Breville Dual Boiler with Smart Grinder BES920 / BCG820 Questions & Answers (page 4 of 5)

Hi - I am in Adelaide, same machine, same problem. Rang the Breville advised service agent here (that is, the only one of the three I rang that answered their phone) - they said bring it in if it is infested they would not repair it. It is infested. Can I get hold of a service manual so I can know how to open it up properly and clean it out myself then? Thanks, Peter.

Contact Breville service, there complex machines

Not sure how to fix that. I just know that reading other blogs these machines tend to run into problems around the 2 year mark. We just bought a giotto Rocket which cost around 3500 bucks including grinder. Lots of people have them for up to 20 years if maintained yearly so if I had my time over I would have bought one of these from the start.

Sorry cant help, call the Breville service line

I have had a similar issue with my machine, After running the clean cycle, i found a thin sliver of black plastic about an inch long had come out of the group head around where it seals. I have done some research and found that it is most likely the Group Head Collar Insert that has failed. Not sure how handy you are but there are online tutorials on replacing this yourself if you can't bare to be without your machine while Breville fix it but they do requite you to do a fair amount of disassembly on your machine so only do this if you are confident working with electrical appliances. Otherwise it is a return to Breville for repair scenario.

Sorry not sure!

I'm afraid I only purchased the coffee grinder (BCG820). I wouldn't be well placed to advise you on the newer model espresso machine, especially since I use an Italian made single boiler.

It looks the same to me!

I've thought the same! Mine broke within warranty while descaling so I was able to get it repaired at no cost. It has a 2 year warranty. So it's worth descaling whilst still under warranty! I think the mistake they make in the instructions is that the machine should not just cool down for 2 hours. It should be completely cold. Overnight. Descale it after it has cooled down overnight. I reckon you can't go through the machine's life never descaling. Unfortunately, breville don't seem to want to admit there is some issue with the machines or their instructions, so a lot of people are now avoiding this great machine because it can blow a boiler when descaling. I'm about to do mine again. Within the warranty period. I'll make sure it's completely cold overnight before I start the process! Good luck! Let us know how you go if you decide to do it. Cheers.

I descaled my 920 per instructions and the steam boiler element burnt out as I have previously posted.
My replacement 920 is now due for descale so I was concerned that it may happen again.
I found that if you looK at http://brevilleusasupport.com/bes920xl/care-and-use/care/ You will see different instructions for machines with different batch numbers and dates. The serial number is inside the hole where the water container slides in and the batch number is the first 4 figures of the serial number.
I have not yet tried the new instructions but I'm hoping for the best having now printed them out. They don't seem to vary much from the old instructions.

Sounds weird. So the single basket is working ok or not? I'm wondering if you're packing the basket too tight (in which case the pressure would go very high) or if maybe you're using the incorrect basket insert? There are two - one for for fresh ground coffee and one for pre ground store bought coffee. The baskets have different holes in the base. That's just a guess. If you have more info, maybe I can help? It can take 10 seconds for the extraction to start with tight packed coffee.
If you're worried about air in the system, run some water through the hot water valve (the turning dial in the left of the machine).
Hope that helps.

Thanks for the thoughtful response. Ive done pretty well all that (I use fresh roasted and ground beans). If it normally takes up to 10secs for the flow, then may be it all normal after all. I'll try the hot water valve you suggest.
The thing that worries me is the audible bubbly-gurgle at the start and that the pressure gauge shows no pressure during the pre-infusion phase (up to 10sec). At about 10-11sec the gauge needle shoots up from 0 to 9-ish. When observing without the group handle in place, there is actually water coming through the shower head during the pre-infusion phase – but it seems not under pressure if the gauge is anything to go by (in normal use).
I do have shot videos of what happens, but I cant post those here.

Andracula - did you ever resolve this problem? I've just started having a similar problem. A good few seconds before the pump kicks in. The shot clock starts so it's eating into the pre-infusion time. It's only ever the first coffee (i'm normally making two at once). Had my machine a year and only just started happening in the last couple of weeks. Other than that everything seems fine.

Sorry. Not sure. I can only suggest you contact Breville directly. But often the warranty is for 2 years. So check your receipt and maybe you can have it repaired under warranty?

Thank you. I got in touch with the repair shop and ordered the part. I need a shower fillter which now i do know what to call.

I have only needed to purchase the seal for the group basket which i found on ebay.

I'd take it to a repair shop. If still under warranty, at least if they break it getting it out, they will repair it. They might even have a quick look at it while you wait. Have you released all the steam with the machine off as well? That can help release pressure.
Hope that helps.

