newbie questions

[Otter]

FINALLY the site is back up. of course it HAD to go down just the same day that my pump finally arrived in the mail.....<br><br>so i've been pumping now for 3 days and sure are happy with the results, but i am curious about a couple of things...<br><br>first of all the seal of the cylinder. i had trouble at first getting a decent seal, right now i found a nice comfortable position. still i have to use the pump maybe every 20 to 40 seconds or so usually to keep the pressure steady. is this normal or did is the diameter of my cylinder too big ?<br><br>second of all: can you pump too much ? right now i usually pump three times a day, each session around 15 minutes or so. and today on the 4th day i decided to give it a rest. any further opinions on this ? thx<br><br>thirdly: any way to just pump the balls ? i guess since i already have trouble getting a nice seal with dick+balls the answer would be to buy another cylinder ? or are there other tricks for that ?

[teddy]

You don't mention what sort of cylinder you have but to me (and I've only been doing this for eight months) your regime sounds good - very sensible. The website tigerpumping.com has loads of useful advice and will corroborate the sensibility of your programme. I found that once you get your cock 'educated' into it's new life you adapt quite well. It took me about 4-5 months all in all to overcome any minor problems (ie learning not to pump up too quickly).<br><br>As for pumping balls alone, I have found one way to deal with this, but you need a tube which is not too narrow (I use a 3-inch cock and ball tube). If you pump wet in the bath, you can just put the balls inside the tube and leave your cock outside.  (Sometimes your cock can get sucked in upside down too, which is also an interesting experience.) Then if you hold the open end of your cylinder under water, it displaces any air around the base of your cock and you get a  better seal. If you pump wet and keep some water in the cylinder (a given in this case) your results will come quicker. Pumping balls is a good experience but tends to be a very slow process, so don't give up! Experimentation is the answer and pain is the barrier to stop at.

[redrick]

I use a 3.5 inch two stage, and never have a problem getting a good seal, however I keep my  pubic hair on top, around the sides, on the scrotum, and behind it to the perineum shaved. Before starting, I rub the entire shaved area with baby oil and vaseline as well as the inside of the first stage. If you don't mind the oilyness, you'll never have problems with a seal. It's messy to clean up afterward though.

[hornytoads]

you might also try some silicone around the rim of the cylinder....lout a good bead around it and let it dry overnight or longer and it should seat better than the hard plastic, and if you don't shave the area, you need to use some thick lube like vasaline ....its messy like red says, but it will seal good<br>

[Zurrabear]

Hey hornytoads, I have a related question regarding your recommendation to use vaseline:  I have seen some fairly authoritative statements to the effect that vaseline should not be used as a lube/sealant for pumping, because it has a negative effect on the acrylic of the tube.  But I've used nothing but vaseline all the years I've been pumping (I think it's the *only* really effective seal), and I've never noticed any damage or any effect on my tubes whatsoever.  Have you ever heard this?  I'd be interested to know what people use if not vaseline.<br><br>Dirk (Zurrabear)

[Otter]

thanks everyone for the answers. like you teddy, im using a 3 inch cock and ball tube. actually i wanted to pump the balls only since they were never quite "matching" with the rest of the package but havent found a nice way yet. the results i am getting so far are what i wanted, no monster balls, but just a nice package overall.<br><br>my first try was in the bathtub as well but i was fumbling around without much success.. i also managed to pump balls only, but my dick started to slip in which somehow ruined the seal.<br><br>right now ive gotten better at getting a decent seal, i guess the trick is to place the cylinder kind of lower, towards your butt.<br><br>so basically it IS possible to get a perfect seal without having to re-pump every once in a while ?<br>guess i will try your silicone trick, hornytoads. i only had the idea of cutting up some plastic ring or so and placing it around the sides of the cylinder.<br><br>anyway. thanks again, i will keep you guys posted.

[colapump]

I used to use Vaseline but now I use Crisco for a couple of reasons:<br><br>I find Crisco to be a little easier to clean up since regular soap seems to disolve it.  Vaseline takes something a little stronger, like shampoo, to dissolve it (somewhat).<br><br>Some manufacturers advise against using petroleum based lubricants, which Vaseline is, because they can break down seals and gaskets.  Crisco is vegetable oil based, so my thinking is that it won't break down the rubber in the seals and gaskets, at least not as quickly.<br>

[hornytoads]

hey zurra, i have used vasaline a good deal too and it has never harmed the acrilic, but it does work on the rubber or silicone gaskets.  cola might have a good idea too, i know that vasaline is hard to clean up...

[jforfun2002]

You are right, the petroleum-based oils (mineral oil, baby oil, vaseline) degrade the rubber, vinyl, or urethane seals.  Won't do much to the acrylic.  When I was using a urethane seal on a STJ, I started using olive oil.  Didn't hurt the seal, cleaned up easily, smells pretty good, and olive oil actually tastes pretty good, if anyone gets to that activity.  Crisco is a vegetable-based oil (grease) so it should be OK for the seals.  Vegetable oils have a very different chemical structure than petroleum oils - that's why they generally don't attack the seal materials.<br><br>Today, I made my first session with a homemade split shell.  Made it out of acrylic tubes and sheet for the ends.  It worked beautifully.  It was getting too difficult to get out of the STJ.  I'll have to take a set of pictures.  I use 4" vacuum with an electric pump, circulating warm water at about 115 degrees F.  The flowing warm water made for a very pleasant 2 hours.

[hornytoads]

hey j, that sounds interesting, i would like to see the pics of that when you have time, thanks