Breville Dual Boiler with Smart Grinder BES920 / BCG820 Questions & Answers (page 2 of 5)

Hey, I had a similar experience, before contacting breville try to do a factory reset on the machine - it is found in the manual but I can’t remember what page sorry, good luck - check back in and let me know if it solves your issue :)

Thanks. Will try it & let you know.

I've had the same issue for over 12 months! I've done the factory reset 100's of times but the descale message is still there. any ideas?

Have you descaled it?

No. Haven't been promoted to yet

Next to the serial number

i've tried 24, 22, 20 & 18...whilst i find no issue with the actual extraction, i found the taste seemed best at 20.
But i do know that going finer than 18 does result in slow extraction as the grinds are too fine & inhibit the flow of water.
But also, over-tamping will also cause the pressure to be high & the extraction slow due to denser grinds in the portafiller which also inhibits flow.
So perhaps in your case you are simply applying too much pressure when you tamp the coffee down?

I hope this helped...

Hi moose thanks for the tips, I definitely think that I am over tampering,I have found that the campos beans I have been grinding will only extract from the porter filter if I grind the beans at 20, however I brought some fresh beans from my regular cafe and am getting a really good result with grinding on 12-14 with a 30 sec extraction so maybe just different beans require more coarse grinds, only new to the barista game so still learning is this common with different beans?

Hey Tracy. It would seem that you maybe grinding your beans to coarse.
I have mine set on 16 while the grind time is about 11.
Maybe start from there and adjust accordingly.
All the best.
Matt

I have tried a few different bean with different result. One of them also cannot build up enough pressure like your situation. Try different grinding size. What my experience was some beans do need a very special grinding size (very big different to the others) to have the pressure correct.

OMG!. I I have not yet been asked to descale and until I read your question I didn't know I would have to. I will have to buy some descaling solution. I can't find in my Breville book how much solution to use when the time comes. As for your question it just says to Press the Power button to exit the descale mode but you would have already read this. I hope it's am easy task when I get to do it. So sorry!

I had exactly the same problem with my BES 920. Ran through the whole descale process (firmware v3) and still got that pesky descale message! Read all the posts and resetting the machine was the common theme. Tried resetting - didn’t work. After my third reset attempt I noticed that machine still had the correct time of day...which I thought was a bit strange after a full factory reset. Turned off the machine at the wall for 30 seconds and still got the message and the clock time was still correct. I figured that the machine must have a short term memory (capacitor?) so this is what I did:

1. Switch off machine at the wall
2. Wait ten minutes
3. Switch on machine at the wall
4. Do a full reset (instructions easy to find online)
5. Descale message gone! (Don’t forget to reset your clock, auto start etc)

Yep. Both Breville and Bravo repairs didn't know and wanted to charge me to fix this. So well done Ian.

If the problem was reported prior to warranty expiry and not resolved the warranty remains valid for the problem. You might need to unblock the steam wand holes.

Steam wand definitely not blocked. I actually spoke to the Breville Service agent here in Adelaide to see if it was worth repairing and I was directly informed that there is a known software issue with these and that the thermofuse blows after descale. They advised me that if the thermofuse was replaced and software updated then this would stop it from happening again. I have now contacted Breville service centre and advised them of this and am waiting to hear back with the outcome.......

Hi,
Because the problem started after you descaled the machine, it is related to the steam boiler. The corresponding screw to draining this boiler is the one on the right.
To make sure that the boiler is filling up with water, follow the descale procedure by pressing and holding the single shot button before pressing the power button. navigate to the dESC setting and press the menu button. You should hear a click sound and the display screen is blank.
Make sure the tray has been emptied and remove the silicone tab from the boiler screw recess at the bottom right. Open the boiler drain by turning the right screw anti clockwise. Make sure there is a damp cloth covering the right side of the tray cover, because there may be steam released from the boiler drain.

This next part is different from the user manual.
Empty all the water from the water container and remove the filter from the container. Fill the container half with white vinegar (just a woolies brand is fine). Add a Hillmark Expresso Kleen sachet coffee machine cleaner from Bunnings. About $7 for a pack of 3 sachets. Dissolve the sachet in warm water and add to the container, continue to fill up the container with water until full. Turn on the machine. Once the machine reaches 93 degrees, open the steam wand. Don't worry if it bleeps. The hot water with the cleaning solution will find its way into the wand and other parts of the boiler. Leave the wand open and wait for about 10 minutes. If nothing happens, close the steam wand and wiat another 5 minutes. Open the wand again and leave it open for about 10 minutes, or until steam is coming out of the wand. Repeat running steam through the wand and other parts of the machine, including the group head and hot water spout.
If this does not produce any result, your steam boiler will have to be replaced. (Still a lot cheaper than a new machine)

The jug feels hot because the end of the steam wand is too close to the jug bottom and your hand. If its heating the milk too quick turn the steam power down. Tje machine will stay hot for some time, it cools slowly.

There are 2 boilers in this machine. One is for the hot water, which has been factory set to 93 deg and can be changed in the settings. The 2nd boiler is for the steam wand and is fixed at 130 deg. It sounds like the steam wand is getting too hot, which is strange. Maybe it is due for a good descaling. (See your manual)
The plateau on top of the machine is designed to get heated. This is so you can heat the cups you use for your coffee. As the boilers heat up, this area can become quite hot to the touch.
I use a milk thermometer for the milk, so the temp is always around 65 degrees.
When heating the milk, make sure the spout sits just below the surface of the milk, near the edge of the jug. This will generate a maximum amount of micro bubbles - great for your flat white. Keep ithe wand in the one place, try not to move it around.
Hope this is helpful.

If the steam boiler worked immediately before the descale process but not now then you are probably correct and the software still thinks its in a descale process. When I descaled it took me a few goes to complete the process. Have another go at trying to complete the descale. turn off and disconnect from the power to reset the machine. If none of this works then you can call Breville to try and resolve it or you'll have to take it to a service centre.

Thanks Tangent,
I have tried everything including full descale 5 times but it still thinks its in the descale mode. Did power reset, than reset of the machine itself (water hardness) and still nothing. Spoken with Breville and they say there is air block somewhere and machine needs to be unblocked. Tied all the suggestions but still no joy. It seems it will need to go for de-blockage at breville service.
Thanks Ed

Hi there,did you manage to get your problem fixed with your bes920 db machine.
Mine is doing the same, heats up to 80 degrees fine then takes about 20-30 minutes to get to operating temperature
the pid controls don't seem to work

I've had this same problem for a few weeks now. Pulled out the tank. Nothing obvious. Let the machine cool down, removed the drip tray, and turned it on to heat up. Leaking on the left side. Must be a worn gasket in the boiler? I put in a request ticket. I hope I don't have to send it in for repairs, but I doubt any of the faulty parts are home serviceable. Good luck.

look on the machine.. haha friend

You can find it behind the rolling wheel under the machine.

I found my serial number by removing the water tank at the back. It's on a sticker on the inside wall.