@Big Baby Jesus I would like to respectfully take some of your points to task. "If you can get the herc to work" makes it sound more difficult than it is. Sure the learning curve is steep, and yes I fried an old single top by mis-assembling the Herc. But I got back onto the horse and learned by taking it apart and putting it back together, many times per week until I knew what each part did.
You're right about the stress points. The rod has to be correct, and mine was off by a mm and had no idea untli I posted a pic and G corrected me on it. The gold screw I don't see how people are getting it hosed. Mine hasn't been adjusted in months, and my cleaning procedure doesn't require removing or adjusting it.
Same thing with snapping the rod or the tongs that retain the rod. I never understood until I bought a herc here 2nd hand off SiCA. It was obvious from the wear that he was using wrenches on it. Made me realize the only tool my herc has seen is the little brush that comes with it, and a screwdriver for the one time I adjusted the gold screw. OK, and 2 quarters to smash the ti coil. But everything else is hand-tight.
For me the biggest thing was learning to master temps and not overheat the oil, causing all that buildup on the rod and retainer in the lower chamber. The 3.7v Herc is great for being non-leaking, and I barely ever have to clean that one. The 7.4 only leaks when I try to be too extreme.
