A couple tips for consistency in the process-- (FYI, I make mine using 2 silver wires suspended in a beaker.)
1. In order to be consistent in hanging the wires & keeping them from touching the glass or each other, I use a "recycled" plastic lid that fits on the beaker and has 2 holes in it to hold the alligator clips in the same place. A little tape keeps them from moving too. A peice of wood with a couple holes drilled in it "wood" work even better! 2. Also, having the solution tested for ppm is really no big deal at all. Check your yellow pages for environmental labs (the kind that test well water) and ask if they can test for silver content in a distilled water sol. It should only cost about $20 (maybe $10), and it takes a few days to a week depending on their workload. You just need to bring them sample in a light proof bottle or put it in a little box to keep the light out. (label it, date it & time it too.) Or you can send it in the mail to Kimball Laboratories & Consulting (801)571-3695 & they test it for $10. A particle size test can be done by EMS Labs at (818)568-4065 for $200. FYI, I use the same method as Marsha, *except with a 24 volt AC to DC converter rather than 3 nine volt batteries. I process it 60 minutes in 350 cc and it has tested at 8.38 ppm. *There certainly could be a difference in results due to different voltage. Also, I found 30 minutes in 325 cc only yielded 3.03 ppm, so doubling the time does more than double the ppm *in my case*. However, on a chart from Motherlode (a commercial generator), tests & a graph showed their device produced 13.3 ppm in 30 minutes, and 21.7 ppm in 60 minutes, using a quart of water. So theirs actually produced more slowly as time increased. (120 minutes yielded 63.7 ppm.) If anyone really wants to know what their ppm is, they need to test their solution out. You can see from both my & Motherlode's results that we did not get 1 ppm/min. but actually far less. Amt. of electrolyte (saline or other), and as Scott suggested, water temp and perhaps pH can influence this too. (If you change brand of water, pH could matter.) Maybe it would be wise to use a thermometer to check for temp., too, as "room temperature" certainly varies. I'd be leary of heating up a solution to speed up the process. I think anything that speeds up the process is apt to affect particle size; higher ppm in less time is most likely due to larger particles coming into solution. The objective should be to produce a solution with small particles that are most beneficial and more easily absorbed (and eventually eliminated). Sincerely, Nancy ([email protected]) http://www.connix.com/~berntsen/ *****Some Medicine from the "Good Book"****** * * * A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; * * But a broken spirit drieth the bones. * * Proverbs 17:22 * * * * Call unto me, and I will answer thee, * * And shew thee great and mighty things, * * Which thou knowest not. * * Jeremiah 33:3 * *********************************************
