Please read through this blog, then you decide if you should trust my credibility or not. I have nothing to gain or loose either way.....
Experience:
vape Biography:
Testing Methods:
Full Disclosure:
©2017 Mike Petro. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- My name is Mike Petro, I am 59 years young. I smoked for 40years+, the last 10 years I smoked 5-7 large 50 ring gauge cigars a day, and inhaled every last puff. This was my preferred stogie.
- I am a bit of a geek, when I choose a topic/lover/subject/hobby etc I tend to approach it with great passion. "Do it right, or dont do it at all"
- 1978-1984 - US Navy - Aviation Electronics Technician stationed aboard the USS John F Kennedy - VAW-126. They took the black boxes (radios, radars, etc) out of the "E2C Hawkeye" aircraft and sent them to me for repair. Generally considered to be the equivalent of an Associates Degree.
- 1984-1986 - Continued my electronics education through Devry
- 2000 - Was certified as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. (The highest certification available at the time)
Experience:
- 40+ years of electronics repair.
- 30+ were specialized in the field of Instrumentation & Control.
- My specialty being the measurement and control of various process variables such as Level, Flow, Temperature, Pressure, Force, Tensions, Weight, pH, Various Gas Concentrations, Various Chemical Concentrations, etc etc
- Along the way I had to learn a good bit about mechanics, physics, & chemistry, because it is hard to measure and control something you dont understand.
- In the mid 80s I took up computers (the original PC XT) as a hobby. Process control and Instrumentation gradually started becoming computerized. This became a niche career for me as I knew both worlds, which at the time was quite rare.
- Today I am the Department Manager of the IT, HVAC, Electrical, and Instrumentation Departments of a multi billion $ Industrial facility.
vape Biography:
- This was the first one I tried, back around 2009/2010, never did get it to work for more than avoiding tobacco for a few hours. Gave up on it after a week or two. Didnt even know ECF existed, my only information came from magazine ads.
- Then I found this around New Years 2013, havent smoked tobacco since the first time I puffed it. I took one puff and realized that "this" could actually work!
- After that has been a long succession of trying most anything that was getting good reviews. I learned how to make my own juice, I learned how to make my own mods, and really I am satisfied with the mid 2016 tech and havent been searching anymore since. I can build that tech to be stronger than I think i would ever desire, but I can also tone it down to that "just right" for me place.
- Bright and shiny is cool and all, but if I never advanced past where I am at now, I would be perfectly happy.
- I joined ECF shortly after discovering the Ego could actually work. I looked around and ECF seemed to have the most information at the time.
- I quickly got involved in Hosting ECF Co-ops. I had a lot of co-op experience from other hobbies, so I just sort of fell right in here, it came naturally. I filled over 700 orders to ECFers, at cost, helping them get quality gear at truly wholesale prices. Everything from Ekowool, to Vamos, to DNA boards, to full DIY Mod Kits.
- I am #5 on the list of highest # of "Trades" on all of ECF. Not a single issue the whole time. Alas, between the FDA, and tax complications, my days of hosting co-ops here are done. It was a good run while it lasted, a lot of people got some really good gear real cheap.
- I built my first mod here in Nov 2013. "The Weekender". DNA20 Mod
- It was the first of about 150 mods I have built since then.
- All along I have engaged in various "focus groups" exploring new ways to vape, new materials to use, and testing things the best I knew how.
- First and foremost, I have an innovative spirit. I am a "hacker" in the true sense of the term (which used to be a good thing). I have hacked everything from coffee machines to fish tanks, to cars, to home automation, so hacking mods just comes naturally.
- Vaping saved my life, I want to share that with as many as I can.
- I also see a lot of half baked malarkey being thrown around on the forums. People say things with little to no base of fact behind them. Since I have the skillset to do "sound" testing, I like to prove/disprove things where I can. The more FACTS that I know about vaping, the more I can credibly share.
Testing Methods:
- Through my profession I have learned sound & professional methods to test many processes and variables. I apply that knowledge to vaping where I can.
- I own a lot of quality test equipment of my own, and I also have access to an abundance of high quality Industrial test Equipment.
- Any serious test is done utilizing equipment that has been calibrated as being traceable back to the NIST.
- I built this temperature controller. I use it for many things from roasting coffee, to Sous-vide cooking, to measuring precise temps. It consists of a Solo Temperature controller, and in most cases I use a Type K thermocouple for the input.
- Fluke 725 Process Calibrator used to calibrate/certify the AutomationDiirect Solo Temperature Controller
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Full Disclosure:
- I am not affiliated with any company related to vaping whatsoever. Some may call me an Evolv Fanboy because I like (and believe in) Evolv products, but I am not affiliated with them or anybody else beyond being a customer.
- I have NEVER profited off of any sale on ECF, or any other vaping venue. Quite simply, I am not in this for the money. Money can destroy a good passion and I made the conscious decision not to let that happen with vaping.
- In fact, I rarely even ask for donations to cover testing supplies. I have been investing hundreds if not thousands of my own money to perform the various testing I do. The only thing I generally will ask for is hardware pieces that people want tested. I dont mind doing the testing, but I am not going to buy YOUR specific atty just so I can test it for YOU. Now, send me one to test, and all is good.
- I do test Beta Mods for Evolv from time to time to help them find bugs. This is not a paid gig, I do get a mod out of it, but trust me, I pay for that mod with many hours of testing. Beyond this, I do not test for vendors or manufacturers. You will never see me "shilling" for ANYBODY.
©2017 Mike Petro. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