Highly likely the black thick shower screen holder is cracked. Everytime you insert the portafilter to make a coffee it is very hard to remove the filter basket which stays stuck in the group head. If under warranty take it to repair shop. Otherwise Undo the screw that holds the shower screen/black shower screen holder/ white group head seal, and check if the shower screen holder is cracked. Order one, and replace.

Hi, i too want to know the answers to Dave's question. i am in the mkt for one of these. they look good. tho there is an issue with the descaling process. a flaw/fault.

Breville... pls answer. is this problem (obviously known about) been fixed in current machines ? some of these problems listed here are for machine more than 1 yr old when they do their descale. so has the issue been addressed in newer machines. ie firmware upgrade and fixes to the internals to stop the issue ?

Breville pls answer thanks.

Good questions Dave, I think you will find that it is actually very common problem. I would also like to know the answers to these questions Thanks Breville.

I just descaled my unit for the first time and now it is broken. What you have read about the unto is correct! I bought my oracle in May of 2015. I will be calling them first thing tomorrow!!

Hi to the Breville Official... I have read the trail with interest. A friend has a 920 and I love the coffee it makes. Seeing that there has been a problem with descaling I thought I would check and see if it has been fixed so i can buy a machine that has a serial number post-fix. I called your customer call centre who say there is no problem and they have never seen any post to the contrary. mmmm. Can you tell me what the problem was, has it been fixed, how I know that a unit I might buy be a "fixed one" and not "pre-fix"? Is there somebody who knowledgeable I can speak with? Thanks Dave

Just submitted same question. Waiting for response. Seems it may be a design fault. Many people reporting same issue.

happened to me as well! !!

Breville is basically right based on my experience. You have to pack the ground coffee in to make it hard for the steam to get through and this requires it be ground soon after being roasted so it is still somewhat "elastic" and packs down. I had the same problem as you do with (expensive) beans from the supermarket until I switched initially to my local coffee shop and then to the Aldi "roasted in Melbourne" beans that come with a venting hole in the pack and a use-by-date that is around 50 weeks out from the purchase date (I take that as being 2 weeks post-roasting).

Return your machine while under warranty and buy another brand. Breville machines will break and they tend to loose machines sent in for repair. They sent me a new machine when they lost mine, but it was one of the 920xl machines with the known descale malfunction. I unknowingly tried to descale and essentially caused the machine to quit working because of this.

Sorry Kirsty, I am away for Xmas just saw your question. I had trouble doing the de- scaling too but finally it worked out. Instructions not very clear. I'm afraid I can't help with this one you will have to bite the bullet and contact Breville team ( they are the best people for this) or ask on a forum if no response. Sorry!

Hi Jo, thank you for your response. I've contacted Breville and have to take it to a service centre in the new year. Cheers Kirsty

Hi all, I have also had the very same thing happen to me! I followed the descale procedure outlined in the breville manual and now have no steam with the 3 beeps also. No blocks in the steamer, so it seems something wrong with the boiler.. and public holiday period too. ;-(

Yes I think so.

Yes of course it would be. It just happened to be such a good buy at the time.I already had a different grinder. The Breville smart grinder was a much better and all round cleaner one to use ( way less mess) to clean up and it grinder way finer.

No. Only as the package. I know this definitively as we were just given the go-ahead to have a replacement (via extended warranty) as our Bes900 had died for the third time. When the insurer rang to confirm it would be replaced they explained that there was no equivalent available for the price we paid originally so we would get a store credit. When I looked into it - I could see that there was an equivalent machine still available but it was now bundled with the grinder. We paid for a separate grinder (still working) when we purchased the coffee machine so the only way we could get the same/equivalent machine was to pay an extra $300!!!! and also get the bonus (un-needed) grinder. I also rang Breville customer service to check this. The shop we had credit it thankfully came to the party and gave it to us at the store credit amount (didn't pay the extra in the end).

Hi ^T

I did call your support number last week. I would like to talk to you if I call again. Whom should I ask for and which department? I like to discuss the issue in greater details about the service repairer closest to me instead of naming him publicly.

Hi Ianm0,
I'm in Perth. First, Consumer Affairs told me that I should take the machine to the shop where I bought it. My contract is with them not with a repairer. They will arrange repair or replacement.
This is the third machine which has failed after descaling which has been reported on Product Review. There seems to be a design fault. Your machine would not need descaling after seven months. Trust this helps.
John