[Refurbished] Breville Dual Boiler Espresso Machine $934.15 ($879.20 eBay Plus) Delivered @ Breville eBay

600
DUALBOILER100APL15APL20
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First time poster, so please be gentle.

I was looking to replace my Dual Boiler which I've had for 8 years (thanks Ozbargain for the original bargain. It's been great, but I haven't been great at maintenance, so it's on the way out.

Checked out ebay - Breville are selling refurbished DBs with a 12-month warranty. Most of the comments are the items arrive looking like brand new.

There's a coupon code from Breville for $100 off, and a second one for ebay plus for 20% (15% for non-plussers). Coupons stack to give a pretty good price.

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Comments

  • +1

    Oooh temping. But not sure I can justify this when my little almost 4 year old Bambino Plus is still going strong.

    • +4

      Hand me down to someone and upgrade!

    • +3

      Depends on your grinder IMO.

    • +1

      if you get this and a bloody good grinder you have a good set. as an espresso machine is a solid machine for the price. Just make sure you get a good grinder with it, (good grinders fyi are sub 500 or more just fyi not 100 dollar ones.)

      • +2

        I feel like a king with my setup - Breville Dual Boiler and Niche Zero - both second hand for around $1100 total. Most of the time I make a better coffee than my local shop!

        • Omg good buy!!! That’s a nice pairing well done :)

  • +1

    This is pretty huge. Been a while since I've seen the price of this start with an 8.

    • +6

      It’s refurbished

      • And they send out dodgy refurbs as well. I got one and it was still broken with the same fault it was probably originally returned for. Massive waste of time.

    • +1

      Secondhand, mate.

      • +4

        I bought a refurb on the Breville eBay a year ago. It looked absolutely brand new and the manufacturing date was within a couple of months so It had all the new o ring updates etc.

        Used every day for a year no issues at all

  • +6

    Safe to assume you won’t get the version with ferrules instead of o-rings…

    • +6

      Most of their refurb stuff is fairly new, but still a gamble nonetheless.

      • +7

        Going to share my experience on this…
        I bought a similar model via eBay from the official Breville store. The first one arrived and worked fine for a few days, but then it started auto-draining and malfunctioned. I reached out to them and returned it using a provided return label. They said they would replace it, but by mistake, eBay issued a refund instead.
        Breville contacted me, apologized for the error, and sent me a direct Breville link to repurchase the machine at the original eBay price (as the eBay promotion had ended). They then sent another refurbished unit, along with a free bag of coffee beans and extra cleaning tablets/filters as a goodwill gesture.
        When the second machine arrived, the grinder wouldn't grind. I reached out again, they asked for a video, which I sent. They apologized once more and arranged another return. This time, they said they would send a brand new machine as a goodwill gesture, along with another bag of 1kg coffee beans and even more filters/tablets.

        Overall, it was a little frustrating over the four weeks, but I can't fault their onshore customer service team — they were super nice throughout. In the end, I got a perfectly working machine and enough cleaning supplies for about two years!

    • +1

      Yeah this is a genuine concern. Deserves upvotes.

      • -2

        BDBs fail after 4 years if not serviced regularly. Steam seals need replacing regularly otherwise they'll leak. Very risky touching these as servicing costs would be $450 now. That's 50% of the cost of the machine.

        I'd rather pay $450 servicing fee on a $4300 machine once every 3 years which is producing far better coffee? Especially as my cafe is now $8.50 a coffee.

        • +10

          "Far better" is incredibly subjective.

          Im sure you believe your 4300 coffee tastes better but in a double blind I bet theres negligible differences

          • -1

            @BargainBogan99: I thought the same as you having ran two BDBs since 2010… Then I took the plunge but I appreciate coffee. Many people don't have coffee pallets. But it's hard facts and truth. It's incredible espresso.

            But I'm sure a sommelier could say the same about wine which I have no idea about.

            Do I think a $10,000 machine would perform better then a $4000? No. But let's say I had a coffee cart out the front of a busy cafe strictly doing take away coffee I'd go the $10,000 machine.

            Something's I miss- being able to see how much water is inside the tank. And the flag that tells you when to empty the drip tray. E61 group heads take aggges to heat, but it's far better espresso and the machine can be opened with 4 screws to service yourself.

            • @Combo64: Which machine did you upgrade to for $4000?

