Steve, presently I am using a 110 VAC with a DC Bridge. The electronic guy that set it up said that the output was 54 VDC. I draw off a very little with a small motor hooked up as a stirrer. What do you think about the # 1N5297 set up with this.
Also how do you know when it has reached the 1.0 ma ? Ed Kasper, Santa Cruz, Ca. -----Original Message----- From: S & J Young [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, December 28, 2002 5:02 PM To: Silver List Subject: CS>Simple Current Limiting CS Generator Fellow CS brewers, Not well known is the fact that for about $5 you can easily convert your constant voltage CS generator (e.g. a three nine-volt battery setup) to one that limits the current to assure small particle production and prevent current "run-away". Thus your unit would then function the same as the better "constant current" commercial units. I will try to describe this in non-technical terms so many can take advantage of this. There is a device called a silicon FET current regulator diode that does the trick. This is really a small integrated circuit, shaped like a small rectifier diode, that limits current flow to a set value. The regulator diodes are small cylinders with about a 1 inch wire coming out of each end of the cylinder. One end of the cylinder is marked with a band around it. The part numbers are the series 1N5283 through 1N5314, with the current limits in the range of 0.22 ma thru 4.7 ma, respectively. Probably the one of most interest to us is the 1N5297 that limits the current to 1.0 ma. One manufacturer is Central Semiconductor Corp. Go to www.centralsemi.com and search for 1N5297 if you want to see the specifications and a drawing of the device. Using them is super simple. For example, for a three nine-volt battery system, just cut the wire between the minus terminal of the battery and the silver electrode. Connect the wire from the battery minus-terminal to the "banded" regulator diode wire. Connect the wire from the silver electrode to the other "non-banded" regulator diode wire. One can use 2 small wire nuts, available at any hardware store, to make the connections, alligator clips, or solder and tape them. Congratulations - you now have a sophisticated constant current CS generator! When brewing a new batch, the current will start out very small as before -- a few microamps--depending on water purity. As silver production proceeds, the current will rise until it reaches the value set into the regulator diode. Then it will stay constant (e.g. at 1.0 ma for a 1N5297) for the remainder of the brew time. It is impossible for the current to "run away" and increase beyond the "set point", even if the electrodes accidently short together. These regulator diodes are rated to a maximum of 100 volts. That means one could use a higher starting voltage (e.g. 54 volts from six nine-volt batteries) and reduce the brew time (it will take less time for the current to reach 1.0 ma). Again, the higher voltage is perfectly safe as the current cannot "run away" because of the current limiting effect of the regulator diode. These devices are not widely used so they are not available from many sources such as Radio Shack. One source that sells them is Mouser Electronics. Go to www.mouser.com and search for the part # 1N5297 and you will see the information. When I checked recently, they had about 1,500 of them in stock for a price of $4.29 each. I suppose they have a minimum order, so it would be a good idea for someone to volunteer to order a batch of them for those that express an interest in a group buy. (I don't have time to do this - sorry). I believe the use of a 1N5297 along with a few nine-volt batteries is by far simplest, goof-proof way to make a constant current CS generator. If you give it a try, please let us know how your results. --Steve Young -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. Instructions for unsubscribing may be found at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]> --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.427 / Virus Database: 240 - Release Date: 12/6/2002 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.427 / Virus Database: 240 - Release Date: 12/6/2002
