[koyasha]

Sorry to hear it didn't work out well for you after all.

I have 2 Kangzhu cups with the airlock, I only need one. If you still have the pump and are interested, I could send it to you.

[PoisonIvy]

Sorry to hear it didn't work out well for you after all.

I have 2 Kangzhu cups with the airlock, I only need one. If you still have the pump and are interested, I could send it to you.

That's nice of you, but I actually think the problem is just me. The system works, but my breasts just so easily get overpumped or circulation cut off that I didn't realize that the pressure variance with those moments when it starts to lose suction and you have to repump it a bit were actually (while annoying) good for me in that they were what was keeping me from getting the circulation cut off and going blue vs continuous pressure, so unless I can get that to stop I don't think any airlock would really work. I think it's just the way my body is though.

[ShelaVenna]

Sorry to hear it didn't work out well for you after all.

I have 2 Kangzhu cups with the airlock, I only need one. If you still have the pump and are interested, I could send it to you.

That's nice of you, but I actually think the problem is just me. The system works, but my breasts just so easily get overpumped or circulation cut off that I didn't realize that the pressure variance with those moments when it starts to lose suction and you have to repump it a bit were actually (while annoying) good for me in that they were what was keeping me from getting the circulation cut off and going blue vs continuous pressure, so unless I can get that to stop I don't think any airlock would really work. I think it's just the way my body is though.

What kind of padding do you use with your domes? I think loss of circulation and nerve pinching would be a problem for anybody using the airlock for hours without good enough padding. I’m pretty worried about it. I’m not very confident that the padding I ordered is good enough. The Brava’s padding was so super thick, squishy, and air tight. If “normal” padding turns out not to be a good enough substitute, I’m pretty screwed, because noogling with higher pressure and shorter duration never really worked for me.

[PoisonIvy]

Sorry to hear it didn't work out well for you after all.

I have 2 Kangzhu cups with the airlock, I only need one. If you still have the pump and are interested, I could send it to you.

That's nice of you, but I actually think the problem is just me. The system works, but my breasts just so easily get overpumped or circulation cut off that I didn't realize that the pressure variance with those moments when it starts to lose suction and you have to repump it a bit were actually (while annoying) good for me in that they were what was keeping me from getting the circulation cut off and going blue vs continuous pressure, so unless I can get that to stop I don't think any airlock would really work. I think it's just the way my body is though.

What kind of padding do you use with your domes? I think loss of circulation and nerve pinching would be a problem for anybody using the airlock for hours without good enough padding. I’m pretty worried about it. I’m not very confident that the padding I ordered is good enough. The Brava’s padding was so super thick, squishy, and air tight. If “normal” padding turns out not to be a good enough substitute, I’m pretty screwed, because noogling with higher pressure and shorter duration never really worked for me.

I actually don't use any padding. What kind of padding are you suppose to use? I'm the same though. I can't do higher pressure for shorter duration. I feel like I have to keep an eye on it a lot though because it won't feel painful at all but I'll sometimes notice it going that purple color that we're told to not let it get to. I might try it again soon if I can figure out why my circulation would cut off without me even being in any pain.

[ShelaVenna]

Noogleberry sells silicone rings as padding. I haven’t tried them, but I tried their foam rings a long time ago and hated them. They lose their shape very quickly and they make it hard to maintain suction. I looked at some more recent reviews, and it seems like the foam rings still suck, but people seem to like the newest version of their silicone rings

[PoisonIvy]

Noogleberry sells silicone rings as padding. I haven’t tried them, but I tried their foam rings a long time ago and hated them. They lose their shape very quickly and they make it hard to maintain suction. I looked at some more recent reviews, and it seems like the foam rings still suck, but people seem to like the newest version of their silicone rings

I feel like the foam rings were such a waste of money. I bought them but actually found it made me struggle with overpumping more (I think it's because it's harder to hold a suction and requires overpumping for some people) and I didn't get as great of a swelling. Used it for the first day or two and then got rid of them.

[ShelaVenna]

I’m not sure if you’re still interested in sleep pumping or not, but I had to tell you about the latest development in my sleep pumping quest. I found a working Brava  Smartbox on Ebay!! Like I said before, most of the old broken boxes for sale don’t sense the vacuum pressure in the domes and cycle on and off like they were designed to do. I found one that the seller claims is fully functional, and they even told me where to find replacement filters and gave me matching tubing for free. Most listings don’t even bother to mention that the pumps need disposable filters that have to be replaced very frequently. If this old pump ends up burning out before I’m even done with at least one treatment cycle, I guess I’ll post that here too. Hopefully this pump will last long enough to be worthwhile. Now I just wish I could find some unused Brava domes, that are in the right size, and don’t cost $400 or more, but that’s even less likely than finding a working smartbox.

[ShelaVenna]

I just found out that the earliest versions of the Brava system used the Carilex VT One Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Unit as a “Smartbox”. Here it is: https://www.carilexmedical.com/cmproducts/detail/8

There are plenty of other brands of negative pressure wound therapy units available on Ebay, but most look very different from the Carilex. I’m sure you can’t just use any random wound pump as a breast pump. You need to find one with similar specs to the Carilex VT One.  I’m not exactly sure yet how to find a similar model. All I can say for now is that anyone looking to DIY a Brava system should look into negative pressure wound therapy

[PoisonIvy]

Good luck! I'm really interested to hear how this goes for you. I've actually struggled to get a constant pressure via a valve to not turn my breast purple and cut off circulation, so I'm not currently looking into it atm, but I might in the future when I'm more experienced.

[ShelaVenna]

I just got my Brava smartbox in the mail a few days ago. I thought the Bosom Beauty cup rings would be a decent replacement for Brava domes, but they’re not. The suction from the smartbox is very gentle. It can’t maintain suction with the foam padding attached. It only works with regular cups if I don’t use any padding at all. I can’t handle using unpadded domes all night long, so the smartbox isn’t worth using until I get some real Brava domes. Maybe the noogleberry silicone rings could work, but they only come in large and extra large, so I can’t even try them. I finally found and ordered some Brava domes for a cheaper price than average, but they haven’t arrived yet.

TL;DR It seems like the Brava domes are necessary for low pressure sleep pumping to work. The domes are much more important than the “box”, but I do like the way the box easily maintains a gentle, even pressure.