Hey all, I have a Sage Dual Boiler. I pretty much never make any milky drinks - like once a month maybe, max. I'm wondering what my options are to replace this machine with something more suited to making decent espresso, long blacks and americanos, with the rare milky thrown in. Or would you just stick with the SDB? Things I like: Temp control Heated group Hot water spigot Manual pre infusion Easy to fill tank Possibility to play with pre infusion settings, but not bothered as yet Things I'm not fussed about: Dedicated steam boiler that never gets used! Thanks!

What's your budget? There's an Elizabeth on sale with Bella barista. Would give great temp stability

Thanks for the speedy reply! My budget is that for a second hand SDB, so maybe £800. But not saying I'm switching - just wondering what folk would advise, at this stage. And is the Elizabeth not a dual boiler?!

It is, but it gives you good temp stability. For £800 you won't get much better than what you have with the sage, upgrade your grinder perhaps. Used machines are strong money right now.

Hi and thanks. I think you may have misread my post. Thanks though.

In what way? You have a sage dual boiler? Have £800 to spend? £800 won't get you better than you have right now.

I was asking (perhaps not very clearly), whether there would be any benefit in changing my setup to something geared up more for non-milky drinks, or whether it would be best to keep the Sage DB. Based on the fact that I pretty much never use the steam boiler on my machine. Maybe a single boiler. I don't know. Thus the question. Sorry if that wasn't very clear - I'll try harder next time.

> @"nosiesta"#p45835 Or would you just stick with the SDB? I’d stick with it. Reading your post, it feels to me the SDB does everything you want it to do, apart from the fact you rarely drink milk. The Elizabeth is certainly NOT an upgrade from the SDB. Maybe it will last longer and it’s easier to maintain if things break, it in terms of functionality it is not. Reality is, for £800, you won’t have anything that convenient and precise in the single boiler territory. You *could* venture out into the territories of the Flair 58+, or the ECM Puristika, or the La Pavoni. But I doubt you’ll be upgrading, if that makes sense.

@"nosiesta"#p45841 Unless you cannot switch the steam boiler off, then no, there's probably no point upgrading..

Thanks all. Def can't switch the steam boiler off. Maybe I'll stick for now. Profitec Go looked good, but prob less machine for the same money (taking into account 2nd hand sale of SDB budget). Flair 58 could be the future… but the geekery may be too much as sometimes I just want an easy coffee :)

Should I switch my Sage Dual Boiler?

nosiesta

Guys and girls. My point seems to have been lost, or misunderstood by most. I’ve no issue with the quality of espresso. It just seemed a bit pointless and inefficient heating a big steam boiler that never ever gets used, when I could just get a machine that wasn’t a dual, and therefore wasn’t designed for efficiency of steaming a lot of milk etc. But thanks all regardless 🙏

dfk41

nosiesta These are the instructions for tinkering. It is straightforward and reversible of course. The first shot i made with this method, I got fruit where there were no fruit trees!

https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/threads/sage-db-is-this-acceptable.32158/page-2

nosiesta

dfk41 Thanks, I’ll take a look!

Cuprajake

We understand what you are saying, but the budget you have won’t allow you to purchase anything better than you have

You would be going backwards with anything you buy.

You may get £400 used for yours and add that to the £800 and then you could look at a mara X etc, but it really is changing for changing sake imo

dfk41

Cuprajake The Sage heats up very fast and also shuts down after 20 minutes. I have no proof but I suspect the steam boiler does not draw that much juice. I would keep it until it develops a fault that you cannot easily fix, then at that point replace it. Unfortunately, coffee and energy wastage go hand in hand!

Dusk

As Jake says, you’re not going to get a better experience and/or save any money. Yes you’re using a little bit more electricity by heating two boilers but it’s would take years to pay any slight saving back. IIRC the Sage machines heat up faster than most machines so you might be saving some electricity by having the machine on for less time even though you are needlessly heating an additional boiler.

Eiffel

Regarding the inefficiency of the SDB, keep in mind that the boilers on this machine are fairly small (950ml steam boiler and 300ml brew boiler). Some of the alternatives have larger boilers (A MaraX is 1800ml, a Puristika is 750ml). The Lelit Elisabeth has a smaller steam boiler though at 600ml (and 300ml brew boiler)

All in all, In your shoes, I’d keep the SDB as it is known to have good temperature stability, warms up quickly, and can at no (or very little) cost do pressure profiling. Even if milk drinks are not a priority, the fact that they can be done easily is a bonus.

MediumRoastSteam

For the OPs needs (black coffee 99%) of the time, switching to a MaraX is a step backwards in terms of capabilities. No pre-infusion, no fine temp control, more maintenance (E61), longer heat up time, and the boiler operates at steam temperature all the time.

Cuprajake

Thanks for adding the boiler sizes I was looking for them to kinda prove my point lol

The machine is offering best bang for book

LMSC

Re-energy usage and efficiency, unless you are running the machine throughout the day, I wouldn’t worry about it. You may get an energy usage monitor for a few pounds off eBay and see how much it costs to run.

dfk41

LMSC European regulations mean that the machine has to automatically switch off after 20 minutes matey

LMSC

dfk41 European regulations mean that the machine has to automatically switch off after 20 minutes matey

Never knew this mate! I know we can set the on and off time on our Evo.

Thx!

DavecUK

dfk41 European regulations mean that the machine has to automatically switch off after 20 minutes matey

No quite, it’s legal for this facility to be under the users control and they can be given the option to disable it.

dfk41

LMSC All the manufacturers get around it by labelling their machines as Prosumer whereas Sage do not, calling it a Domestic Appliance. For this reason it cannot be left running longer than 20 minutes

Pompeyexile

Which at 64 and my memory is a blessing!😁

nosiesta

DavecUK which used to be the case on the older SDBs. This is a new version, and that option doesn’t exist anymore.

capuchin

The biggest difference I’m finding between a sage and specialist machine is consistency; if you have consistency then I wouldn’t bother. Might be worth measuring the energy use/cup with one of those energy measuring plugs, and calculate if the hassle is worth it if you’re worried about the steam boiler cost.

Nightrider_1uk

nosiesta Yep, the brew water is pulled through the steam boiler which helps with the temp regulation or something.

But it is being used, abet not for milk though

DavecUK

nosiesta trust me that option does…some manufacturers just choose not to implement a system where you can turn it off.

Cuprajake

I’d happily rock a sage dual boiler in black,

Sage actually made a special lance hedrick version with rotary pump, and present buttons. Cool machine.

nosiesta

Cuprajake Mine’s black mat. It’s def not a bad looking machine, even if it’s not shiny chrome with lots of funky levers!

« Previous Page Next Page »