Tom, - Just to reinforce the Polident use, I've been using it for years and it works great. I have been known to use a bottle brush with it, to get the especially tough aged on spots but then I'm too lazy to actually use boiling water, hot tap usually suffices.
Dave, Obviously I'm very surprised that Avery blew you off. They are a "new" post internet company, they had to know their customer service / lack of was going to be discussed.
And just to review personal thermos experiences, as I told Dave my first Stanley bottle didn't keep my beverage hot while ice fishing but my buddy's Stanley kept his HOT! I wrote a letter (that's what we did pre-internet days.) Stanley replaced my defective bottle and I'm still using it with a new plug, last plug died from old age and embrittlement after 25 years. My Nissan experience is mixed. My first, a pint sized bottle bought around 2000 still travels to work with me every day and many days in the field. It's seal died about 4 years back and I'm using an O-Ring in it's place. A camo'd quart sized Nissan bottle didn't last 10 years but did last at least 5. My second 1/2 liter size died after a few years, just didn't keep things hot any more. I have a third Nissan 1/2 liter that I leave Barb coffee in when I head out hunting. Still working after 2 years of fairly low use (compared to the daily use the other one gets). I still have my uncles glass lined Stanly with the cork with a spare plug in the basement. I have good memories of him pouring a cup of coffee out of it while trolling for land-locks at ice out on Winnipesaukee.
Scott