Ken, Here's something to try. Take one 9V battery, put a 22k resistor in series with one lead, and connect it to your rods. You should have about 4 inches of wetted length, and the glass should be the same length as the leads or 1/2 to 1 inch longer. If the glass is a bit short, bend the ends of the leads into a small "J" so the ends clear the glass. The actual clearance is not critical.
Measure the initial voltage across the cell when the power is first applied. Ideally you should measure from 2.5 to 3.5 volts, which indicates the purity of the distilled water. If you measure a much lower voltage, get better water. If it is much higher, the water is actually quite pure but it may take a long time to climb up the exponential curve and start making cs. The voltage may increase but it should start decreasing after it reaches a peak. Wait 5 to 8 hours or until you see a grey mist, or when black specs fall off the electrode when you shake the glass. It's done. The black specs are silver oxide and are perfectly harmless to drink. Some people want to filter them, but the filter paper may be bleached and tend to convert the silver ions to silver chloride. I wouldn't bother. Pour 1 inch of the solution into a small glass. Add a few grains of salt. In a few minutes, you should see a nice blue/grey dispersion. It should be unmistakable - you shouldn't have to hunt for it. Congratulations - you have just made some pretty good colloidal silver. And it won't turn yellow and plate out on you. But it sure will kill bugs! Best Regards, Mike Monett -- 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]>
