Breville Dual Boiler - Steam Wand Not Working

ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 08:21
Last edited 30/11/2023 - 09:53 by 1 other user

Hi, is my Breville dual boiler broken already?

The group head/ porta filter works fine. Bought Breville dual boiler 10 days ago. Now the steam wand doesn't seem to be working the past 3 days. I turned the machine on and waited for 40 minutes the steam wand didn't work. I tried testing briefly over the 40 minutes by activating the steam lever. The steam light does come on but the steam wand doesn't engage.

I'm pretty certain I didn't have this problem when I first tested it and the first 7 days.

Any idea what is happening?

Edit

​​​​​​​Strange just tested again, the steam wand works after 1 hour 10 minutes.
 
Thanks

Electrical & Electronics Breville Coffee Machine

Comments

  • Muzeeb on 30/11/2023 - 08:24
    +2

    Any idea what is happening?

    My guess is a warranty claim.

    • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 08:42

      Ah man

      Y i must be so lucky?

      Is it a common problem?

      • geekcohen on 30/11/2023 - 09:40
        +1

        Is it a common problem?

        Who knows, this isn't OzBreville.

        • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 09:44

          I just asking ozbargain because i seen many past deals for the BDB on sale thats why

  • Gunnar on 30/11/2023 - 08:44
    +2

    At least your Breville had the decency to break inside warranty!

    Mine died shortly out of it and after looking at the ease and availability of repairs for Breville machines decided never to buy a Breville coffee machine again

    • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 09:31

      I see

      Omg i must be really unlucky right? To break down in like 10 days?

      Oh for some reason i liked breville brand

      • Gunnar on 30/11/2023 - 09:54

        I’d say you’re lucky that it happened in warranty!

        Don’t get me Wrong, Breville do good stuff and I’ve got a fair few Breville appliances. However when things go wrong with Breville they are not easy to get fixed and it’s throw it out and buy a new one.

        I spent a lot of time looking at coffee machines when I replaced my old Breville (albeit 10 years ago and a few months out of warranty). From what I read Breville (and Sunbeam) machines are great when they work but compared to the Italian stuff they break earlier in life and are hard /expensive to fix (essentially if you buy a used one and use it for parts to repair your broken one). There were also quite a few stories where people had machines fail just out of warranty.

        12 years on my $700 Lelit is still going strong, serviced twice, one of which needed a new part because the pump (I think) failed but was repaired for maybe $200ish.

        • Naigrabzo on 30/11/2023 - 10:10

          How much for each service?

          • Gunnar on 30/11/2023 - 10:13

            @Naigrabzo: $100ish for the first one, the latter was as above - $200ish all up

            • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 10:20

              @Gunnar: Woah that seems expensive?

              Exactly what do they do in service?

              I assume service and repair is different

              • Naigrabzo on 30/11/2023 - 10:55

                @ATTS: My BDB had issue with boiler fuse when I tried to descale after 1600 coffees; 3.5 years. It cost me $400 to repair it from a Prestige repairs in Canberra. I reckon they overcharged me heaps though.

                Either way I suggest never descaling and using reconstituted water if your water is hard.

                • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 15:00

                  @Naigrabzo: I see thanks

                  What was the descaling process you tried yourself?

                  Woah
                  400$ was like half the price of my machine

              • Gunnar on 30/11/2023 - 11:22

                @ATTS: Each is different but a general service (like my first one) is a flush (I don a chemical flush monthly), pull apart clean and replacing seals. I got that done because a seal was broken and there was a leak around the group head. Parts aren't expensive but labour is where your money goes

                • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 15:01

                  @Gunnar: I see thanks

                  Was your bdb the updated version without o ring?

                  • Gunnar on 30/11/2023 - 15:48

                    @ATTS: No idea sorry - it was 10 years ago and that machine has long since been thrown out

        • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 10:19

          Thanks for insight

          I hope my bdb lasts for around 10 years!

        • andrek on 01/12/2023 - 06:25

          Btw, the service for Breville coffee machine is free if it's within 2 years warranty period. I wish I knew earlier, I'd take it in for cleaning once a year.

          • ATTS on 01/12/2023 - 09:43

            @andrek: Oh i didnt know of that freebie. Thanks!

            Also
            What was the free service involve. And is it only once a year within the 2 year warranty period?

            And where do you need to take it to? Is it a breville service centre of some sort?

            Also do you have the website link to the free breville service?

            Thanks

            • andrek on 03/12/2023 - 08:22

              @ATTS: I usually try to look after my dual boiler, stuff like regular cleaning and descaling. It developed a minor issue so to avoid it becoming a large issue I wanted to do some preventative maintenance. We were going overseas and it was good timing where we didn't need it for a week. I found the service centre on the Breville website, I used the one in Hornsby NSW. I also know (from this forum) that some parts naturally degrade and would need to be replaced so when I turned up I asked them to check all those parts and replace if needed, completely expecting to pay for it. And their reply was, since it's still within the warranty, they would do it anyway, as well as fix that minor issue, and it won't be charged. Two weeks later I picked up the machine, didn't have to pay a cent.

