There are 2 main problems with making CS. The first is that, since you are using distilled water, the conduction starts out very slowly. The second is that, once the process gets going pretty well, the conduction increases dramatically in a non-linear fashion (runs away).
The remedy in the first case (at the start of the process) is to use relatively high voltage in order to increase the initial current flow. For some reason, many people feel that 30 VDC is the optimal voltage level for this. You also don't have any real danger of electric shock at this level. Using high voltage to start the process reduces the time it takes for the current to reach the optimal level. The optimal value for current level (by general consensus) is 1 milliamp, or less, for each square inch of electrode area. I seem to remember that about 4 to 5 inches of 12 gage wire will be approximately 1 square inch in surface area. This is about what you have. Therefore you should shoot for 1 milliamp, or less, for the maximum current. The remedy for the second case above (current increasing dramatically in a non-linear fashion) is to use some method to limit the current. So, as the current rapidly approaches the maximum limit thanks to the higher initial voltage, the voltage will have to be reduced so that the current remains at the optimal value (1ma). Once this point is reached, one can calculate the rate (over a period of time) of silver going into the solution with some degree of confidence. There are several ways to do this. One is to put a current limiter circuit in series with one of the leads. An LM334 device (TO92 case style) with a 70 ohm resistor connected from pin 2 to 3, (pin 1 to the plus voltage and pin 3 to the [+] silver electrode) will regulate the current at 1 ma. Another way is to put a resistor in series with one lead to reduce the voltage. As the current increases, the voltage drop across the resistor will increase leaving less voltage across the water (E=I*R). Therefore the current won't be forced to increase to the same level as it would have if the whole voltage continued to appear across the water... For a cheap and dirty calculation, I would say about 5K ohms for a 10 volt source. You can leave the resistor out of the circuit until the current has increased to the 1 ma level, then clip it in series with one lead. You should at least invest in a cheap voltmeter. Preferably one that has the capability to measure current in milliamps as well. You can also measure the volts dropped across a known value series resistor and calculate the current using Ohm's law. I=E/R , Current equals Voltage divided by Resistance. Therefore, 1 volt dropped across a 1K ohm series resistor will equal 1 milliamp. In lieu of any of this, using your setup, run for 30 minutes to one hour in one to two cups of distilled water until you see some fuzzy buildup on the electrodes. Remove the electrodes and wipe them off with a clean paper towel without contaminating them with finger oils etc. Put them back in the solution and run for the same general amount of time until you get the buildup again. Clean the electrodes and enjoy your CS... Dan Re: CS>voltage From: Debbie Cozens (view other messages by this author) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 13:05:13 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My generater is home made. Ive used a 12 volt transformer. and ive made a plastic box . Ive got two banana clips inserted in the top of the box holding a piece of .9999 silver rod each...the positive banana clip is joined to a bulb and then back to the positive banana clip. I dont have a stirrer and was told to do the stiring with a spoon. Im not that clued up with all this and wish i was. My silver rods are about 2.5 mm thick and 10cm long. The amount of water i used was 300ml..in a jar...it was tap water as this was an experiment for the first time..but the next will be distilled water. How do i get current limiting??? Hope you can help. Debbie Dan Nave wrote: Offhand, I would say that you did not use distilled water, or you added an electrolyte to the water... Or, you had a very small volume of water and the process "ran away" at a certain point since you did not have current limiting... Please give all the conditions of your setup including type and amount of water. CS>voltage From: Debbie Cozens (view other messages by this author) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 04:05:43 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello. i am new here and new to making CS. I am having a difficult understanding of the voltage and time needed to make a great batch od CS. I have a 12 volt trasformer...distilled water and i left my transformer 'on' with 12 volts pumping through for 4 hours...my one silver rod was visibly thinner and! the water was quite brown/black with silver particles at the bottom..what did i do wrong? Debbie cozens -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. 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