Considering a Breville Dual Boiler and Niche Zero Grinder Combo - Thoughts?

A female dog on 20/01/2025 - 02:04

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a Breville The Oracle during the Black Friday sales, but I'm planning to return it as the dosage is too inconsistent and the shots aren't coming out reliably as a result. I'm now strongly considering the Breville Dual Boiler paired with the Niche Zero grinder as detest and despise the built in grinder on the oracle and the lack of micro adjustment which makes dialing in a huge pain.

Has anyone had any experience with this combo? I'm particularly interested in whether the Breville Dual Boiler has had any internal upgrades over the years or if the models are all the same. I'm thinking of going the second-hand route to save some money, but I want to make sure I'm getting a good deal.

Also, do you think we're likely to see the Breville Dual Boiler come down to around $900 again, or is that wishful thinking?

Open to any other espresso machine / grinder combo. I usually have 2-3 milk based coffees a day and also enjoy entertaining guests to a coffee (hence dual boiler application is a necessity)

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Home & Garden Breville Coffee Grinder Coffee Machine

Comments

  • Ynk on 20/01/2025 - 06:07
    +2

    I have this combo but with the Niche Duo (only ordered the espresso burrs), highly rate the Niche! While it might not be the best in class or best value these days the design and workflow is just a pleasure and would happily take it over anything else. This combo can pull the most amazing shots, I've been using it for over a year now and some mornings I still say to myself damn that's so good!

    • A female dog on 20/01/2025 - 08:17

      Brilliant, glad to hear it’s working well for you. Sounds reassuring.

      • kiitos on 20/01/2025 - 08:51

        The duo has flat burrs vs the zero's conical, so there may be a difference in the coffee there.

  • elgrande on 20/01/2025 - 08:14

    So your hoping to get your money back on a used product, based on inconsistent dosing?

    Where did you buy it?

    • original15 on 20/01/2025 - 09:27

      Yeh I’m wondering this too

  • squigglz on 20/01/2025 - 08:55

    are you based in Sydney? If you end up selling your Oracle I’m interested :)

  • Shadowsfury on 20/01/2025 - 09:02
    +1

    There was an o-ring upgrade a couple of years ago with the dual boiler as it was a common item that was failing. Have a google and you might be able to tell from what month/year onwards that happened.

    • 2jzzzz on 20/01/2025 - 09:37

      Do you have a link?

  • hmac on 20/01/2025 - 09:12
    +1

    I did a lot of research into Dual Boilers and my findings were the below

    • Orings leak like crazy all over the machine, they should be changed frequently, every 1-2 years
    • Triac board placement is one of the worst. Placed directly above the steam boiler, which leaks
    • Triac board is often damaged by the steam leaks resulting in many issues, including overheating, underheating, and potentially blowing fuses.
    • Faulty Triac board causes the machine to overheat even when the machine is turned off, but still connected to mains
    • Steam wand leaking is also common and a easy fix too

    Yes I also had one and sold it after the triac board failed. The biggest concern is the triac board. This applies to the oracle range as well that are based on the same components

    • ToonarmY on 20/01/2025 - 09:22

      The O rings were upgraded on the new models by Breville a few years ago

      • hmac on 20/01/2025 - 09:38

        I didn't know about this and that would be a game changer

        • ToonarmY on 20/01/2025 - 10:05

          I believe they replaced them with compression fittings. Would be interesting to see the change in failures or repairs since then

          • huyfken on 20/01/2025 - 19:19
            +1

            @ToonarmY: A few weeks ago I noticed a dripping sound coming from inside my 2 year old dual boiler (with the upgraded compression fittings). Not sure what is causing it but it's currently at the repairers to assess if there's any internal damage. It will be a week before I hear from them so I'll report back once I know more.

  • miicah on 20/01/2025 - 09:16
    +2

    Almost endgame setup, as long as you keep up the maintenance on the BDB. Yes, there are "better" machines than the BDB, but the cost/performance ratio is crazy.

    • A female dog on 20/01/2025 - 10:52

      Yep, did some research and landed on this combo and glad to hear this - I think it’s all diminishing returns from there in terms of cost to performance ratio. Cheers

  • ToonarmY on 20/01/2025 - 09:21
    +1

    The dual boilers have had a couple of minor internal upgrades a couple of years ago on O ring seal upgrades to compression fittings etc.

    I have the dual boiler and a DF54 grinder (DF64 is good too). Both are really good.

    Biggest thing I found when searching about the DB was to ensure you use the right water so that you avoid doing a descale.

    Historically de-scaling and failed O rings seemed to be the biggest area of failure on these.

    Bang for buck the Dual Boiler is hard to beat

  • jv on 20/01/2025 - 09:24
    +1

    Thoughts?

    Moccona… For Lovers of Coffee

  • A female dog on 20/01/2025 - 10:55

    Thanks heaps for the input guys. Does anyone have any tips on price points (ie good price to pay) for both the BDB and Niche Zero grinder? Whats the best method to get these cheapest way? Understand the grinder will have a lot less wiggle room in terms of pricing due to it having to be exported but what’s the cheapest method to purchase the DB?

  • ForkSnorter on 20/01/2025 - 11:06

    How about the Hello Kitty instead? It's the best coffee machine in history. All the top baristas around the world have ditched their super-expensive Italian machines and are only using the Hello Kitty now.

  • sumyungguy on 20/01/2025 - 11:31
    +1

    Lots of past Niche Zero comments to wade through if you haven't already?

  • b0mber0 on 20/01/2025 - 12:21
    +1

    This has been my setup for the last 2 years. So far it's been rock solid.

    Although I would have preferred a flat burr grinder, I got a second-hand Niche Zero and I'm happy with it. I also like how it looks in the kitchen. I managed to grab a new BDB on a sale for ~ $1,000 and it definitely was my best option considering price and capabilities. I was looking for a better quality second-hand machine but couldn't find anything better than the BDB at around that price. I read a lot about the BDB problems and so far I have had zero issues, however, I started making my own water to avoid scaling problems in the future.

    I do think that there are better grinder alternatives now, so I would be open to something else than the Niche zero. As people have mentioned the DF grinders seem good and there are plenty of other good grinders too. Regarding the machine, If you manage to find a BDB on sale, it is really difficult to find something better at that price.

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