# Uh oh... I've pulled the trigger! Not sure I can afford the ammunition now though.



## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

So, in line with how I generally live my life, I've spent beyond my means and purchased something I simply can't afford. But life is too short to be be prudent.

I will shortly be the proud owner of a Sage Dual Boiler. As my decision is already made, I hope this thread won't descend into another Sage Dual Boiler debacle.

So, SDB owners make yourself known. Are there many here?

What mods do I need to do? What accessories are available? Dos and don'ts? Anything to be aware of or careful with?

I have a Zenith 65E, I hope to get some pretty decent results. Based upon all my reading, a Classic, a basic grinder, fresh beans and a ropey technique is enough to get a better coffee than 99% of shops. So anything beyond that is awesome. Although, I've never had a perfect shot from one of the pros so I really don't know what it is I'm chasing. I just go with whatever tastes good to me, it might taste like cat spray to some of you!


----------



## Mike mc (Apr 10, 2012)

Main thing is to just enjoy the coffee you make mate.dont worry about brand debates


----------



## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

There are a few owners on here and it is fair to say I think, that those who own them like them. What others may say or think, is largely irrelevant! I have ridiculed them lots of times in the past, but the only thing that matters is what they produce. If they fail or fall apart in the future, we can all say we told you so, but until then, just enjoy it


----------



## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Ha ha, thanks. I will enjoy I hope. If the coffee goes up a notch then it'll be money well spent. On that, I got a pretty good deal I think, not as good as some I suspect but I'm happy.


----------



## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Have a word with Charlie (Devil's Advocate). Charlie had one of the first Sage D/B's and really knows his way around it, he will give you tips and a few do's and dont's:good:.

As for beans it sounds as if you prefer lighter roasts, have a word with Gary at Has Bean and Richard at Coffee Compass, ask their opinions.


----------



## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Sean the good news is that zero mods are needed to a Sage Dual Boiler they work excellently straight out of the box, I'm not saying there aren't things that can be tweaked if you really really want to, but enjoy it as it arrives to begin with. You will find after a Classic that you end up wondering why you ever thought it was hard to achieve perfect microfoam. I would suggest heading off to your closest branch of Tesco and buying large quantities of their Clearview brand water.

The Sage provided baskets( the single wall ones anyway) are far better than pretty much any baskets provided with other machines, the tamper isn't bad either, I've never bothered with the dual wall baskets, they're still in the box they came in. The milk jug isn't bad either but I just prefer my Motta ones.

So far everyone that has bought one, that we know of, bar one person, still owns theirs, mine according to the outer shipping container was the 3rd one to arrive in the UK, which makes it the 3rd one to have been released into the wild in the world, for me I would need £3k at minimum to spend to even consider upgrading mine as having lived with the flexibility of it for close to a year now any of the other commonly available dual boiler E61 group machines apart from the Vesuvius, just wouldn't give me the facilities I've grown used to, Gary even says that his produces shots extremely close to those from a Nuova Simonelli T3 WBC spec machine along with a Mythos One Clima Pro which he uses at work.

My advice is just to get used to it first, so don't bother messing around with the volumetric shot buttons to begin with just use the manual shot button, the built in shot timer is excellent !!, and play around with your preinfusion pressure and times, for example get your Zenith dialled in with the Sage factory pre-infusion settings and then tighten the grind by a bit so that it chokes or considerably slows down the shot, then play with different preinfusion times and pressures so that you get the shot running how you want it with this tighter grind. In normal everyday use mine needs zero flushing of water as the group head heater is controlled by a PID the same as the brew boiler(separate PIDs but only one temp setting), have a play with the effect different temperatures have on the taste of a shot. I really should have also said make sure you use a coffee you know well for all this "playing around" it just makes life easier and be prepared to go through a fair amount of it.

If you need any more in depth tips/hints either post here or pm me and I'll do my best to help.

PS, Frank I haven't forgotten about your question via pm I've been mulling over a thought in my head for the last few days and will pm you about this.


----------



## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Nice one, thanks Charlie. Great advice and reassuring to know she's a keeper! Really looking forward to playing with it this coming week. Just got a despatch email!