              • +1

                @JTTheMan: Went with the profitec pro 500 with upgrades - wood kit, shower screen, new portafilters, ims baskets etc. was $3600

        • +1

          No way servicing a Breville DB costs $450

          Unless something is broken and needs repairing a simple service won't cost that much.

          • +1

            @shutuptakemymoney101: I tried with mine. Labour rates are a killer now. Use to be about $300 a service but not anymore. $300 was going back to 2016. One person said he was charged over $500 to fix steam seals and PCB.

            I remember getting my OPV valve adjusted years and years ago and the invoice was $380.

            • @Combo64: If someone wants to charge you $450 for a service I suggest you look for a new service centre.

              • +1

                @shutuptakemymoney101: These are authorised Breville centres. I believe service sphere and the others have a holding deposit of $600+. These are engineers which come to you, service on site or pick the machine up and take it away for service.

                • +1

                  @Combo64: It cost me $50 recently at an authorised Breville service centre to have my machine pulled down and inspected for issues - no mention of a $600+ deposit.

                  • +1

                    @shutuptakemymoney101: Even through a dodgy independent repair place they want $100 as a diag fee which goes towards repairs and if you don't go ahead with repairs then they keep the machine LOL.

                    The $600 holding fee would be for the legitimate engineers which service cafes -
                    Espresso mechanics
                    Service sphere
                    They all hold contracts with Mazzer, Wega, La cimbali, la marzocco etc

                    Eastlink espresso also do servicing - unsure of pricing.

                    Either way go a proper machine and with 4 screws you're inside and can service yourself. They're designed to be serviced and opened.

                    • @Combo64: Yep ok, if that's your experience that's your experience - certainly wasn't mine though.

                      If you're interested, you can read about my experience here:

                      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/879610#comment-15982899

                      • +2

                        @shutuptakemymoney101: See you had the same issue as me.. mine was 4 years old though and never serviced prior. It's the same history with these machines, steam leaks internally onto the board. You're now the 5th machine I've heard of with this problem.

                        3 weeks ago I was up for $1250 on a new BDB so took the plunge to upgrade. Definitely made the right choice and don't regret it for a split second.
                        I ran the BDB for 4 years, paid $799 for it and resold for $400.

                        I definitely don't think paying more for an ECM mechanika max or ECM Synchronika II would be worth it for most homes. I do believe there is a point of diminishing returns but definitely get into the e61 group heads. You'll notice it in the crema, flavours and the microfoam due to more powerful steam.

                        • +2

                          @Combo64:

                          You're now the 5th machine I've heard of with this problem.

                          Mine too!! Would love another machine as I bought a Bambino for a replacement and hate it. However, not gonna happen if it is the same machine and same flaws

                        • @Combo64: What did you upgrade to? And what grinder do you have?

                          • @kiitos: I have recently upgraded grinder to Mignon Libra which doses by weight. It's accurate down to .02g which is very impressive. It's a good grinder.

                    • @Combo64: I have a guy I take it too, and he gave me a free loaner machine for however long it takes for parts to come in for my dual boiler (oracle, 3-4 weeks for parts) - no deposit just leave my machine with him while he replaces sensors and a steam valve. Dude also 3d prints covers for the PCB so when the steam valve goes it won't destroy the PCB with spray.

                      I bloody love my BDB guy. If you're in Brisbane I always give him a shout out.

                      If you're in the market for a used Breville Oracle you can have the loaner for ~$750 when my BDB is fixed in a few weeks.

        • Every cafe I've been to has coffee's under $6.. my goodness, what in the heck is your local charging!

          • @Paudius: For commodity coffee where they're probably using beans at $8 a kg. Most are $8-$8.50 now for a small coffee but nut milks and stuff will get you to $9. V60 is about $18 a cup now! 20% surcharge on top on Sunday.

            Apparently coffee beans have increased through major roasters by $15 a kg but I can't validate these claims as I buy from coffee cartels and we've seen no increase.