              That was in October. If I knew about this, I'd do the service a year earlier, two years warranty just expired in Nov :(

  • Domingo on 30/11/2023 - 08:50
    +3

    Are you cleaning the steam wand after submerging it in milk? You can get hard crusty stuff setting over and inside the wand that blocks it and causes no steam.

    Or is it spitting out water but not steam?

    • mtr on 30/11/2023 - 08:55
      +2

      Yes, this is likely it. There is a little tool with a spike that comes with your dual boiler. Use that to clean the 3 holes and look at the steam that's coming out to make sure all 3 are clear (you should see 3 streams of steam). If all 3 are blocked, the light will come on and nothing will come out.

      And make sure you clean it thoroughly immediately after steaming with a moist rag and then release steam for 2 seconds after cleaning. Then pour your milk

      • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 09:38

        Do you mean to use the spike on the " descale access"?

        Im not sure where the 3 holes are

        Also do you mean the steam light on the right hand side will light up and nothing come out? ( if so that's what happen to me) but not sure why another 30 mins later approx it the steam wand worked

        Thanks for the tip

    • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 09:34

      Oh i clean the outside only. Thats what i did with old breville machine and never had any problem

      How do i clean the inside of stea.m wand

      Nah it did not activate the steam wand at all

      Usually when it work you hear a sound and see steam coming out. This didn't happen when it didnt work

      But for some weird reason like i think another 30 mins i tested again and the steam wand worked. I tried 10 times and it worked all 10 times?

      • emblurr on 30/11/2023 - 10:09

        After you finish frothing your milk. You have to give the steam wand a blast to blow out the milk inside.

        • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 10:14

          Thanks yes i will do this like the other users also suggested

          Im just not sure how to clean the inside of the steam wand with the spike tool? Is it through the descale access with the rubber seal thing

      • mskeggs on 30/11/2023 - 10:09
        +1

        If the steam holes were clogged, the initial attempt probably sent some hot steamy water down to the blockage, which softened it during the next 30mins.

        Sounds like you need to keep an eye on cleaning the wand.

        • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 10:15

          I see

          Thanks will do

          Jsut not sure where to locate the steam holes

          Also I probably didn't do any damage to the machine yet?

          • Shadowsfury on 30/11/2023 - 10:20
            +1

            @ATTS: Like literally where the steam comes out when heating your milk

            Don't point towards face when cleaning

            • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 10:32

              @Shadowsfury: Oh thanks so much! I see it

              Also thanks for tip

              So do i just use the spike and poke it into the 3 steam wholes one by one

              Also im not sure if because blocked atm but when i turn steam on i have difficulty distinguishing if there is 3 separate whole discharging at once

              It looks like just steam discharging im unable to tell if its from 3 different wholes or only 1 or 2 wholes. Any tips to more easily see if the 3 wholes are working at once?

              • resisting the urge on 30/11/2023 - 10:42

                @ATTS: After a year or so, the steam valve will begin to leak, resulting in a little positive pressure in the wand, which increases over time to a noticeable hiss.

                Once this happens, you won't get blocked nozzles in the end, as the milk will never get a chance to move up the wand against this pressure, and gravity. Only a wipe down can push it up a little, but it will quickly come out again.

                This is normal ball-valve behaviour- it is how they age.

                After decades of coffee machines, I don't worry about the leaky wands any more. Once they leak you need not blast them after use…

              • mtr on 30/11/2023 - 10:43

                @ATTS:

                So do i just use the spike and poke it into the 3 steam wholes one by one

                Yes, but you only need to do this once in a while. Not every time you use it. Main thing is to let steam out for a couple of seconds after your wipe.

                Don't worry too much about whether you can see it or not, if you push the spike into each hole you should be fine.

                • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 14:57

                  @mtr: I see thanks!

  • schlomo on 30/11/2023 - 12:45

    Something like this happened to me years ago and I thought my machine was bricked, turns out I somehow turned hot water knob slightly and the steam wand would not activate unless it was fully closed.
    Could have been something dumb like that?

    • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 15:04

      After reading comments i think it was not purging the wand after use

      Also double checked and no everything was off

  • JimmyF on 30/11/2023 - 14:20

    Any idea what is happening?

    Is the machine making any sounds? Are you sure the steam head isn't blocked from not being cleaned?

    Remove the tip and see what happens.

    • ATTS on 30/11/2023 - 15:06

      It working now

      Yeah based on comments seems to be blockage in steam from milk

      No sound at the time it wasnt working and also light was on but nothing

      I will test again tomorrow when i make my morning coffee

  • jtevans1991 on 03/12/2023 - 13:40

    On this topic, do any of you use the Breville Milk Frother cleaner (or alternative) on a semi-regular basis? Or is this surplus to requirements if you're cleaning and purging after use?

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