Breville's new dual boiler machine BES900

Kelsey · July 2012

It's just a fact of human nature. When I travel, I look at TripAdvisor for the ratings and reviews, and measure the number of generally positive ratings against the generally negative ones. But I have an 'attenuation factor' that I apply - a negative rating is worth only half as much as a positive one. I believe people are vastly more motivated to get steamed up enough (often about the tiniest of slights) to write negative reviews than they are to report positive experiences. Short version: we really only hear from those who have problems! People like Muscles and SS have been running the Breville Dual Boiler now for a year or so - they certainly seem to be able to get great espresso out of it!

ajst2duk · July 2012

on 1342437607:

Arrrr so the softer problem as I alluded to; was on the cards... Glad to hear you up and running so soon... :thumb: Did they say any thing about cleaning or how your shower screen was looking ?

No nothing - I regularly flush with a blind filter and use caffetto weekly. I take the shower screen off now and then as well. all was looking ok - I believe that the blockage was caused by a tiny piece of rubber. Anyway - I agree with the posts on the context of problems, yes I have had an issue, yes it made me grumpy and saw me without a machine for 2+ weeks, yes I was doubting my decision to buy in the first place. How do I feel now - well the machine is back, issue has been fixed, and without knowing how many machines have been sold, the two recent issues here (which look similar) may be in fact a very low percentage fail rate. My biggest ongoing gripe is the quality of the stainless finish, with ours having developed oxidisation streaks where it has been wiped with a damp cloth. I cannot remove these blemishes no matter what I use on them. Other than that - good coffee is once again on tap at chez AJ - and having just done a barista course, I realised I always have more to learn than the 12 years or so of experience have given me so far. I do however harbour a secret desire for a Giotto and Mazzer - I will start saving now haha....

ajst2duk · July 2012

Pics of the staining:

derrilex · July 2012

I hate to say it but I say it from experience - that is the hallmark of rubbish quality stainless steel. You should try some SS cutting compound followed by a buffing compound. SS will not rust if you can bring out the protective chrome oxide layer by polishing. Even then you are limited by the quality of the stainless.

Brett H · July 2012

on 1342672932:

I would follow up with BREVILLE and see how you go.

+1 The Breville guys can't help you out if they don't know about it. Let's not pretend that even the high end espresso machines aren't without their issues and idiosyncracies. Sure, most of us just want a quality coffee and the BES900 seems up to that. By ensuing that your feedback is directed to the company as well as the wealth of information here and elsewhere, the various offerings for the home barista are improved and refined. That's certainly what I hope for as a consumer!

ajst2duk · July 2012

Yes I understand that - please take this in the context that I am generally happy withe the product and the price I paid. I'm not unrealistic - it's already been good with some helpful ideas being posted. Its just a shame that the awesome design (I think it looks really cool) blemishes like it has.

Brett H · July 2012

on 1342680051:

Yes I understand that - please take this in the context that I am generally happy withe the product and the price I paid. I'm not unrealistic - it's already been good with some helpful ideas being posted. Its just a shame that the awesome design (I think it looks really cool) blemishes like it has.

Absolutely mate. Valid points on all accounts. Do make sure you let the Breville Customer support know and keep us updated. They've been seemingly very pro-active about helping customers with concerns.

Koffee_Kosmo · July 2012

RE Stainless steel panel staining A post for someone that wanted to sell there Breville ( for whatever reason) at a future time If the same applies to an affected BES900 as to how people view a cars condition by external appearance Then conceivably you may need to sell for a lesser price due to looks , but it is mechanically perfect KK

sossol · July 2012

on 1342663923:

My biggest ongoing gripe is the quality of the stainless finish, with ours having developed oxidisation streaks where it has been wiped with a damp cloth. I cannot remove these blemishes no matter what I use on them.

Hi, First time poster with just a quick chime in. Annoyingly we also had the rust blemishes on our 900 and bcg800 - we had very good success using straight liquid Jif ( that's all we had handy in the cupboard) and a clean cloth. Haven't had any problems since which made me wonder if the blemishes were partially a result of a 'dirty' cloth that I may have used previously when cleaning. If you do consider trying Jif maybe do a small test patch first just in case in case I've given you a bum steer! Good luck.