            • @Combo64: Seriously? In the Melbourne CBD it's $5 for a small still, guessing prices haven't caught up yet

        • +2

          BDB is a great machine for the price. If you want longevity you have to maintain it, but that applies for all coffee machines. I've had my BDB for 9 years. I've replaced steam boiler o-rings 3 times, and the steam valve seals 2 times. I've just done pump, solenoid, and all seals for under $100 myself. 6 screws gets you into the BDB to service it. There are great guides online, also many sellers of the parts. Cockabrew sells great kits. I've had a HX E61 machine (Expobar). I hated the lack of visible water level, refilling method and long heat up time. E61 machines are generally built on an industrial level without leaky o-rings etc but the convenient user experience can be lacking compared to the BDB. If my BDB cracked the steam boiler, I would probably buy another BDB over an E61.

          • @Huzz: They're good machines but definitely do all seals once a year. YouTube it and master the machine inside.

            Biggest thing I like is I can now use a smart plug though and turn my machine on anywhere in the world. You can't do this with BDB and it's on auto on auto off. Even tells me energy consumption and power costs.

            You'd never go from a e61 back to BDB.. the difference is night and day if you know how to prepare coffee.

            • @Combo64: Using a smart plug with an E61 is a great solution to the long heat up time. Having used both HX E61 and BDB I didn't experience much/any difference in the coffee quality. Maybe a single boiler HX E61 is not as good as some of the more recent and better equipped DB E61s with PID control. E61's are generally much more robust - the one I was using did around 30-40 coffees per day in an office. I did the regular maintenance on it, flushing, seals, filter etc. I could not see a BDB doing that sort of service. I get great coffee from my BDB provided it is up to temperature and stable. When the time comes that my BDB fails something major, I would certainly look at an E61 but it would have to be DB and PID controlled which makes the justification to the better half more difficult. She likes using the BDB due to its simplicity. I am interested in the E61 machine you ended up with. You must still have an interest in the BDB hanging out in this thread! :-).

              • @Huzz: The old hx machines weren't very good apparently but these days they're solid.

                Unless you're making 4 milk based drinks in very short succession and using hot water a lot you don't need a DB.

                At home though are you really under the pump with orders of 7+ coffees per table with 6 tickets? People instantly think they need a DB when in fact they simply don't.

                I really want down and thought about how many milk drinks we make in short succession and it's just me and my partner, so 2-3.

                Initially I was going to go the profitec 600 which is DB and im glad I saved the $1000.

                • @Combo64: House of 4 adults who enjoy coffee for breakfast. All milk variants. BDB is a superstar for it, however the barista express my friend has requires a specific workflow to pump out 4 drinks in a reasonable time without anything going cold (prep puck, make shot, prep milk, set milk to foam, finish the shot, clean the portafilter, stop and pour the milk, start over from the top x4). Going hard it still takes far more time than the dual boiler does.

                  I would love more steam power from the BDB though, but its a small complaint.

                  • @Intoxicoligist: I swear the BES900 had more power than the bes920. They also reduced the milk jug size to compensate from 600ml to 300ml.

        • +1

          I paid $2800 for a ECM Technica profi about a dozen years ago. I have replaced about $50 worth of parts. It will last my lifetime.

        • +1

          OOohh ok, I have first hand experience here.

          Got a second hand machine 4 years ago. About 18 months ago the steam wand started to drip - I ignored it. 4 months ago I noticed that the steam wand ran out of put after a second jug of milk. 2 months ago I noticed if I let the machine cool down, it wouldn't go above 80 when it was heating up again.

          I took it to my guy - steam valve is a pile of rust, as are quite a few sensors and the bracket that holds the steam valve came apart. He's replacing and servicing the bits for $300 total, and gave me an breville oracle for a loaner machine for however long it takes for parts to arrive (that if I don't want to do the repair, I can buy for $750, parts are 3 weeks ETA).

          I treated it like shit, and it's going to go another 4 years for the price of a few months worth of beans (or 2 weeks of $9 lattes!)

    • +3

      The compression fitting have been used for a while so it's more than likely to have them.

      When they say 'refurb'. These are generally 30 day returns and basically brand new

      • Seems to be the experience with myself and other ozbargainers. I picked up a refurb touch impress for $1080, it was pretty much brand new.

    • +1

      Isn't that obvious? :/

  • +7

    Better off paying an extra $200 and getting brand new. On sale every where at the moment for $1199

    • +1

      Agreed. Guaranteed to get a machine with the updated (improved) internals and 24 month warranty (vs 12 for the refurb).

