Owners keep the Breville Dual Boiler because it makes cafe-level espresso and milk drinks at a price well under the Italian dual boilers it gets compared to, and most would buy it again.
Read from 82 owner accountsUpdated September 24, 2026Compare it
What keeps coming up
The most consistent praise is value: owners who stepped up from a Barista Pro describe a big jump in taste and workflow, and several say no other PID dual boiler comes close at the price, especially bought second hand or on a regional discount.
The clearest complaint is not about the machine itself but about whether a dual boiler was needed at all: several owners question whether they should have bought one, particularly when a better grinder would have done more for their shots.
Once the novelty wears off, what keeps owners happy is the everyday routine of pulling a shot and steaming milk without waiting between the two. Temperature stability and steam power are both praised by most of the owners who raised them, and the workflow is described as a real step up from single boiler Breville machines. Several owners say the sensible next spend is a good grinder rather than another machine, and that the Dual Boiler is still the machine to keep.
The adjustments are modest. Heat up time divides owners: some are happy with it, while others who have used or compared machines like the Profitec Move or a rotary pump dual boiler say those get to temperature faster. Build quality and looks are also divided, with owners split between finding it solid and handsome and finding it plasticky next to the pricier machines it competes with. One long-time owner with a good grinder still could not get the full-bodied shot they got at a top cafe, so it is not the end of the road for everyone.
Reliability & repairs
The clearest long-term account is an owner who has run theirs for five years with minimal maintenance and describes it as a phenomenal machine for the money. Another bought one second hand that seemed broken, found the previous owner had swapped the brew and steam temperature settings, corrected them, and had it working like new. Owners who have had problems tend to lean on the used market and simple fixes rather than writing the machine off.
That said, reliability itself was raised by only a handful of owners, and they were not in agreement, so there is not enough here to say how it holds up over many years. The five-year account is encouraging but it is one owner. Treat long-term durability as unproven from these accounts rather than established either way.
More detail What owners praise, where they are split, and the
follow-up timeline
What owners praise
Nothing with a clear majority yet. Owners who raised these subjects were split, or too few to judge.
Nothing has a clear majority against it yet. Counted from the owners who raised each subject, not from everyone. A subject is judged once at least 4 owners raise it.
Does it still kick?
The same owner, asked again at each point. Fills in as owners answer.
Counted from public accounts by people who said they own it, and summarised by Still Kicks in its own words. Not a manufacturer claim, a lab test or an estimate.
Nothing here asks for anything about you unless you write to us.