Breville Dual Boiler BES900 Questions & Answers

Turn your Hot Water/Steam Dial to the "CLOSED" position.

Check your error logs and report back any findings please :)

Yes, check your error logs and report back any findings for further review :)

How did you descale this? The BES900XL doesn't have the descale port that the later BES920XL has? :)

I’ve tried unplugging and plugging into another outlet. I bought the orange and blue o-rings and I’m going to replace them all. I’m not giving up on this machine. I paid a lot of money for it and I should be able to fix it.i build jet engines for a living and I can’t get this thing working!!!! Somethings not rite.

Its likely your thermal fuse on your boiler has failed and thus no electrical current being provided to the Steam Boiler's Heating Element as a result. Check your error logs and report back please.

I’ve tried unplugging and plugging into another outlet. I bought the orange and blue o-rings and I’m going to replace them all. I’m not giving up on this machine. I paid a lot of money for it and I should be able to fix it.i build jet engines for a living and I can’t get this thing working!!!! Somethings not rite.

Yes, check to make sure your NTC Grouphead sensor is properly mounted and the wires have not be damaged by being caught between the brew boiler and grouphead when you re-seated the Brew Boiler (the smaller boiler) over the Group head. Check your error logs for any "err3" listings and report back findings please.

Hey Mat. My machine developed a leak and completely corroded the inside. It was actually electrically unsafe. Best to get it checked. The leak problem is not uncommon and it may have developed in your machine affecting the program components of the machine. Don’t want to kill yourself over a cup of coffee.

try either unplugging the machine from the wall socket. wait a minute or so plug in and turn on.

reset the machine to manufacturers default

Yes, check your error logs looking for "err3" (NTC Grouphead Sensor fault) or "err2" (Steam Boiler NTC Sensor fault) or "err1" (Brew Boiler NTC Sensor) and report back your finding for further consideration. Both of these NTC Sensors (the one on the Grouphead and the one on the Steam Boiler) are used to provide data feedback for the two PID Sensors that control the target temperatures. If an NTC Sensor is either in the "Open" state (the wire connection has a developed a physical gap) or in a "Shorting" state (as it sounds one of your NTC Sensor may be), then the PID controllers that regulate the temperature of your boiler and grouphead by energizing the heating elements to each will not be regulated properly.

The group heal seal may need replacing. They are about $20 to buy you check online. If you are handy should not be too harf]d to replace.

external link 

Sorry I haven't had that problem have you tried calling Breville helpline they might be helpful!

You're going to have to open it up and inspect your Grouphead (under the smaller Brew Boiler). Here is a guide how to do this: external link 

Hi there!

I am looking for an answer to this issue when I came across your post, except no one offered an answer .

Have you found out what's causing this yet?

May

put a napkin over the area of the drip tray where you want to block the steam rising. The napkin is absorbent and will dry quickly as well and can be replaced often. I buy 400 square bounty napkins for about 5 or 6 bucks and they last several months.

Sounds to me like your grind on your coffee isn't fine enough and you haven't packed the group head tightly enough. I put a single espresso ground shot from my smart grinder into the group head then tap in on the bench a few times to settle. Then I put another 1/4 to 1/3 of a shot on, then tamp to the depth indicated on the tamping tool. Attach the group head to the machine.

It will be a tight fit and probably feel harder to lock on than it does now for you. Test, try again and retest. You'll get into the Goldilocks zone on the pressure gauge soon enough.

Make sure you are watching the timer too. If you've done it right, it will be flowing fully by about 11 seconds and should be done by about 27-30 secs. Too much coffee and packed too tight and this will blow out to 30+ seconds.

It all takes trial and error to get right. You may need to adjust your grind for each type of beans you get to get the optimal coarseness to help be successful with your extraction pressure.

Thank you Craig for your reply. How do you mean it will blow out to 30+ seconds? I am using the manual button and stop when the coffee is getting watery. I never get the smooth honey pour through my group head filter. I use a BCG450 grinder, the model before the smart grinder from Breville. I use the super fine setting on it, and try to tamp it as hard as I can to get the pressure up a bit. I do as you said, fill the fine grind coffee, tap it on the bench and then put some more and tamp to the depth indicated meaning to the upper silver edge on the tamping tool. So the silver lining on the tamp goes down into the filter, 7mm or so.

Not sure what else I can do?

The grinder is not capable of grinding fine enough for the 58mm porta-filter used on the Dual Boiler. You really need a Smart Grinder Pro for best results. ^PM

Thank you Breville Official, exactly the reply I needed. I was actually thinking if it was the grinder I had that was not good enough. Is this the one you mean: external link 

Just bought a BCG820 Smart Grinder Pro. I will report my results tomorrow after my initial testing with finer grind and different coffee beans.

Works perfectly with the new grinder. Ok, then we basically know now, we need a perfect grinder that can grind fine coffee to really feel the success of the BES900.

Thanks again!

