Just recieved my warranty replacement from ebay seller Myrubberneck. Seller recieved the unit on January 27th. Charged $15.00+ for priority shipping. Told it would be shipped the day after recieved, but was not shipped until a week later. Sent an email or two to move the process along. As an ebay seller myself, I would have done a better job packing; the unit was loose in the box with only packing peanuts around it. Arizer's original packing is much preferable.
Bottom line: the warranty was honored and replacement unit was recieved in a reasonable time without cross border concerns. Return process could be improved however.
Does present some additional questions though?
Does the original warranty still apply?
How would I get warranty replacement now without any new paperwork?
The new unit is an M1D2 and all the changes are readily apparent. The draw is better due to the larger holes in the heater chamber. The old standard bent stem, fits snug now and required heating up the unit before inserting. I found that the increased airflow radically cools the heater down: when set at level 6, it droped to 3 by the end of the hit. But this only seemed to occur when first turned on. After warmup, it only dropped one level.
Heats up much faster and this one does allow it to be run while the charger is plugged in. My original charger and PS2 Slim PA with the proper plug adapter both work with this new unit. I didn't like the paint as well, but that is to be expected as it is from a different batch. Nice for sure, no scratches or dings, no broken plastic on the base,like the old one. Do not like the way the cap fits though. Really crappy machine work or quality control. Cap goes on loose, doesn't even engage the threads till it's almost on. My guess is they don't even make the cap in the same place as the body. However the outside paint finish is silky smooth, even where the body and cap meet. Also on the new unit the snaps that help align the heating chamber all fit perfectly, unlike my old one that did not fit together properly at all.
I think I like the changes. Perhaps now that a stock stem works as intended, at the bottom of the heating chamber users won't be inadvertantly loosening up that factory retaining ring by rocking that stem back and forth. Only time will tell and if it does loosen up, there is always that #113 O ring to snug it up again. There are many times that abilty to use while charging is sure to please as it enables the Solo to be used ANYTIME, it already could be used just about anyplace. I'm so happy to have this little device back again. Hits like a champ and no robo fart smell after a full charge and burn-off round. And thanks to all the members for their advice, tutorials and entertainment. This place rocks!!