I just got an Aeropress in December of last year and I just noticed the exact same issue..

I have hundreds if not thousands of cups through my AeroPress. Aside the printing on the tube having worn off it it is still like new. I do not store the unit assembled. I take the piston out and it sits in my desk. If you do store it assembled make sure to push the piston completely through. It pops out the bottom of the cylinder so the rubber is not compressed.

maybe try using less dish soap when you clean the seal?

cannonfodder wrote:I have hundreds if not thousands of cups through my AeroPress. Aside the printing on the tube having worn off it it is still like new. I do not store the unit assembled. I take the piston out and it sits in my desk. If you do store it assembled make sure to push the piston completely through. It pops out the bottom of the cylinder so the rubber is not compressed.

There are plenty of people with old, very well used Aeropresses. There are also some number, small but not insignificant, who have had issues with cylinder crazing (with the copolyester versions) and also with the rubber seal retaining and oozing oil. From my reading (and personal experiences), misuse of the device isn't the cause.

With my latest (post-2014 polypropylene) Aeropress it is hard to insert the plunger in the cylinder and unusually difficult to press it, even when there is no coffee inside and the walls and seal are well lubricated with water. With my three previous (copolyester) Aeropresses this was not the case.

So something is different with this new one that I have. Is it the rubber part that has changed or the fact that there is a new cylinder material, or something slightly different with the dimensions? I don't know. I can use it as is but the higher level of friction impacts the usability significantly.

I am posting on the CoffeeGeek thread right now to see if Alan has anything to say.

jpender wrote:According to Alan Adler, the cylinder and plunger materials changed sometime in 2014 from a BPA-free co-polyester ("Tritan") to polypropylene. The black plastic end cap (and other black plastic accessories) have always been polypropylene, although a different variety of it.

The rubbery seal on the end of the piston is made of a thermoplastic elastomer. If that's changed in some way I haven't read of it, although I've wondered -- my post-2014 Aeropress is a lot harder to press, with way more friction, than any of my three previous Aeropresses were.

It would be easy enough to ask Aerobie... or post a question on that ginormous Aeropress thread on coffee geek. Alan will probably respond.

I had a customer in the store say the same thing, that at some point Aeropress had changed the design and they "weren't good" any more. I took it with a grain of salt at the time, because seriously coffee wars are sometimes just as bad as the video game platform wars, but maybe there was something to what he was saying.

I have used my Aeropress for over ten years with hundreds of repetitions. I replaced the outer chamber cylinder to retire the old (bluish) polycarbonate body and switch to the new (BPA free) polypropylene body. My internal plunger cylinder with the elastomeric seal is still the original and gives no appearance of any loss of function. I give it a quick rinse before pulling it out after making coffee and occasionally wash with dish soap. It looks no worse for wear.

r7 wrote:I have used my Aeropress for over ten years with hundreds of repetitions....

Only "hundreds"? If it were my Aeropress, after ten years it would have seen thousands of uses. I've gone through several Aeropresses. Each has lasted me on the order of a year. I think of the Aeropress as an inexpensive, plastic, disposable item. But the need for somewhat regular replacement has prompted me to change my behavior: now I only use an Aeropress for travel.

Only "hundreds"? If it were my Aeropress, after ten years it would have seen thousands of uses.

It is not my daily driver. I use primarily on weekends and for travel, though I also go through streaks where I will use it more or less. My estimate based on usage of filter paper plus some experiments of filter re-use would be several hundred uses.

One of the things I appreciate is the ability to purchase individual components for maintenance rather than a complete unit.

r7 wrote:One of the things I appreciate is the ability to purchase individual components for maintenance rather than a complete unit.

They do have excellent customer service. But they are a bit coy about replacement parts. Until a couple of years ago they didn't even mention spare parts on their website; you just had to know that you could call them. Now they mention them but are mum about prices.

You can get plunger seals from third parties but when I priced them several years ago they ran around $15 with shipping. Nobody sold a cylinder. So each time I needed a new cylinder and seal I just bought the whole kit again and recycled all the extra doodads that came with it. It seemed quite wasteful.

If I had known I could buy just the cylinder and seal for a reasonable price directly from Aerobie I would have. But what do they charge for them?