when it is on, to keep all the boilers hot. I don't know how much it uses when off, but I suspect it is next to nothing. The average electrical cost in the US is about .08 / KW-hr. As an example, you can run 10 100 Watt light bulbs for an hour for .08. That's pretty cheap. The vast majority of power usage in a home is heating and cooling. I think you will find that the so-called "vampire" power in devices costs you less than a penny a month. You could unplug the BDB when no using it. But you would lose the clock setting. Not worth it, IMHO.

MerleApAmber
Senior Member

Joined: 13 Nov 2012
Posts: 172
Location: Atlanta
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville BES900
Grinder: Baratza Preciso + Esatto
Vac Pot: Yuma
Drip: bah-humbug
Roaster: Hot Top 2K P

Posted Wed Feb 13, 2013, 8:54pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Where you might see the most vampire energy use would be the default 4 hour keep warm timer; if you don't expect to come back in that window, best bet would be to turn the unit off after you finish drawing your drink and clean up.

BubbaDude
Senior Member

Joined: 8 Jan 2011
Posts: 493
Location: Frisco Bay
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Baratza Vario
Vac Pot: Yama
Drip: Clever Coffee Dripper
Roaster: Hottop 2KB

Posted Mon Feb 18, 2013, 12:36pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

After thirteen months of trouble-free operation, by BDB is in a world of hurt. The first problem to show up is water leakage. When I get up in the morning, I find that the area around the machine is covered with about a cup of water. It's on a stand with a channel that catches the water, so there's no doubt it's coming from the BDB. I don't know if it's a persistent leak or a warm-up leak, but either way it sucks. The second problem is strange behavior when the machine comes out of standby mode. Instead of warming up until it reaches the set point, as it used to do, the temperature skyrockets all the way to 208, and temp display never stops blinking. The water in the brew boiler gets super-hot, sputtering like mad if I draw hot water from it. The only way out of this mode is to unplug the machine and essentially re-boot the processor, so this looks like a firmware problem. So I called Breville the other day, waiting patiently for ten minutes until I got to their support engineer. When I described the problems to him he said they've had a lot of issues with the firmware issue, and said he would send me a replacement machine. He changed his mind, however, when I sent him my proof of purchase because, according to him, Amazon Warehouse Deals is not an authorized reseller so I had no warranty coverage. He then sent me info on repair centers where I can get the machine fixed on my own dime. Needless to say, I'm not happy with Breville. In the interest of curiosity, I took the panels off, inspected all the wires and tubes, and replaced the O rings on the solenoid. The old ones were deformed and crusted, and the solenoid had some burnt coffee on it, to this was a necessary spot of maintenance. The O ring replacement had no effect on the firmware problem, as expected. So I'm going to take this piece of junk in for service, and if the repair cost is as high as I imagine it will be, it will be hitting the trash can and polluting a landfill shortly. It's a shame Breville didn't have the foresight to allow users to update their firmware without a service incident. Sad rookie mistake. Buyer beware, dudes.

"I've Scaced many HX/E61 machines, seeing shot variances of up to 8-10F or more. [The BDB] stays within 1F." - Mark Prince

AlexKilpatrick
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 117
Location: Austin

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Bairtiza Vario

Posted Mon Feb 18, 2013, 12:49pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Sorry about the reseller issue. That sucks. On the positive side, the firmware update should be really cheap.

BubbaDude
Senior Member

Posted Mon Feb 18, 2013, 12:56pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

AlexKilpatrick Said: Sorry about the reseller issue. That sucks. On the positive side, the firmware update should be really cheap. Posted February 18, 2013 link Minimum labor charge is $100, so it's not going to be that cheap.

"I've Scaced many HX/E61 machines, seeing shot variances of up to 8-10F or more. [The BDB] stays within 1F." - Mark Prince

cafeespresso
Senior Member

Joined: 16 May 2005
Posts: 106
Location: South Florida, USA
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Expobar Office Pulser
Grinder: Baratza Vario
Roaster: FR 8+, SC/Turbo CO

Posted Mon Feb 18, 2013, 1:58pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

BubbaDude, Sorry to hear you are having these issues. I came very disenchanted with the machine after I started getting the Err3 message. After a long period of thinking pros and cons, I decided to return the machine after 3 months (thanks God for Bloomindales return policy). At this failure rate (see the coffee nobs site as well), the machine is over priced at $1,200. It is a damn shame, because I think the machine has enormous potential. The features are perfect for most people and the espresso it produces is excellent, but not being able to service yourself is a deal breaker for me.

showing page 153 of 222

first page | last page

previous page | next page

view previous topic | view next topic | view all topics

Discussions > Espresso > Machines > Breville Dual...

updated topics

new posts

new unanswered

faq

Not Logged in: log in
Discussions Quick Jump:
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post

Forum Rules:
No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards.
No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum.
No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum.
Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards.
Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics.
Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies.
Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies.
Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts.
Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.

Cafe Espresso Machines

Video reviews, nationwide installation, leasing options... Nuova Simonelli, Rancilio, La Marzocco.
www.seattlecoffeegear.com