Yep, the BCG450 grinder can be modded to grind finer (voiding all warranties of course in the process) but more importanly its burrs are no where near the quality of the BCG820 Smart Grinder Pro, which is a gem for sure :)

Hi Nicki - can you please visit external link  to locate the nearest distributor for assistance. Thanks, the Breville Australia team

I ran into the exact same problem - wonder whether yours has been fixed and care to share how they did it?

No, it was impossible to fix with no service agents in my country. In the end I bought a Barista Express for 1/4 the price and I’ve been happily using that for the last few years. The amount of times I needed to use the milk frother at the same time as making a coffee just didn’t justify buying a new one.

Its in standby mode, you'll have to power it down completely using the switch or wait 4 hours for the timed power down. From Breville's User Manual: "The machine will enter POWER SAVE mode after remaining idle for 1 hour and turn Off completely if not used for a continuous 4 hour period (refer to ‘Auto Power Off’, page 21). Pressing any button during POWER SAVE mode (except POWER), or operating the STEAM LEVER or HOT WATER dial will cause the machine to enter START UP mode. Pressing the POWER button during POWER SAVE will turn the machine Off."

Hey Karen , I m not a technician , so I would check with breville .

There is also a company called bravo repair centre in Sydney .

Cheers steve

Hi Pagey2808 - our UK business is called Sage Appliances and may be able to assist external link 

Thanks, the Breville Australia team

Check your error logs and report back your findings here please. If you can hear your pump, the coil is likely ok. There are internal components inside it (springs, check stoppers, o-rings, seals etc.) that can fail but parts are cheaper than buying a pump. Report back if you can hear your pump and just aren't getting any water.

Sounds like your pump might need to be replaced

Hi Jess - if you can contact a coffee specialist on our customer service team - 1300 139 798 - they can discuss the issue in more detail and assist. Thanks, the Breville team

The pressure gauge does not measure the health of a pump, it measures the amount of resistance being overcome in the hydraulic system/lines. If you can hear your pump, it's likely ok but you've got an opening in the hydraulic system somewhere or a blockage in the lines (perhaps due to the backflush). Check to make sure your Water Reservoir connection port is not blocked and that its check valve can be moved (its spring loaded).

Hi Stuart - please call customer service for assistance - 1300139798. Thanks, the Breville team

Stuart, did you find a solution to this problem? I'm currently having the same issue and Breville customer service is closed all weekend....

Your steamer lever is on. That is possibly part of the problem.

All I can think is to check the water lever and knob on both sides are closed properly.

Sorry I can't help anymore.

This was the problem. Thank you for your help

I had the entire pump replaced finally and my machine now works perfectly, just like new. The issue was that the pump problem was INTERMITTENT, which meant the technician could not replicate my experience with it at the time. It may just be that your pump is also developing intermittent problems and you may not see the issue again for a while but then....?

the pump had been replaced not long ago i have put it in for a quote with a service center.

Check your error logs and report your findings back here please. "err3" will be your Grouphead NTC Sensor, and "err2" will be your Steam Boiler NTC Sensor, and "err1" is your Brew Boiler NTC sensor. An erratic temperature is likely a sign of bad data transfer from an NTC sensor to the PID control system (more than one PID controller on the BDBs). If the NTC Sensor has completely failed, the machine will not heat at all. If the NTC Sensor is failing/shorting it will produce erratic data and the PID controller will be confused and not be able to reach its target set point temperatures.

Hi, if you have bought freshly roasted coffee, not coffee with a "use by" or "best before" date, but a "roasted on" date printed on the bag, then your coffee if being ground fine enough and/or you do not have enough coffee in the filter basket. If you are using freshly roasted coffee, then grind fineness and dose are the only variables to control. I hope this helps. ^PM

Dear Breville official - I am the consumer who wrote the initial question. Sorry, but your reply is unclear - do you mean 'your coffee is NOT being ground fine enough'? Yes, I have bought fresh coffee beans with a 'roasted on' date and I am using a Breville grinder on the finest setting possible and my coffee basket is certainly not under-filled. Like I said in my initial question, I have manipulated these variables in the past but nothing seems to be working. It would be helpful if you could answer my initial question about descaling etc. I have been unable to obtain a decently poured coffee for over a month now despite all my actions, after 3 years of successful use, so I am a very unsatisfied customer at this point. Thank you for attending to my query.

Which Breville Grinder are you using? Not all grinders are capable of meeting the advanced needs of the higher end Breville machines such as yours. You'll likely need at least a BCG820 Smart Grinder Pro (an affordable and brilliant grinder) :)

Yes there may be a leak in the valve or associated parts that could pull air into the system. Please take it to an authorised Breville service centre who can diagnose and repair any fault. ^PM

Hi, in the latest version of this product, water does NOT flow out of the porta-filter spouts, but water & cleaning agents WILL flow back into the drip tray. I hope this helps. ^PM