@hotellonely What’s your criteria for when to replace an H2D silicone sock with a new one?
BTW, are you using thermal paste, or are you sticking with the stock configuration (no paste)?
Presently I’m not using thermal paste but I have stepped up to cleaning the hotend with acetone on a regular basis in an effort to keep it clean and thereby better avoid it being welded to the heating element.
I’d probably do it even more regularly, except for the bother of having to recalibrate after reseating the hotend nozzle.