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I have a 200$ mini machine and would like to upgrade. Can DIY anything. What would you suggest for a maximum budget of 1500$?



Sage/Breville Dual Boiler and do the slayer mod + drip tray mod, you can then pull espresso that rivals any machine out there for a fraction of the cost. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmQgxQ5Higw

The machine is old enough to be well understood with documented mods and fixes, it's dual boiler, triple PID, extreme temp stability, fill from the front, drip tray indicator. I love it.

https://home-barista.com/espresso-machines/breville-dual-boi...


Get a used Rancilio Silvia + do a fully fledged Gaggiuino build.

Check this Video comparison (Not a modded Silvia though, but a Gaggia classic which I would not recommended due to its aluminum boiler and the new China manufactured models have a (probably Teflon) coated boiler that likes to shed the coating... just search on reddit). The emphasis in this comparison is on the Gaggiuino mod, which does all the magic (profile based brewing). The underlying base machine is not that important. I would stay away from Sage/Breville, too much non standard parts and lots of plastic for my taste.

Decent Espresso vs DIY Gaggiuino build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4kAgPm1Xfw

Edit: many typos and some rewording


I read that Gaggia would replace flaking boilers. Contact your supplier for information.





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