I'm also very happy to see this thread is still moving along. 
It'll be a sad day if we ever lose all the Zmax knowledge contain within. I've been away for a while, but I'm going to do my best to stop by and participate more often.
I'm happy to see that the above V5 at madvapes is a "stainless" version. I took advantage of a deal that several of us jumped on (about a year ago?) for a $20 'stainless' V5 that showed up in my mailbox in gun metal. Luckily the Zmax was for my Dad (he already had two stainless V3's) and he didn't have any problem with the gunmetal finish. However, I was recently shocked to discover that the entire body is made of brass (the only thing stainless is the top cap which includes the 510). He had dropped it (again) and the top cap had pulled slightly out of the tube. This is a relatively common occurrence with the Zmax, as several of us Zmax owners are well aware. Anyway, he put the Zmax in his vice to press the top back back into place using a couple of pieces of leather to avoid damaging the body. Apparently he applied a little too much pressure and the lower tube collapsed inward which ruined the tube. It actually split the metal where a slight fold in the tube had occurred. When he told me what happened over the phone, it surprised the heck out of me. When I finally got a look at it, I could tell the tube was brass where it had split. I used a small file to remove the outer gunmetal coating near the threads to confirm it. Was I just ignorant to the fact that some of these tubes are NOT of stainless construction, while other owners in this thread were well aware of it? If so, please post back and let me know. I had assumed that the colored Zmax versions had a stainless tube which was painted or treated with an external coating. It may be that those coatings don't adhere well to stainless, and that's why they use brass. At any rate, buyer beware. I've only ever bought the stainless versions, and this just underlines it for me. If you're like me and want that "tried and true" beefy Zmax quality build some of us have come to rely on, then stick with the stainless. If you don't care about that, or if you're not likely to put your Zmax through much stress, then it's obviously less of a concern for you. Anyway, I just wanted to share this. If time permits, the circuit board from this ruined V5 will get re-purposed into one of my Dad stainless V3's later this afternoon. The ruined brass gunmetal tube is obviously going in the trash (I'll be using more force than necessary to make it in the can just to make myself feel better).
On a completely different note, I also wanted to share that I recently ruined the replacement Omron switches that I had installed in both of my V5's. In both cases, I got unlucky enough to drop them onto a tile floor right on the switch, each within a week of each other. I was able to experience some nostalgia by using a backup V3 for a couple of weeks until I could replace the switches. In one Zmax, the switch was completely useless and had no feedback whatsoever while the other was extremely intermittent and flaky. I'm guessing the small brass convex disk inside these switches was flattened by the impact. I don't mention this to say anything negative about the Omron switches. On the contrary, I still think they are much better than the stock switch (I eventually replaced the Omrons with new ones). There's no doubt in my mind that the original sigelei switches would have suffered the same fate with similar treatment. I only mention it to pass along my personal experience and to point out what can happen if you drop your Zmax on the switch. So... I guess my point is... umm.... try not drop your Zmax on the switch.
It'll be a sad day if we ever lose all the Zmax knowledge contain within. I've been away for a while, but I'm going to do my best to stop by and participate more often.I'm happy to see that the above V5 at madvapes is a "stainless" version. I took advantage of a deal that several of us jumped on (about a year ago?) for a $20 'stainless' V5 that showed up in my mailbox in gun metal. Luckily the Zmax was for my Dad (he already had two stainless V3's) and he didn't have any problem with the gunmetal finish. However, I was recently shocked to discover that the entire body is made of brass (the only thing stainless is the top cap which includes the 510). He had dropped it (again) and the top cap had pulled slightly out of the tube. This is a relatively common occurrence with the Zmax, as several of us Zmax owners are well aware. Anyway, he put the Zmax in his vice to press the top back back into place using a couple of pieces of leather to avoid damaging the body. Apparently he applied a little too much pressure and the lower tube collapsed inward which ruined the tube. It actually split the metal where a slight fold in the tube had occurred. When he told me what happened over the phone, it surprised the heck out of me. When I finally got a look at it, I could tell the tube was brass where it had split. I used a small file to remove the outer gunmetal coating near the threads to confirm it. Was I just ignorant to the fact that some of these tubes are NOT of stainless construction, while other owners in this thread were well aware of it? If so, please post back and let me know. I had assumed that the colored Zmax versions had a stainless tube which was painted or treated with an external coating. It may be that those coatings don't adhere well to stainless, and that's why they use brass. At any rate, buyer beware. I've only ever bought the stainless versions, and this just underlines it for me. If you're like me and want that "tried and true" beefy Zmax quality build some of us have come to rely on, then stick with the stainless. If you don't care about that, or if you're not likely to put your Zmax through much stress, then it's obviously less of a concern for you. Anyway, I just wanted to share this. If time permits, the circuit board from this ruined V5 will get re-purposed into one of my Dad stainless V3's later this afternoon. The ruined brass gunmetal tube is obviously going in the trash (I'll be using more force than necessary to make it in the can just to make myself feel better).
On a completely different note, I also wanted to share that I recently ruined the replacement Omron switches that I had installed in both of my V5's. In both cases, I got unlucky enough to drop them onto a tile floor right on the switch, each within a week of each other. I was able to experience some nostalgia by using a backup V3 for a couple of weeks until I could replace the switches. In one Zmax, the switch was completely useless and had no feedback whatsoever while the other was extremely intermittent and flaky. I'm guessing the small brass convex disk inside these switches was flattened by the impact. I don't mention this to say anything negative about the Omron switches. On the contrary, I still think they are much better than the stock switch (I eventually replaced the Omrons with new ones). There's no doubt in my mind that the original sigelei switches would have suffered the same fate with similar treatment. I only mention it to pass along my personal experience and to point out what can happen if you drop your Zmax on the switch. So... I guess my point is... umm.... try not drop your Zmax on the switch.