      • Extra 2 years if paying by eligible credit cards too

    • +2

      Yeah, I was about to bite the bullet on paying $1,199, but couldn't walk past $879.20 (a ~$320 saving)

  • +7

    We use our Dual Boiler daily and it is still going strong after 4 years.

    We fill water only from a Brita Maxtra jug. This minimises limescale build up in the machine.

    Run the tablet cleaning cycle every 2 weeks.

    Change the coffee machine water filter every 3 months. At the same time we flush the boilers.

    Works great! No need to even descale.

    Makes better coffee than most cafes.

    • +2

      I use 10L Purea water from woolies.

      I add one gram of potassium bicarbonate to 10L of Purea and don't need to descale or bother with a filter

      Rpavlis'water

      • That water is purified but is it too much that the water tastes dull, so you add potassium bicarbonate?
        How do you even add it to the cask?

        • The potassium carbonate isn't for the flavour. It's to stop it having a long-term effect on the machine.

          I just drop 1g of the potassium carbonate powder into the Purea bag where the water pours out. The opening is about the size of a 50cent coin.

          Tastes no different to normal water and avoids ever having to do the dreaded descale

          If you search rpavlis water for coffee this is basically what it is and quite commonly used

      • +1

        I've bought and tested a bunch of different bottled waters for water hardness here are the results below:

        pureau - 2ppm
        mt franklin - 92ppm
        coles - 62ppm
        woolworths - 108ppm
        frantelle - 155ppm
        tap/filtered - 325ppm

        As far as I know, the Brita jugs don't actually change the TDS level of the water as the filter does not remove minerals

        • From the Brita website:

          "In addition, they also ensure reliable protection from limescale build-up by reducing carbonate hardness of the water (calcium and magnesium ions) in the mains water"

    • +2

      You lost me at tablet cleaning cycle.

    • Very interestinv

    • Name checks out.

      Although it seems like you are a bit of an overthinking worrier

    • You obviously care for your BDB better than I do. Even still, I heartily suggest that you descale it once (preferably soon) as that is a continuous small buildup that doesn't easily get removed with boiler flushes.

      Even still … I should up my game and maintain my unit like you do!!

    • Update: I've noticed that Breville has now even released a limescale specific filter:

      https://www.brita.com.au/water-filter-system/water-filter-ca…

  • +1

    did anyone upgrade to this from Breville barista express

    • +1

      Yep. 5 years ago my second-hand barista Express finally died and we upgraded immediately. It's a large unit but we drink 2 shots a day each for the last 5 years on average!

      • is the coffee better? assuming same beans etc?

        • +1

          It's hard having a different grinder at the same time (breville smart grinder pro), but the combination is definitely better. Better at heating/using steam (including frothing), better at pulling multiple shots when visitors are over, better control over the grind in the SGP (including a finer possible grind for beans going stale or not great to start with, and a larger range of usable grind size + more control over dosage), and most importantly - a slightly better shot.
          If you only want to compare the shot at the end, I guess it's slightly better. But the machine as a whole is a marked improvement.

          • @Jengel: Thank you for sharing this. I noticed a decrease in quality of my shots via Barista Express bought in 2021.
            If there's a good deal for a new unit, will jump on it.

  • +1

    Ahhh this is super tempting. I'm just upgrading from the Barista Express over the next few weeks. Picking up a Eureka Mignon grinder and debating between grabbing this or something a bit pricier like the Profitec GO or Lelit Victoria.

  • +1

    My dual boiler steamer has started having issues. Takes a while to get to temperature and just sputters along, not full steam. Any ideas?

    • +1

      Have you done a full descale? Maybe get a new set of temp probes while you're at it

      • Can I ask how you do a full descale? I've been using the cleaning tablets every few months

        • There are detailed instructions in the manual. You'll need a descaling solution.

    • +2

      It's the same thing with the BDB. Steam hose leaks from the steamer, steam eventually gets into the PCB board which is directly above it and you have to replace board + steam hose. I've had 2 which have gone this way and another I know of.
      It's about a $450 repair. I sold mine off with this problem for $400.

      I did the upgrade to a profitec pro 500 and the coffee truly is 10x better. If you make more than 3 milk drinks in a row then go the 600.

    • +3

      There's a group on Facebook with lots of maintenance tips. Main advice seems to be to replace the o-rings reasonably regularly (on top of the standard maintenance recommended by Breville).

