I'm posting this once for the informational content. From here, please contact Aerobie with requests or concerns.

I asked Alan about cracks and he responded that they find cracks less than 0.1% of the time but will replace parts at no charge if you think you deserve one without a time limit. They sell the parts at minimal cost too.

RioCruz wrote:I am still using my original Aeropress purchased almost 10 years ago...I think.

The Aeropress was introduced in late 2005. I've used mine (occasionally, not regularly) for 8+ years, and the original blue-tinted plastic is still crack free. (And it still doesn't make espresso. )

jpender wrote:My first Aeropress (2011 smoke colored) developed crazing (not actual cracks) after less than a year of use...

My second Aeropress also developed the same sort of crazing...

I'm now using Aeropress number three (in as many years) and it is beginning to show signs of these grooves even though I only occasionally brew inverted with it.

Yes...these are the kinds of cracks or crazing that happened with mine. The plastic just didn't hold up well. I never brew inverted. There were quite a few others on the CG list who reported the same kinds of crazing as well. Mine developed down by the end cap.

Neither of my original clear/blue tinted versions have done this even though I use one every day and have done so for almost 10 years. So I guess the moral to the story is that BPA resin may give you cancer but...it will last forever!

I read somewhere that the alternative plastic compounds commonly used were found to be equally harmful as the BPA-laden plastics they were replacing... So these BPA-free efforts have been a complete bust.

So, from what you're saying you are assuming without foundation that those harmful plastics are substituted for the BPA. If you have such concerns you might list some of those compounds and contact Aerobie to see if they're present. Alan Adler is known for being very health conscious. He does not offer metal screens for the AeroPress instead of the paper inserts because he wants people to filter out chemicals that have been shown to promote cardiovascular disease. (That discussion is elsewhere on this site. Search paper filters for espresso and it will get you there.)

drgary wrote:So, from what you're saying you are assuming without foundation that those harmful plastics are substituted for the BPA. If you have such concerns you might...

Well to be frank I just wanted to mention this was reported. I haven't thought much about it to be honest. And you're right.. ask. that's kind of what my point. Don't assume just because the plastic is bpa free it's completely safe.

As an aside, I notice so much attention to this concern from the general public when a far bigger problem is the overabundance of sugar in food products yet no such movement. And therefore no industry wide efforts to reduce the insanely high sugar intake that's the cause for so much obesity and other health problems in this country. But of course that's an entirely different argument.. I digress...

That's fine but seems off topic for the AeroPress in particular. Perhaps you can start another thread in Knockbox and link it here.

I posted a link on the first page from a study about the estrogenic activity of plastics. There was a sensationalist article in Mother Jones about this earlier this year.

It's worth noting that Eastman Chemical recently won their lawsuit against the two companies that had been making claims (falsely according to the jury) that estrogen mimics had been detected leaching out of Tritan, the plastic that the newer Aeropresses are made with.