Koffee_Kosmo · July 2012

Re -polishing the Breville Dual Boiler We recently purchased a set of copper cooking pots Well we had major staining & even water spot marks after first use Never fear we have a product that is a familiar name with many, called Brasso This stuff brought the pot up to new with a little elbow grease

Kelsey · July 2012

I know this wandering slightly off topic, but didn't you have some special polishing routine also?

Koffee_Kosmo · July 2012

on 1342694370:

I know this wandering slightly off topic, but didn't you have some special polishing routine also?

You mean me ?

Kelsey · July 2012

Jagenschnitzel - you! :pan Not for the Breville Double Boiler (hence the wandering off topic), I can't imagine they'd be the fingerprint magnet my machine is. :D

Koffee_Kosmo · July 2012

I use a product called Glassplexin to polish my machine Now let's get back on topic KK

derrilex · July 2012

on 1342672932:

D: So what do you recommend... I use something called SHINE from bunnings that is a cutting type polish. I have also used different grades of car cutting compounds to try to get the same rust like blemishes out of some of the SUNBEAM covers. And then used a SS polish to finish. Not perfect but has done the job. The interesting thing is that some covers suffer badly and yet I have seen others that look 110%. So one can only assume SS quality where there is some variance outside the manufacturers spec ??? Doubt Breville or Sunbeam would spec a material to fail so soon, but rather some possible cost cutting at the SS manufacturer or a QC fail on the SS and sub standard material getting in... I would follow up with BREVILLE and see how you go.

Silvo stainless polish works well - followed by a oil impregnated SS polish wipe

derrilex · July 2012

Good breakdown pic though :thumb:

ajst2duk · July 2012

All good - I used Autosol metal polish followed by 3M stainless cleaner. Came up awesome - nice, shiny and stain-free again. Thanks for the tips - my main worry was that this sort of approach would give the finish shiny spots and maybe remove the printing - but none of that happened. Back to drinking great coffee !!

ajst2duk · July 2012

And the evidence -

derrilex · July 2012

Lovely. I suspect just about all those metal liquid cutting compounds are the same in a different bottle :D I think 3M do a oil impregnated wipe also that should keep the shine up. Keep it shiny and the rust cant start. If not, you can get them at bunnings or coles (same thing). Proper job that, well done :thumb: :thumb:

Hatchy · July 2012

Bit of a late reply, but Yes AM i'm still on for next weekend if you are. I will try and get the blank to you before then though. I'll see how my tuesday or wednesday shapes up. I totally agree that a naked PF for this machine is more toy than tool.

admin · July 2012

Hey guys - just a quick one: now that we're well over a year past release, I'm interested in conducting a mini-survey as to what sort of 'street' prices the Breville Dual Boiler has come down to, using our combined market knowledge... please can you put down what you know of as the most recent street price? thanks A

Koffee_Kosmo · July 2012

on 1342832727:

Hey guys - just a quick one: now that we're well over a year past release, I'm interested in conducting a mini-survey as to what sort of 'street' prices the Breville Dual Boiler has come down to, using our combined market knowledge... please can you put down what you know of as the most recent street price? thanks A

I did a quick search for the purpose of the question Billy Guyatts has them for $1198.00 KK

Brett H · July 2012

http://www.powerbuys.com.au/breville-the-dual-boiler-espresso-machine-bes900.html?utm_source=myshopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Small+Kitchen+Appliances&utm_term=Breville+the+Dual+Boiler+Espresso+Machine+BES900 $1182 and having bought a steam station from them Id happily buy from them again!

Hatchy · July 2012

Appliances online have them for 1200ish but they'll match anything and generally will give you free delivery to sweeten the deal.

Muscles · July 2012

Good guys were doing $1098 and free smart grinder about two weeks ago :pan No bench test there but why would you want one and you are saving around $700 from RRP

Kelsey · July 2012

That's an incredible deal (any of these prices are!) for a machine with that feature set.

