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 147 of 217

first page | last page

previous page | next page

Author

Messages

lowespresso
Senior Member

Joined: 10 Jan 2013
Posts: 9
Location: california
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Solis Maestro
Roaster: i-Roast 2

Posted Mon Jan 28, 2013, 8:04pm
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

BubbaDude Said:

What specific difference do you see in the foam when you block two of the holes, less frothy top?

Posted January 28, 2013 link

When I froth with all holes open, with wand a little angled, it seems that in keeping the highest of the three holes at what I believe is the right level, the other two are maybe too low and are only heating up the milk. The result is little microfoam before milk is too hot. When I plug up two of the holes, I'm able to keep the one hole at optimal level, and get great microfoam. I'm steaming around 5 ounces of 2% milk in a 12 ounce RW pitcher. Maybe I need to keep the wand more vertical such that all three holes are closer to an optimal level contributing to frothing?

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 Jan 28, 2013, 8:08pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

lowespresso Said: When I froth with all holes open, with wand a little angled, it seems that in keeping the highest of the three holes at what I believe is the right level, the other two are maybe too low and are only heating up the milk. The result is little microfoam before milk is too hot. When I plug up two of the holes, I'm able to keep the one hole at optimal level, and get great microfoam. I'm steaming around 5 ounces of 2% milk in a 12 ounce RW pitcher. Maybe I need to keep the wand more vertical such that all three holes are closer to an optimal level contributing to frothing? Posted January 28, 2013 link Could be, but if one hole works for you, why mess with it?

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

lowespresso
Senior Member

Joined: 10 Jan 2013
Posts: 9
Location: california
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Solis Maestro
Roaster: i-Roast 2

Posted Mon Jan 28, 2013, 8:24pm
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

BubbaDude Said:

Could be, but if one hole works for you, why mess with it?

Posted January 28, 2013 link

Good point. If I could find a good way to semipermanently plug them up, assuming I'm unable to refine my technique with 3 holes. Currently I've just been experimenting using toothpick tips, which is obviously not ideal.

Coffee_Is_Good
Senior Member

Joined: 29 Jan 2013
Posts: 1
Location: AZ
Expertise: I like coffee

Posted Tue Jan 29, 2013, 9:03am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Question for the BDB owners - I see the BDB listed as a 1700 watt machine - and know that Dual Boilers can really push a lot of 15A / 120V circuits out there... I guess I could use Ohm's Law :-) to figure out amperage draw - but even still, amperage and wattage ratings are typically given as "Peak" numbers and don't depict what the machine will draw in a steady state. So the question is - how are most folks finding the BDB working with their typical 120V / 15A circuits? Do they need a dedicated outlet for the BDB? Sorry if this question is answered somewhere in this 147 page thread, but I guess that's one of the drawbacks of 147 page threads!

Contrabass_Bry
Senior Member

Joined: 3 Jan 2013
Posts: 19
Location: Omaha
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville BES900XL
Grinder: OE Pharos

Posted Tue Jan 29, 2013, 9:10am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

A few ideas for you. For the semi-permanent version with the toothpicks: unscrew the wand tip and insert them from the inside. Backpressure should keep them in place, but like you said - not ideal (from a sanitary perspecitve) but at least you could worry less about one ending up in the milk... Maybe you could experiment with the final rotated location of the holes. There is a rubber gasket between the tip and the wand so there is some leeway for the end orientation. Bring the wand to your normally desired angle and turn until 2 of the three would be level with the milk surface. You've just doubled your frothing power and reduced the speed of heating since only 1 hole is pointed directly into the milk... Next it would be up to someone to determine if the diameter and thread pitch were compatible with other steam tips. I imagine they are. Cheers, Bryan

Iluvdabean
Senior Member

Joined: 7 Mar 2005
Posts: 1,059
Location: California
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: La Nuova Era Cuadra/Gaggia...
Grinder: Baratza Preciso/K-A Pro...
Drip: Capresso MT 500/Pour Over
Roaster: Nesco 1010/Behmor 1600

Posted Tue Jan 29, 2013, 9:41am
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

I would either find a new one hole replacement or just ditch the tooth picks and go all the way.

Contrabass_Bry Said:

A few ideas for you.

