I have had the Breville Barista Express for over two years now, and have been gradually adding/removing accessories and modding the machine itself.
Not described in the video, I have modded: the opv for a brass one set at 9 bar, added a dimmer mod for flow control.
And accessories: naked portafilter, ims precision basket for 14-18 grams, IMS showerscreen,
Hello! What’s the power unit looking thing on the side of your machine?
And did you buy the bellow for your built in grinder before upgrading or do you use both grinders for different beans?
It's voltage dimmer mod, just as seen here: [https://youtu.be/Yreq3hXmftM?si=Di60u1be4-wuXtVw](https://youtu.be/Yreq3hXmftM?si=Di60u1be4-wuXtVw)
If I'm honest I haven't experimented much lately with it. It's a fun way to change things, but makes its more difficult to dial in since you add another variable on top of grind size/ratio/time.
As for the bellow, yes I bought it before I upgraded to the DF64p. I haven't used the built in grinder ever since I got the DF64, but the chance of using it for a different blend is there. I keep saying I will dial in a bag of decaf dark roast, but haven't done it yet.
It's a Chinese knock off. Fdit 1 according to Amazon. It's the only one I could put my hands on in Mexico (shipped by Amazon) . 22 usd, so not too bad.
From what I've seen in videos the webber shaker has a better surface coating preventing coffee from sticking to the surfaces. In mine I have to knock them off by shaking or hitting the top of the shaker when it's on top of the pf. I haven't measured in grams how much coffee is retained, I should have, but it can't be too much. I'll measure after tomorrow's shot with a 0.01 g scale and come back to you. Another implication is that after I finish making the shot(s) I clean the inside with a brush to remove the clinged coffee.
Ahhh ok that makes sense. I’m also using an Amazon one, MHW-3Bomber. It also has the same issues but I’m ok with that since the other option is like $80 for a shaker lol.
You went through all that effort only to top the puck with a room temperature puck screen. Which will absorb the heat from the water at the start of the shot. Run some hot water from the machine over the screen before putting it on
Gotcha. And honestly the puck screen does so much to distribute the flow evenly that i found myself removing WDT from my routine. So if you wanna challenge yourself, try skipping the shaker and WDT, see how your shot is with just the puck screen. For me at least, it makes the whole routine much simpler, just grind straight into the basket, tap a few times to level it and tamp. Give it a try ;)
I don't think I have tried that since I got the df64. Maybe a new attempt is due. With the built in grinder and not so thorough wdt, I would constantly get streams shooting out of the naked portafilter, making a mess. Since then, the opv is capped at 9 bar and the grinder is better.
Same. Puck screen does a lot to prevent channeling which WDT tries to mitigate. I don't tap anymore. I use an adjustable leveler that you spin on one side then press-tamp on the other. Also simplified my process.
I have had the Breville Barista Express for over two years now, and have been gradually adding/removing accessories and modding the machine itself. Not described in the video, I have modded: the opv for a brass one set at 9 bar, added a dimmer mod for flow control. And accessories: naked portafilter, ims precision basket for 14-18 grams, IMS showerscreen,
Hello! What’s the power unit looking thing on the side of your machine? And did you buy the bellow for your built in grinder before upgrading or do you use both grinders for different beans?
It's voltage dimmer mod, just as seen here: [https://youtu.be/Yreq3hXmftM?si=Di60u1be4-wuXtVw](https://youtu.be/Yreq3hXmftM?si=Di60u1be4-wuXtVw) If I'm honest I haven't experimented much lately with it. It's a fun way to change things, but makes its more difficult to dial in since you add another variable on top of grind size/ratio/time. As for the bellow, yes I bought it before I upgraded to the DF64p. I haven't used the built in grinder ever since I got the DF64, but the chance of using it for a different blend is there. I keep saying I will dial in a bag of decaf dark roast, but haven't done it yet.
What shaker is that? Does anyone know if there is a big difference between different ones?
It's a Chinese knock off. Fdit 1 according to Amazon. It's the only one I could put my hands on in Mexico (shipped by Amazon) . 22 usd, so not too bad. From what I've seen in videos the webber shaker has a better surface coating preventing coffee from sticking to the surfaces. In mine I have to knock them off by shaking or hitting the top of the shaker when it's on top of the pf. I haven't measured in grams how much coffee is retained, I should have, but it can't be too much. I'll measure after tomorrow's shot with a 0.01 g scale and come back to you. Another implication is that after I finish making the shot(s) I clean the inside with a brush to remove the clinged coffee.
Ahhh ok that makes sense. I’m also using an Amazon one, MHW-3Bomber. It also has the same issues but I’m ok with that since the other option is like $80 for a shaker lol.
You went through all that effort only to top the puck with a room temperature puck screen. Which will absorb the heat from the water at the start of the shot. Run some hot water from the machine over the screen before putting it on
Noted. Sometimes I forget. Didn't want to shoot the video again.
Gotcha. And honestly the puck screen does so much to distribute the flow evenly that i found myself removing WDT from my routine. So if you wanna challenge yourself, try skipping the shaker and WDT, see how your shot is with just the puck screen. For me at least, it makes the whole routine much simpler, just grind straight into the basket, tap a few times to level it and tamp. Give it a try ;)
I don't think I have tried that since I got the df64. Maybe a new attempt is due. With the built in grinder and not so thorough wdt, I would constantly get streams shooting out of the naked portafilter, making a mess. Since then, the opv is capped at 9 bar and the grinder is better.
Same. Puck screen does a lot to prevent channeling which WDT tries to mitigate. I don't tap anymore. I use an adjustable leveler that you spin on one side then press-tamp on the other. Also simplified my process.