# Sage Barista Coffee Machine - Broken :(



## straight6hatch (Jul 17, 2020)

Hi Folks,

Looking for some advice. 

Ive got a nice fancy bean to cup Sage Barista Coffee which I bought second hand about a year ago. Brilliant machine. Really does make excellent coffee.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago and its starting to play silly buggers. Milk wand doesnt work etc etc. I dont expect someone to get their crystal ball out and explain how to fix it but my options are, as far as I see it, below.

A) Call an expert out (at an eye watering sum) to professionally repair it. This costs circa £100 just for the call out and then £45/hr.

B) Attempt the repair myself. Ive taken the machine apart and believe its a solanoid problem. Theyre aboiut £45 each and I need 2 :lol:

C) Sell the Machine for spares and repairs on ebay. They tend to go for about £150 even when broken. Im essentially cutting my losses here and would want another comparable machine at, lets say £450.

So, what would you do? Does anyone have any experience in having theirs repaired?

TIA im getting serious caffene itch


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## Rappy (Oct 2, 2020)

Morning 

Have you looked on ebay? Used currently £150 plus.

New from £300.

Can you not got a domestic appliance repairer to test it & fix it?


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## straight6hatch (Jul 17, 2020)

Rappy said:


> Morning
> 
> Have you looked on ebay? Used currently £150 plus.
> 
> ...


Yeah I had a look on 'the bay'. The only used one I could see at £150 is still running for another few days and is actually broken itself. Tempting as I could harvest the parts from it to repair mine. Im quite handy (or like to think so :lol but theres no guarantee that it would repair the issue with my original one.

Normal and working used ones are around the £300 mark if you get lucky


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

So, from reading this, it’s £100 call out + parts ?? 

Or as you can dismantle it yourself, £90 for both solenoids. 

Man maths time - if you were to replace it, what would you replace it with ? If another same machine @ £450, then it’s £350 to upgrade to new machine with full warranty and potential upgrades / improvements ? And this is providing there’s nothing else wrong with your machine. Depending on what you sell it for, then the upgrade price is less… 

Part of me can see the benefit of repairing and keeping, but if you’re getting to nearly half price of a new one, I’d be tempted to buy a new one…


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Get back on the Nescafe again and use Starbucks when you fancy a 'nice' coffee. :lol:


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## Mikesphotaes (Jul 24, 2016)

Repair it yourself.


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## Lexus-is250 (Feb 4, 2017)

Make yourself a nice cup of tea and sack it off. 

Sent from my SM-A515F using Tapatalk


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## straight6hatch (Jul 17, 2020)

Right, so you lot who are suggesting 'tea'?? or Nescafe are dead inside :lol:

Ive considered the man maths and I think im probably going to go down the route of repairing it myself. Wedding is coming up next year so all money is going that way!

I have, quite literally, dismantled the whole thing already and its just sitting on the work top laughing at me. I think ill order just one solanoid to see if that fixes it. It should only be 1 thats knackered as its only the milk wand that doesnt chuck steam out. Oh and now I need a bunch of tiny o-rings as I buggered a couple. Joy!

Thanks for the advice guys. Appreciate this is a detailing forum but always handy to see your advice (other than those who drink tea...what on earth is that about? :lol


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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

I bought a Gaggia anima from the official Gaggia distributor, and you can buy for buttons an extended warranty.
They are very quick with answering questions and give a great service.
If a “milk wand” is not your most important accessory on your machine than the Anima could be a good reliable machine.

If you want to get yours repaired search for a repairer specialised in your machine, there are companies and person who have the knowledge and can get hold of the correct parts.

I had my wife’s GHD straightener repaired by a company in Nottingham, and they did a splendid job for a fixed price.


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## straight6hatch (Jul 17, 2020)

Caledoniandream said:


> I bought a Gaggia anima from the official Gaggia distributor, and you can buy for buttons an extended warranty.
> They are very quick with answering questions and give a great service.
> If a "milk wand" is not your most important accessory on your machine than the Anima could be a good reliable machine.
> 
> ...


Appreciate your comments. I was really hoping to find someone local to repair it for me. It would be more expensive than fixing it myself but it comes with the guarantee it will work :lol:
Trouble is, there is nobody near me who fixes them! The closest is over 50 miles away. There are some more local but I have left messages and tried 3 times to contact them and nobody ever picks up!

Im narrowing things down with the DIY fix so hopefully I can get it back up and running shortly...


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## AnthonyUK (Jul 25, 2018)

Do you know who makes it for Sage? We had their kettle which was apparently a Russel Hobbs job and while it did work ok, the lid fell apart on the original and the replacement so John Lewis replaced it.


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## Tykebike (Mar 27, 2016)

Elsewhere eg USA they are sold under the Breville name.


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## straight6hatch (Jul 17, 2020)

Tykebike said:


> Elsewhere eg USA they are sold under the Breville name.