For the semi-permanent version with the toothpicks: unscrew the wand tip and insert them from the inside. Backpressure should keep them in place, but like you said - not ideal (from a sanitary perspecitve) but at least you could worry less about one ending up in the milk...

Maybe you could experiment with the final rotated location of the holes. There is a rubber gasket between the tip and the wand so there is some leeway for the end orientation. Bring the wand to your normally desired angle and turn until 2 of the three would be level with the milk surface. You've just doubled your frothing power and reduced the speed of heating since only 1 hole is pointed directly into the milk...

Next it would be up to someone to determine if the diameter and thread pitch were compatible with other steam tips. I imagine they are.

Cheers,

Bryan

Posted January 29, 2013 link

Iluvdabean: ed5c9a65-0afb-4ad5-8f1a-5e81d0251280_400.jpg

(Click for larger image)

Contrabass_Bry
Senior Member

Joined: 3 Jan 2013
Posts: 19
Location: Omaha
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Breville BES900XL
Grinder: OE Pharos

Posted Tue Jan 29, 2013, 9:46am
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Coffee_Is_Good Said:

Question for the BDB owners - I see the BDB listed as a 1700 watt machine - and know that Dual Boilers can really push a lot of 15A / 120V circuits out there...

Posted January 29, 2013 link

From my recollection of the manual (noted revision from the online .pdf) it has a statement about the Austrailian requirements for a 20min duty-cycle for electronics that consume more than 1500 watts. It's not likely that that kind of draw is continuous for more than a couple minutes, max.

I'll bet Richard has a Kill-A-Watt handy. Maybe he could speak to this?

dagoat
Senior Member

Joined: 10 Dec 2004
Posts: 292
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 Tue Jan 29, 2013, 10:45am Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

on "other" leading branded expensive italian espresso machines, some folks buy "acorn" nuts from places like grainger and mcmaster carr, and drill their own holes. acorn nuts (the ones i've seen) are not solid all the way through, so drilling them would not be a hellish process of dulling out sharp bits and lots of slow going and patience. i do NOT know the thread pitch of the BDB tip but i'll bet my dollar to your dime, it's metric. an example of an acorn nut: http://chromeheadnut.tripod.com/AcornNuts.jpg -peter

lowespresso
Senior Member

Joined: 10 Jan 2013
Posts: 9
Location: california
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Solis Maestro
Roaster: i-Roast 2

Posted Tue Jan 29, 2013, 4:02pm Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Thanks for the ideas on the steam wand tip. Rotating it would probably help, like you said, Bryan. That JB weld would work. Is that food safe? An acorn nut seems like a good idea, however I like the smooth contour of the current tip. I wonder if I could drive in a segment of a sewing/push pin? It would be nicer if there's a compatible single hole tip that I could try.

lowespresso
Senior Member

Joined: 10 Jan 2013
Posts: 9
Location: california
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler
Grinder: Solis Maestro
Roaster: i-Roast 2

Posted Tue Jan 29, 2013, 4:08pm
Subject: Re: Breville Dual Boiler BES900XL Owners Thread

Coffee_Is_Good Said:

Question for the BDB owners - I see the BDB listed as a 1700 watt machine - and know that Dual Boilers can really push a lot of 15A / 120V circuits out there...

I guess I could use Ohm's Law :-) to figure out amperage draw - but even still, amperage and wattage ratings are typically given as "Peak" numbers and don't depict what the machine will draw in a steady state.

So the question is - how are most folks finding the BDB working with their typical 120V / 15A circuits? Do they need a dedicated outlet for the BDB?

Sorry if this question is answered somewhere in this 147 page thread, but I guess that's one of the drawbacks of 147 page threads!

Posted January 29, 2013 link

I ran my BDB while connected to a Kill a Watt. The highest reading I saw was around 1520W, and that just briefly (~10 seconds) while drawing a double and steaming simultaneously. When just making an espresso, it was transcuently a little less than 1000W. I haven't yet tried multiple shots in sequence. My BDB hasn't tripped it's 15A circuit yet, but the only other thing on that circuit is a cordless phone which surely doesn't draw much power.

showing page 147 of 217

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.

Learn @seattlecoffeegear

Learn all about coffee, watch videos, read how-to articles.
www.seattlecoffeegear.com