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Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

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1atom12
Senior Member

Joined: 13 Nov 2008
Posts: 133
Location: Atlanta Area
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Breville Smart Grinder
Roaster: Zach and Dani's

Posted Wed Dec 14, 2011, 12:59pm
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

selzoc Said:

How did you remove the insert? I tried using a chopstick for leverage to unscrew the spouts, but broke it :). Maybe a screwdriver would work better...

Posted December 14, 2011 link

I used a corkscrew... pulled it right out...

dagoat
Senior Member

Joined: 10 Dec 2004
Posts: 294
Location: santa barbara, ca
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: BDB (Breville Dual Boiler...
Grinder: baratza vario
Vac Pot: aeropress
Drip: manual
Roaster: cafe rosto

Posted Thu Dec 15, 2011, 1:51am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

some of the aussies over at cs have been using VST baskets for a snug fit, and (memory is shaky on this one), Synesso baskets for a looser fit. triples will only fit a bottomless PF. my BDB arrives tomorrow, (according to the shipping tracker), but i don't get to play with it until christmas. :(: If by "cheapish looking group head", you are referring to it's apparent lack of mass, keep in mind that in this case, significant mass is not required for temperature stability, as this is achieved in other ways, as opposed to large thermal mass, like the old e61's rely on. mostly posting right now, to get subscribed to this threaed. i've been a member here since '04, am perfectly good with UBB code and yet... i still don't know how to subscribe to a thread without posting to it. -peter

selzoc
Senior Member

Joined: 21 Jul 2009
Posts: 33
Location: RTP
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Thu Dec 15, 2011, 8:49am
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

1atom12 Said:

I used a corkscrew... pulled it right out...

Posted December 14, 2011 link

OK, I managed to unscrew the spouts using a screwdriver for leverage. Popped that ugly plastic right out :)

Taranto
Senior Member

Joined: 24 May 2005
Posts: 75
Location: Kennewick, WA
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Mazzer Super Luigi
Drip: Bodum Chambord

Posted Thu Dec 15, 2011, 9:03am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

I removed the black thing the first day of use. Yes, it's supposed to be for thermal stability, but not necessary if the entire portafilter is heated up evenly with the grouphead. My portafilter gets plenty hot by conduction and if you want it hotter you could always run some water through it. I have fit my old gaggia double basket, and synesso style double and triple baskets with no problems in fit. They do however make tightening the portafilter a little more difficult though. I think the baskets are a fraction of a millimeter taller when sitting on the portafilter's ridge. But I'm not going back. Anyone heard any more news about a bottomless portafilter? Hope this helps. -Greg

SHCoffee
Senior Member

Joined: 24 Nov 2011
Posts: 19
Location: Texas
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Breville BES900XL
Grinder: Wega/Compak K3 Elite

Posted Thu Dec 15, 2011, 9:33am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

As an update: I received my VST 18g basket yesterday. It definitely fits the BDB portafilter. It is a tight fit with respect to circumference not depth. So it takes some muscle to pop back out. Here's my take on the new basket. (Please understand that I'm still very much a novice Barista): Based on what I had read, I expected that I would have to make some adjustment to my grind/dose regime with the VST compared to the standard Breville double, single-walled basket. However, I didn't realize just how different it would be. After some experimenting, I'm now dosing 1 g more (19g instead of 18g), grinding at a notably finer setting (one that would have almost choked the machine with the standard basket), and getting a better extraction. My pulls are now starting at about 13" (including pre-infusion) instead of 11". The pressure is at 9 to 9.5 bar instead of 9.5 to 10 bar. I'm getting a nice honey color during the entire extraction - about 37" for a double. I'm using a local espresso blend ("Meritage" from Cuvee Coffee). It's a very tasty blend. I've read that the VST is supposed to help with consistency. As I use it over the course of the next week, I'll report what I find. On the topic of the naked pf. I read on CS that they are close to having them available (at least in the Antipodes).

Posted Thu Dec 15, 2011, 10:59am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Update - New, calibrated machine received. Much better! I had to make a few adjustments to grind, tamp and dose compared to the uncalibrated machine, but the results today have been spectacular! I highly recommend you either perform the OPV valve adjustment yourself, or take advantage of the exchange program offered by Breville USA... Now bring on the naked portafilter Breville!!!

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 Thu Dec 15, 2011, 5:13pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Vetallist Said: - If you unplug the machine timer resets, which is a downer. Vario had the same issue in its first run, which was addressed in subsequent update a year later. Not sure why Breville couldn't include a basic memory unit to retain this and other settings. Posted December 14, 2011 link You either need a battery-backed up DRAM or an NVRAM for that, but it is a pretty cheap upgrade. Looks like an engineering oversight to me.

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

lbp775
Senior Member

Joined: 20 Oct 2010
Posts: 6
Location: Fort Worth
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Thu Dec 15, 2011, 9:47pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

I'm so glad this thread has been created. There's nothing worse than hopping on a thread to get information on how to use your newly purchased machine and coming back with a bunch of reasons why others do not like it. Kinda makes you second guess your decision. I am still an enthusiastic novice who has been using this machine for past 3 days and so far I'm happy with it. I have already adjusted my OPV and find that the slow steaming performance is actually helping me create better microfoam. My only gripe at this point is how milk will immediately bake on the steam wand no matter how fast you try to wipe it down. I wish there was some way to upgrade that to a no-burn in the future.

espresso_drinker
Senior Member

Joined: 26 Oct 2011
Posts: 51
Location: Austin, Texas
Expertise: I like coffee

Posted Thu Dec 15, 2011, 10:04pm
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

lbp775 Said:

My only gripe at this point is how milk will immediately bake on the steam wand no matter how fast you try to wipe it down. I wish there was some way to upgrade that to a no-burn in the future.

Posted December 15, 2011 link

The only way I can get off the baked milk to to use a wet rag and scrub while the tip is still hot.
Has anyone found a no-burn that works for the BDB?

espresso_drinker
Senior Member

Joined: 26 Oct 2011
Posts: 51
Location: Austin, Texas
Expertise: I like coffee

Posted Thu Dec 15, 2011, 10:08pm
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

SHCoffee Said:

As an update: I received my VST 18g basket yesterday. It definitely fits the BDB portafilter. It is a tight fit with respect to circumference not depth. So it takes some muscle to pop back out.

Posted December 15, 2011 link

With 18G of Meritage in the VST basket, is the spent puck is less likely to stick to the BDB's
dispersion screen than with the stock double/non pressurized basket? It's not a super big
deal but my puck is almost always stuck to the screen after extraction with the stock basket.

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