DoubleRistretto · July 2012

on 1342865253:

Good guys were doing $1098 and free smart grinder about two weeks ago :pan No bench test there but why would you want one and you are saving around $700 from RRP

doesn't that make it about a 40% discount to RRP - wow! Although I guess Breville are in the volume business, and given the dual boiler machines are made in China, they probably still make a reasonable profit! dR

pablo_h · August 2012

I don't think that is normal. the retailers started out at $1500 for the machine, then went to $1500 for the combo, then $1200 for the machine only (and when they did that, they started upping the price of the grinder towards RRP). Someone on WP went to TGG to beat the $1199 price that david jones and HN had, he just wanted the machine at $1099. They sold them that, but sold them the machine with bonus grinder pack, whether by mistake or what, the buyer didn't expect that, and that was way below cost, ie TGG is losing money, not breville dropping their price to TGG that much they could still make money on it. No one as far as I have heard has got the combo that cheap, it is below cost to get both for $1100

Brett H · August 2012

on 1344615240:

I don't think that is normal. the retailers started out at $1500 for the machine, then went to $1500 for the combo, then $1200 for the machine only (and when they did that, they started upping the price of the grinder towards RRP). Someone on WP went to TGG to beat the $1199 price that david jones and HN had, he just wanted the machine at $1099. They sold them that, but sold them the machine with bonus grinder pack, whether by mistake or what, the buyer didn't expect that, and that was way below cost, ie TGG is losing money, not breville dropping their price to TGG that much they could still make money on it. No one as far as I have heard has got the combo that cheap, it is below cost to get both for $1100

This is a great first post mate. Howdo you have this information? When we saw one of these BDBs go for sub $900 on this forum I figured that the error was that the store had given it away at wholesale price. How would the Harvey Norman guys come at that price: Java The Hutt "Yup Mate. I was incredibly lucky. On top of that, I just picked up a BCG800 for $165 so for both $1015 This was due to a Salesman error, but who am I to say "No, please don't sell it to me, I'll pay you more" took some patience and time from my part though. without the Salesman error, I think the best price to haggle down to is. $165 for the BCG800 and $1100 for the BES900. If anyone is looking to buy one THAT is your target. on that note, I'd like to ask you some questions Brett. but I can't PM?" See the thread here: http://www.bestcafes.com.au/forum/classified-user-wtb-and-for-sale/bes-900-for-you/25/

Lwowiak · August 2012

I have a friend who is heading down the path of seeking good espresso. Whilst on holiday, we caught up and he asked me to check out this machine with him. He has read some of the stuff on that green forum, and no matter how much I would like to post his comments, I will remain diplomatic and refrain. His wife likes how the machine looks, and prefers it over the Italian mob. She saw the new colours and would like a red one to match her other appliances. Yes, it is an appliance, and there is nothing wrong with that, so I wish people would stop defending its pedigree. We went to HN, Domayne and TGG. The most irritating thing we found was the lack of being able to have a decent play with the machine. He really wanted to be able to taste a reasonable shot from it, and we had fresh beans with us for that purpose. In the end his frustration got to him and we went to Broadbeach for a coffee. As usual NNL was closed by the time we got there, so we went and had some nice German beer from the Bavarian Beer Cafe instead. We had a good chat about what to look for, and he was going to check out some machines when he got home. Unlike his sister who likes to change appliances as often as she changes husbands, he was looking for something to last a few years, and that has interchangeable parts readily available. He visited TGG when he got home as we have a mutual friend who works there. A really good price was offered (no grinder though) and if you can get one for $1100 or so, you are doing well. He forgot to ask what the staff price was, as he had lost interest in this machine. A customer brought one back and was demanding a refund. The commotion cemented his choice and he just called me to say he was the proud owner of a new Italian machine. Exact details were not revealed, as I must visit him to find out. In summary: Price is not everything. He found a retailer who listened to him and let him play with a few machines until he found one he liked. Internet forums can do more harm than good. I asked what his wife thought of the machine. Her comment: "I am so glad you listened to me and did not buy the Breville dear, as Jxxx from next door just got one, and we would have never heard the end of it" Just shows, you can never win :stir

frame

Howdy, Stranger!

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Breville's new dual boiler machine BES900

Comments

foot

Policies

Social

frame

Howdy, Stranger!

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Categories

In this Discussion

Breville's new dual boiler machine BES900

Comments

foot

Policies

Social