I kept googling part numbers and could never work out why Breville parts kept coming up...now I know! Thank you!

In other news, I have found another element that made me think ive found the cause for no steam. The unit that opens and closes for steam/hot water on the side was totally blocked. I managed to remove it - it was an exceptionally tight squeeze - and it was blocked beyond belief. Its been soaking in descaler overnight so im gonna reassemble later.

My thoughts are that if this bit is blocked, the steam will take the path of least resistance and then just go out the group head. More later on...(wish me luck)


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

*Sage Barista Coffee Machine - Broken *

Fingers crossed this is the area of fault and that it works :thumb:

On a side note: how have you found the machine up to this point, a mate at work is looking to buy a new machine and he's between this and one of the Gaggia machines - advantage to this, is it's semi-automatic and slightly cheaper…


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## straight6hatch (Jul 17, 2020)

Andyblue said:


> Fingers crossed this is the area of fault and that it works :thumb:
> 
> On a side note: how have you found the machine up to this point, a mate at work is looking to buy a new machine and he's between this and one of the Gaggia machines - advantage to this, is it's semi-automatic and slightly cheaper…


Thanks! I've got my fingers and arms and legs crossed :lol:

I'll start my thoughts on the machine by saying that I've only really had a Nespresso machine before this. So I'm hardly well versed in the coffee machine world. I bought one after my family in the US had one and we fell in love with it. Its a really awesome bit of kit (when it works) and i love how you can do anything you want coffee wise with it. I have a subscription to Pact coffee which send me coffee whenever I need it (1 bag every 11 days for me) and it's just glorious. I really didn't realise how much I loved it until it broke. Makes brilliant coffee every time and you don't have to be a total wizard to use it. The Mrs used to work in a coffee shop and so she's very skilled with it but I can use it just fine. Tell him to go for it!


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

That’s fantastic mate, thanks. I’ll pass the information on :thumb:


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## suds (Apr 27, 2012)

Andyblue said:


> That's fantastic mate, thanks. I'll pass the information on :thumb:


So, where's that poncey title you were promised?....


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## straight6hatch (Jul 17, 2020)

Right, an update. Ive tested the solanoids using my multi meter and they both read just fine. I cant get them to click open and closed using a battery so confused.com there. I then thought it might be the valve that receives the hot water/steam that was blocked. Was a mare to get out but it was done, descaled and reinstalled. No luck. Now the machine isnt getting up to proper pressure....

Time to yeet it onto ebay as spares or repaires and start again...Any suggestions for a good bean to cup machine that isnt going to get me divorced price wise :lol:


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## Mikesphotaes (Jul 24, 2016)

I got a Krups coffee machine from U store on ebay three years ago.

It cost £259 and has never let me down.


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## Tykebike (Mar 27, 2016)

Yo might find the videos by James Hoffman, former World Barista Champion interesting on all matters coffee brewing.
This one on the more expensive Sage/Breville enlightening; 



It's the first time I have watched this particular one but his opening question "Do you really want a new hobby" really hit home; this is one of my new hobbies and it is as, if not more, involved and nerdy as detailing. What I could not get to grips with is when I was told that the grinder is more important than the machine to producing good espresso but I am beginning to come round to agreeing with that. I spent heavily on my machine and grinder and even though my wife is used to me buying high endish stuff she was speechless when I told her how much I was going to pay. She freely admits though that I have used it everyday over the years so it must have been a good buy! She does roll her eyes though when I ask for a ristretto instead of an espresso in cafes.


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## straight6hatch (Jul 17, 2020)

Tykebike said:


> Yo might find the videos by James Hoffman, former World Barista Champion interesting on all matters coffee brewing.
> This one on the more expensive Sage/Breville enlightening; Product Review: Oracle Touch by Sage/Breville - YouTube
> It's the first time I have watched this particular one but his opening question "Do you really want a new hobby" really hit home; this is one of my new hobbies and it is as, if not more, involved and nerdy as detailing. What I could not get to grips with is when I was told that the grinder is more important than the machine to producing good espresso but I am beginning to come round to agreeing with that. I spent heavily on my machine and grinder and even though my wife is used to me buying high endish stuff she was speechless when I told her how much I was going to pay. She freely admits though that I have used it everyday over the years so it must have been a good buy! She does roll her eyes though when I ask for a ristretto instead of an espresso in cafes.


Ah excellent, Ill give that a watch.

You're dead right though. Coffee making is nearly as complicated as detailing :lol: I need to find a coffee version of DW asap.

Ive had a look at a few different machines. Dulait 'Bean to Go' machine looks good. The krups Arabica digital looks half decent too but lots of reviews of the milk wand flying off which doesnt sound too hot. So confusing. One things for sure though, im really really really sick of crap coffee in the morning!


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