Final Thoughts
Now it’s time to review what we’ve discussed so far. We’ll start with some of the terms we first discovered when talking about electro-stim:
Closed Loop (aka “complete circuit”): A closed loop is needed in order for current to flow through a circuit and the body is one example of a circuit.
Electrodes are placed on the body and connected to a power unit using lead wires.
Current: Current is the flow of electrons, expressed in amperes (A) or milliamperes (mA). Current flows from a source, through a load, and back to the source. This flow is enabled only when the circuit is complete. An open circuit — one that has been interrupted by a space placed between the conductors — will result in no current flow and in the case of e-stim, no sensation felt.
Electrode: An electrode is a conductive surface that enables an electrical connection between the body and the power unit. Electrodes can be flat for use on the surface of the skin or shaped to fit inside various parts of the body. Examples include gel electrodes, scrotal electrodes (ECup and Ball Vise), CockCap, Conductive Rubber Loops and Tubes and insertable anal probes aka buttplugs.
Power Unit: A power unit converts a direct current source — battery or the output from an AC adapter — to an alternating current source (AC). There are many kinds of power units used to stimulate the body, including medical devices designed to treat chronic pain (TENS units) and made-for-play devices (ErosTek ET312B, ET232 and ET302R among others) which produce erotic sensations by generating complex, ever-changing waveforms. A power unit always includes some method of controlling the output level or intensity, the selection of a mode or routine, and the speed at which the mode or routine plays. Some power units have a simple layout (ET232) while others have more capabilities and complexity (ET312B) or remote-controlled operation (ET30R). The choice of which power unit you choose is perhaps the most important as it determines the quality and range of sensations you will experience.
Monopolar: Monopolar devices have one electrode surface. They need to be paired with another monopolar device in order to create a closed loop which allows current to flow — and sensations to be felt.
Bipolar: Bipolar devices have two electrode surfaces with an insulator combined into a single package. They can be used to form a closed loop (complete circuit) by themselves with no additional electrode needed.
How to Get Started
Package Deals and Making Your Own Choices
Shopping List:
[ ] Electrodes for the cock, balls and butt.
[ ] Adapters as needed to connect electrodes to lead wires
[ ] Conductive gel
FAQ and Troubleshooting
I don’t feel anything!
Connecting just one wire of a lead to the body will result in no current flow (an open circuit) even at maximum power levels. It’s good practice to get wired up first, then plug the lead wire into your power unit with the outputs turned all the way down. Slowly adjust the output levels until you just begin to feel the pulses. If you get past 12 o’clock and still don’t feel anything, it’s a good idea to turn the output back down and check your connections, making sure that both ends of the lead wire are connected to an electrode surface, and that there is some skin between each electrode. If the electrodes overlap and make contact with each other, you won’t feel anything — current flows in the path of least resistance, just like lots of things.
Why does my cock sometimes tingle after I’m finished with an e-stim session?
Your nerve endings were repeatedly energized — more technically, polarized and depolarized — during your session. Afterwards, it’s common to feel a slight tingling or numbness, but this usually is a result of longer sessions (an hour or more, let’s say) coupled with higher output levels over the length of the session. These two factors combined cause the residual tingly feeling that sometimes persists for an hour or so after your session is through. From my own experience, and in all the cases that I’ve heard of, the nerve endings restore themselves back to normal with a bit of rest, making them ready for…another session!
Will I still want to have sex with a person after I stim?
Maybe not right after, but most likely, you’ll still want the pleasure of another man or woman — if you already want that now. Electro-stim is not a replacement for normal, healthy sexual relations. But it can be a bit daunting to bring up if your partner is not willing to experiment. That’s OK. You can always use e-stim solo. I am a regular, moderate user of e-stim and most of the time, I’m doing it privately on myself. It’s become another form of meditation for me: a way to bring my attention back to my body, my breathing, and how it feels to be in the moment as it happens.
The lights are flashing but I don’t feel anything!
The LEDs (aka “lights”) are designed to indicate when a signal is being produced by the power unit. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ll feel anything. For that, you need to be wired correctly with 2 electrodes in a complete circuit connected to a power unit and the output level adjusted to the point that you can feel the current flowing. Just because the lights are ON doesn’t mean you’ll feel it. There are a few things in between those blinking lights and you. Review our Getting Started Guide and become familiar with what’s needed to close the loop and allow the current to flow.
Resources
If you still have questions, that’s great! We have several resources for you to consider:
ErosTek Blog
Our blog is located at http://blog.erostek.com. Here you will find a collection of articles written about our products — including new product announcements and how to care for the ones you already have — and a growing library of e-stm videos and AudioStim tracks made for the ErosTek ET312B. Feel free to browse our blog and comment on the posts you see there. Become part of our growing e-stim community.
Contact Us
There are a few ways to contact us: Email, Phone, and Live Chat. You can also make an appointment to visit us during the week if you’re in the San Francisco Bay area and want to see our products before you decide what to buy.
- Email: sales@erostek.com
- Phone: 1-888-EROSTEK (US/Canada) or +1.415.376.6350
- Live Chat: Available from any page on our online store at http://shop.erostek.com
- In Person: By appointment only. Contact us by email or phone to arrange a visit to our shop.
Books and Articles
The subject of male sexual practice is shrouded in mystery. Here are a few articles and one well-written book I’ve found to be helpful:
We Need to Talk About Butt Sex a great article by Mark O’Connell, a psychotherapist in NYC’s Flatiron District with links to several books and resources including:
- The Bronze Eye Is Open: A Philosophy of Anal Sex an article on Huffington Post by Marten Weber, author of “Benedetto Casanova” and other books
- The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex by Stephen E. Goldstone (1999)
Email List
I want to personally invite you to add your name to the growing list of subscribers wishing to stay in touch with ErosTek. Email updates arrive about once a month and include links to the latest blog posts, new products, or AudioStim files. There’s bound to be something you can use in every one. We never sell or otherwise rent our database to others, and we use a leading email listing service — MailChimp — to make our email campaigns spam-filter-friendly with no work needed on your part. There are links at the bottom of every message allowing you to update your subscription settings at any time and easily unsubscribe if you ever want to.
Wow, very nice guide. I figured out my Erostek equipment and accessories out eventually before you had this guide, but it clarified some things, especially about closing loops properly. The best part however were the resource articles about anal sex. Nobody wants to talk about anal preparation and only after watching tons of porn, I suddenly realized that the models had to be doing a lot of prep to get all of those pristine shots of clean anal sex. Let’s just say I’ve led a sheltered gay life up to this point, but no longer. Thanks!
Randy
Hey Randy — Thanks for the positive feedback!
I know a lot of us had to figure it out “the hard way” and lately have been getting a barrage of questions from users who are brand-new to e-stim and don’t understand where to begin. I know there are other sites out there that try to fill these gaps, but I wanted something more conversational and accessible. I nearly side-stepped the part about anal preparation until I did some research and found a few resources which got me thinking: “Why don’t we talk about this? Lots of guys do it, right?”
Facing shame is tough, but once you do, I find it just drops away (like fear). I want to bring the practice of erotic e-stim into the light and out of the shadows. While I agree that it’s nice to play in a darkened room, I don’t think we have to remain there all the time. Enjoy and take care! —Eric
@eric
i was wondering if you can email me at cemery213@gmail.com
i have a number of questions about electro