      • What's the group name?

        • +1

          Breville Dual Boiler Group. Very imaginative name.

  • +3

    I got the BDB recently from a deal I posted last year. It's been a real gamechanger for making coffee coming from the Bambino Plus. One really underrated difference which I never see get mentioned is somehow the BDB does not seem to "waste" water at all. I have been using the machine for months since I've got it and I've not had to empty the drip tray once. It's practically dry. Meanwhile the Bambino Plus required emptying the (frankly very small) drip tray every other day.

    • I got a Bambino after my BDB failed. Hate it. It's like a dinky toy and yes u r right about the drip tray

    • The trick with the Bambino Plus is to leave the steam wand up until you’re finished with the milk jug and then flush into the empty jug. Drip tray only needs an occasional rinse.

      • I’ve done that since day 1. Barely use the drip tray haha

      • I don't use steam and it needs emptying every two to three cups

        • Something wrong there. If it’s not the machine, maybe the grind is too fine or the tamp too firm?

          • @akerr: No, I think it's just that the drip tray is very small compared with the dual boiler.

            I tend to purge the hot water through the system for about 20 seconds before hand. The drip tray holds less than one cup of water before it overflows.

            Thanks for the suggestion though

            • +1

              @slipperypete: Ah, I wondered. If you run it into a cup, it also heats it up.

              • @akerr: yeah, that's a good point. I tend to preheat my cup either under a tap or with hot water from the kettle. My coffee is mostly the shot, hot water and a little milk.
                However, even if I use a different method, I should still do what you said as it means less drip tray emptying

  • +2

    BES870 still going strong after 8 years. I do maintain it pretty well

  • +2

    just get a new solenoid. plenty of youtube videos on how to swap it out. save yourself $1000 man it's worth it

  • +2

    Going to share my experience on this…
    I bought a similar model via eBay from the official Breville store. The first one arrived and worked fine for a few days, but then it started auto-draining and malfunctioned. I reached out to them and returned it using a provided return label. They said they would replace it, but by mistake, eBay issued a refund instead.
    Breville contacted me, apologized for the error, and sent me a direct Breville link to repurchase the machine at the original eBay price (as the eBay promotion had ended). They then sent another refurbished unit, along with a free bag of coffee beans and extra cleaning tablets/filters as a goodwill gesture.
    When the second machine arrived, the grinder wouldn't grind. I reached out again, they asked for a video, which I sent. They apologized once more and arranged another return. This time, they said they would send a brand new machine as a goodwill gesture, along with another bag of 1kg coffee beans and even more filters/tablets.

    Overall, it was a little frustrating over the four weeks, but I can't fault their onshore customer service team — they were super nice throughout. In the end, I got a perfectly working machine and enough cleaning supplies for about two years!

  • I have a BES920 that I bought in 2019 and it stopped working a couple months, where can I sell it so it can be refurbished and given a second life?

    • Do you mean a “couple [of] months” in or ago? Doubtful at this point. Should have returned, repaired or replaced under warranty in 2019.

      • ago :D

        before it failed I got a quote to maintain/fix it for about $400, which was the cost of a new Breville Infuser… so I bought the Infuser instead.

  • +6

    I bought one of these machines last week on this stacked deal. First I asked Breville if the refurbished units were old ones that used O rings or newer units that used compression fittings. This is important as the old ones need lots of maintenance and have expensive problems if you don't notice/fix leaks in time like posters here have mentioned. The new ones don't have that problem any more.

    Breville said that almost all refurbished units have been made within the last 2 years, but they can't tell me for sure. However they will pay for return postage if I'm not happy for any reason.

    So when my unit arrives, I'll be checking the date code. Here are all the tech details about the changes, the date codes, and how to tell if you have the much better-updated unit
    https://coffeesnobs.com.au/forum/equipment/brewing-equipment…

    My deal post was rejected (my first ever deal ozbargain deal post so I probably did it wrong), I'm glad this poster was able to put it up

    • My deal post was rejected

      well you made up for it with this comment. This will give me peace of mind

      thanks

  • +1

    I got my (2008 version) brand new for cheaper than this.

  • +4

    Mine arrived today. Made in the 44th week of 2024 and looks perfect. Given that date code it has the up to date internals with no annoying o rings.

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