Breville Barista Express Questions & Answers
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I have a problem with AUTOMATIC DOSING VOLUMES. The pre-programmed shot volume is correct when no coffee is in the portafiller, but with coffee (under pressure) the flow turns off after 12s with only one third of the required volume extracted. It is normal for volumes to vary so much between water only and extracting coffee?
Obviously I'll try re-programming the volume whilst extracting a coffee, but then too much water will come out when I'm pre-heating everything without coffee.
(I've been using manual mode and after two weeks of experimenting the coffee quality is now superb.)
My expectations are that water will be lost/ consumed when coffee is in puck. Amount of water lost will depend on coffee bean grind, coffee beans itself, etc. I concentrate on the amount of coffee volume and taste, rather than quantity of water used, lost. I boil a bit of water, and pre heat my cup, puck, and portarfilter, rather than rely on coffee machine to heat the accessories. Its quicker. And yes Experimentation is the way to find out what is best for your taste ( palate )
After programming the double expresso setting / amount the machine doesn't remember it. any tips or suggestions ? pls
Barista Express BES870 (black version) purchased and given to us as a gift in February 2024. Used only a couple of times a week. Makes fairly good coffee. Problem is the steam/hot water dial is incredibly stiff to operate and has to be almost forced to switch off. Is this normal?
I have the same model and the steam dial is easy to rotate so I reckon yours is defective. Cheers Vince
Had that problem, lifted lid and put a bit of wd40 on swtch ,worked it back and forward ,now working fine.
if the water I use is softened and filtered, do I still need to change the water filter every two months
The water sensor has stopped working. We opened the machine to fix but the connection is glued in so cannot be removed to clean. Even if we replaced the sensor I am not sure how we could remove the electrical connection from the glue!! Any ideas??
Hi Guru, I have replaced the white color steam ring or brew head seal after cleaning the brew head mesh. When I plug in the machine, it automatically display me the clean me light + program button light straight without letting me to press the power button. I did upside down my machine when I unscrew the brew head mesh because screw is very tight, I have to use electric screw driver to unscrew it. Can I get advice on how to solve it? It has been with me since 2017. Household appliance part wangara have cleaned the internal pipe last year with (265 aud).
After making two cups of coffee from one grind, we press the double cup, then single cup. We empty the grind, dry the filter basket, refill with ground coffee, tamper etc. but no coffee comes out at all. Not great when trying to make multiple coffees. Any ideas?
Hi is your ground coffee too fine check the dial on the grind side of the machine mine is on about 12 try that. May be your pump pressure is not building may need to be sent to a service centre. Sorry I’m just a coffee lover.
After cleaning machine my Clean light will not reset? How do I fix this please
Is the pre infusion time of 8 to 12 seconds included in the overall shot time of 25 to 30 seconds ?
I purchased a new BES870 last week & the maximum pressure I can achieve when following the pressure test instructions is the 2nd “S” in espresso word on the dial gauge. Should the unit achieve more pressure than this? (The rubber cleaning disk does not have a hole). I’m advised a new batch of units regulates the pressure and won’t allow it to go past 11 o’clock. Is this true?
What happens if you use a finer grind and pack it down?
Same result, the pressure gauge in no circumstance goes above 11 o’clock. The pressure test basically blocks the outlet so it is mimic a super fine grind outcome (no flow).
The pressure in these units is usually set too high anyway and yours may not be too far off - we lowered ours. Search the internet for 'BES870 opv' (over pressure valve) and you will see instructions for changing the pressure. It's easy to do. But having done it you may not think it is an improvement. The pressure needed depends on the type of beans you buy and how fine your grind is. Have a go changing it yourself and see how it works out. I can't paste a picture here but it involves removing a tube that has a cable tie attaching it, removing a black cover and adjusting the pressure by turning a part you now have access to, and reassembling, putting the tube back with another cable tie. There are plenty of videos on the internet showing how to remove the back panel, which is all that is needed to access this.
I've only had mine for 5 days. At 11 o'clock I can't get any higher pressure and there is minimal flow. I've tried pressure test. Has the pressure changed in these newer models? And is 10-11 o'clock 18g coffee with 36-44g output ok?
How long was the product warranty for the Breville Barista Express BES870 purchased in 2017? 1 or 2 years ?
I got 2 years of warranty
Has anyone else had black chipping off front of (black liquorice) tray without any knocks, etc?
Yep see my absolute rubbish post not covered by warranty
The Duo Temp function knob will not stay in the open position for the shot pour - steam works fine. You have to manually hold it until the the pour is finished. Can this be fixed?
Has anyone else had their water flow meter fail after 2 years? Mine started intermittently failing and had to be reset (push program button until 3 beeps) about 12 months ago (purchased in March 2020). Now it has failed completely, the water flow keeps going until I manually stop it and the pressure is not working correctly. I am VERY disappointed because for the price, and only one person using it, I would expect longer than 3 years.
Mine failed after 12mo and one week - just outside warranty. I managed to fix it. There are videos on YouTube, but you have to pull the back off the machine. It's doable, but not a quick job
I got rid of the machine. I don't feel comfortable messing with insides of appliances. I am really not impressed, I paid a lot of money for Breville because it is (was) a brand of good quality, never again. Thanks for answering, seems it's another product (albeit expensive) designed to be thrown out and replaced just out of warranty.
Where do you put the bean pod
Hi This machine does not use pods, you put whole coffee beans in the black top left container
I have a BES860 and the water goes straight to the drip tray. has anyone have this issue?
Normal rinse/priming action. Shouldn't put more than say 50cc into drip tray.
Thanks for that info, it must be stuck on this function? as it empties the whole cup in the drip tray
Hi on start up & after making an espresso the machine dumps water in to the drip tray from the back right hand side, this does not seem normal
Normal part of cleaning/purging cycle. The 920 also does it.
How loud is it when you are pulling a shot?
Funny you should ask this. We had this discussion last night.....when my husband is on an early shift, he doesn't have a morning coffee at home so that he doesn't wake us all up.
Dont know how to answer that in a meaningful way. But if I say it's about the sound level as when it is first turned on that may give a guide. It is quite loud, but in experience they all are.
I’m trying to register my machine but have no idea what PDC is?
How do I change the front panel on 860 xl
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