----------



## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

What about bottomless PF? I see they are pretty expensive from Sage. Is there alternatives? I'd definitely like the option. Also, with the standard basket, what is the perfect size tamper?


----------



## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Sean said:


> What about bottomless PF? I see they are pretty expensive from Sage. Is there alternatives? I'd definitely like the option. Also, with the standard basket, what is the perfect size tamper?


The tamper that comes with it is pretty well made and useable too, I only have oversize tampers- Torr(58.4mm) and Made By Knock(58.35mm) ones which are a great fit in the supplied baskets, but I only tend to use VST or IMS baskets anyway.

The only naked portafilter you can buy that will fit the Sage DB and lock at 90 degrees is the Sage one- I spent a long long time online and on the phone last year trying to find a substitute but none exist, bear in mind they are made from stainless steel and apparently a pretty high grade stainless at that. A Gaggia naked portafilter will fit and lock in but only at a crazy angle to get it in the group- you have to start with the handle almost touching the bodywork of the machine on the left, but it is usable and works.


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Sean said:


> What about bottomless PF? I see they are pretty expensive from Sage. Is there alternatives? I'd definitely like the option. Also, with the standard basket, what is the perfect size tamper?


Drop Gary **** a pm he had one for sale I think ( genuine in used sage one )

He is out the country for a couple of days at moment


----------



## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Charliej said:


> The tamper that comes with it is pretty well made and useable too, I only have oversize tampers- Torr(58.4mm) and Made By Knock(58.35mm) ones which are a great fit in the supplied baskets, but I only tend to use VST or IMS baskets anyway.
> 
> The only naked portafilter you can buy that will fit the Sage DB and lock at 90 degrees is the Sage one- I spent a long long time online and on the phone last year trying to find a substitute but none exist, bear in mind they are made from stainless steel and apparently a pretty high grade stainless at that. A Gaggia naked portafilter will fit and lock in but only at a crazy angle to get it in the group- you have to start with the handle almost touching the bodywork of the machine on the left, but it is usable and works.


Ok, fair enough. I suspected that may be the case. I have a convex 58.4 from Jens, its not pimp but will do for now.



Mrboots2u said:


> Drop Gary **** a pm he had one for sale I think ( genuine in used sage one )
> 
> He is out the country for a couple of days at moment


Ok, thanks. I'll PM him and fingers crossed. If not I'll have to bite the bullet I guess. Good job I made a saving with the machine.


----------



## Beanosaurus (Jun 4, 2014)

Mrboots2u said:


> Drop Gary **** a pm he had one for sale I think ( genuine in used sage one )
> 
> He is out the country for a couple of days at moment


I bought it from Gary last month, sorry Sean!

Feel free to ask me any questions too, had mine for a couple months now and loving it!


----------



## peterpan (Sep 25, 2014)

I'm pretty new to all this, but I've noticed the Sage DB is the same as Breville DB and Gastroback 42636. Any particular reason why people from UK prefer to buy it locally at a higher price? Because of the white glove treatment? Easier logistics in case of malfunction?

It's available on amazon.de for a much lower price (~850GBP delivererd).

I'm actually contemplating and saving money to buy one, following user feedback about the device performance.


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Price is tempting but what happens if there is a fault - you will probably have to ship it back to Germany. Have a look at Lakeland who sell the Sage. It's £1079 which on the surface is a lot more but it comes with Lakeland's lifetime guarantee. Have checked with Lakeland's customer service dept and they confirmed the lifetime guarantee. So, buying from Lakeland would cost more but you would have the reassurance of knowing, down the line, say in five - six years' time, if something goes wrong, you've still got a no quibble guarantee.


----------



## peterpan (Sep 25, 2014)

I totally agree, the guarantee is worth the price difference (unless upgraditis kicks in and you sell it).


----------



## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

peterpan said:


> I totally agree, the guarantee is worth the price difference (unless upgraditis kicks in and you sell it).


The Gastroback you linked to is the previous model of Breville Dual Boiler not the current one which has drain plugs for each boiler accessible from the front and drain directly into the drip tray, there other differences too, but the old version is nigh on impossible for the home user to descale at home.


----------

