On the first one I had the threads that hold the portafilter on gave way in a spectacular explosion that sprayed shards of plastic and hot water the length of our kitchen.

The second one lasted about 6 months before the pump stopped pressurising.

IWOOT.com have been excellent and provided a replacement under warranty on both occasions.

No, although my pressure gauge is slow to read now- I need to leave it for about 15 seconds for the gauge to catch up. I've also been sprayed with hot grounds the odd time when taking the filter off- too coarse a grind seems to pass all the water through before the machine depressurises enough.

no