Frequently Asked Questions
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Well, most of what you'll "learn" is sales hype or repeated ignorance handed down without context...some is even partly true.
"Technically" an ion is a particle because it has mass and takes up space, but the technicality is often used to mislead.
The silverpups and ALL generators that use electricity and water make ONLY ions and silver ions only come in one size...one atom minus an electron.
Particles form FROM ions later, mostly in the Nernst Diffusion layer at the electrode surface/ water interface and according to environmental conditions such as concentration.
If the concentration is higher than the solubility limits of silver ions in water,the ion is forced to combine with something to make a particle.
Only those ions that find an electron become "silver" particles. Electrons can be picked up at the air/electrode interface and from glass acting as a capacitor/ [very inefficient] solar cell collecting electro-magnetic radiation. There are no "free"electrons in a liquid. only electron imbalances as ions and anions.
Some of the hydroxyl anions OH[-] will combine with silver ions to form a silver hydroxide particle or with dissolved oxygen, to form silver oxide....both, byproducts of electrolysis,
Hydroxyl rich water is also known as "alkaline water"
If the current is kept low, the oxides and most of the hydroxides form and stay on the electrodes where the SWAP current reversal phase re-converts most of it back to ionic silver.
The more particles in a given volume, the higher the odds of them growing bigger and they don't come in one size, but ranges of sizes with the vast majority of the silver still as ions.
Current control controls current density on the electrodes and keeps that concentration down in the diffusion layer so fewer and smaller particles tend to form, but the water itself plays a role too and water is highly variable.
Particle Size
The machine itself...doesn't make "particles"...at all.
No generator that uses electricity and water makes "particles" AT ALL.
They make ions and nothing BUT ions and silver ions only come in one size or they aren't silver. No "particle" of silver can possibly be smaller.
A silver ion, by definition: A single atom minus an electron at 0.000252 microns diameter
0.000252 microns = 0.252 nanometers
If anyone answers your question " What size are the particles this machine makes? " with a number, they are either liars or suffer from ignorance.
With 85% to 97% of the silver being ionic, smaller than a single atom by definition and nothing smaller possible, does it really matter?
Particles bigger than around a couple of microns settle out, by definition, not "colloidal".
Leave those on the bottom.
The formation of particles *out of ions* happens within the environment which includes many variables.
The variables that the SilverPuppy machines CAN control are controlled, but there are many it can't.
Further, particles form in size ranges with a distribution of many sizes, so one figure just isn't going to describe anything *real*.
When you hear people say their machine makes any given size of particle, it's a particle that was made out of an ion [ie: silver oxide ] while processing the sample for testing and that particle was never in the water...nor was it made by the generator.
NO CS generator that uses electricty and water makes particles AT ALL. They emit ON LY ions [Ag+] and anions [OH-] "Particles" form after the ions and anions are emitted and come in *ranges of sizes* according to water conditions. Barring reactions with water contaminants, particles will consist of Silver Hydroxide [AgOH], Silver Oxide [AgO] and pure metallic silver [Ag]
In order for a silver ion to convert into pure metallic silver, it must pick up a free electron, but there are no free electrons in water....therefore there are two places that can happen.
One is the surface of the container where glass can act as a capacitor and the componants of the glass [which is mostly silicon ] can act as a lousy solar panel to deposit electrons gathered from external electromagnetic radiation onto the 'capacitor' for passing ions to pick up.
The other is the electrode to water surface interface where electrons are flowing along the surface of the metal but not engaged in electro-chemical electron transport ie "Ion exchange" mechanisms [which is the only way electricity can travel through water]
The Scanning Electron Microscope can only see dried samples. If you dry ionic CS it oxidizes into silver oxide..so what the microscope sees is particles of silver oxide formed from individual ions and bears no relationship what-so-ever to the colloidal particle of pure silver they claim are there.
Those particles depicted were NEVER IN THE WATER. [makes the 'incredible' small numbers jump out nicely though]
Recent tests with more modern equipment [Malvern particle sizer] is much more accurate. Particle Size report PDF
Parts Per Million. [one part silver to one million parts water] [micrograms of silver per cubic centimeter of water by molecular weight] PPM has nothing to do with particle size.
PPM is measured by comparative weight. There are instruments available that measure Total Dissolved Solids via a conductivity reference but the calibration is for a solution for various minerals and salts dissolved in water, NOT a suspension of pure metal such as colloidal silver. The readings will be a relative indicator of concentration but will not reflect the actual PPM or total silver content. Meters do not register the colloidal 'suspended' portion you can see with a laser...only the ionic 'dissolved' portion and then only as a unit of conductivity..not PPM
The more pronounced the 'TE' [Tyndal Effect] , the higher the ratio of particles to ions.
[TDS meters measure microsiemens like all other meters [an electrical conductance unit] and use an industry standard fudge factor for salt water. [Actually 3 standards depending on what salt]
Many of my experiments at higher current produced a yellow product or an clear product that turned yellow after a few hours. [Agglomeration or crystalization] I stored it alongside clear samples for several months and found that the yellow had deposited on the glass of the container leaving the suspension clear. [Photo]
Color is an indication of particle size. The smallest particle has no color. The next size range up shows a yellow color, then violet, reddish and then greenish.
This correlation of color to particle size may not 'always' be 'entirely' true
The yellow color can also be a large amount of silver oxide particles suspended in the water as a *pigment* which eventually stick to the glass and also act as a nucleus for a crystal to form around [agglomeration]
A few drops of Hydrogen Peroxide will break these structures apart again by dissolving the oxide nucleus and/or quickly remove colored deposits.
Some "High voltage" [HVAC] people claim that distilled water will not conduct electricity and think they must use high voltage [up to 20,000 volts] to 'jump the gap'. Some low voltage people think that adding an electrolyte such as salt is necessary. Theoretically, they are correct. In actuality, they are not.
Note that one or two HVAC generators use an entirely different setup where a arc is produced, not in the water, but above it. [Electrosputtering?] I hear that process makes a fine CS if an inert gas blanket is used to prevent the formation of silver nitrates but the generator is very expensive and could be deadly to operate. [No one sells those to the public..too dangerous]
Controlling the current is done by automatically dropping voltage as the conductivity of the water goes up with the additon of ionic componants.
Current controls ion emission rate [Voltage controls ion velocity through the water ]
At the surface of the electrodes there is the "Nernst Diffusion Layer" which if overloaded with too high an emission rate, creates a high concentration zone where particles will form in the over saturated zone.
Keeping the "current density" of the electrodes down by tailoring current to electrode surface area, helps prevent oversaturation, reducing the size of the particles that do form and reducing the number of particles that form... there.
Low voltage, low amperage works. Even my engineer was surprised.
As the ions enter the water, the conductivity of the water is increased. That means that less voltage is required to bridge the gap at the controlled constant current. If the current is constantly keyed to conductivity, as the conductivity increases, the voltage drops to keep the current constant. I designed my unit to monitor this voltage drop and shut itself off when it reached the point experimentation and lab tests showed to be the most stable at the highest concentration.
If the current is not controlled, the lower the resistance in the water [ie higher conductivity], the higher the current goes. You get an upward spiral where the process accelerates out of control until the current maxes out and the voltage just stays at the maximum that the power supply will deliver. Some unregulated units will actually burn out if left unattended..and make a mess. I have seen these unregulated units for sale as low as $19.95. That's about what they're worth. I've also seen them sell for $150...and more.
They consist of 3 nine volt batteries in series to deliver 27 volts..all the time. Most, but not all, have a resistor or small light bulb that 'limits' current to a set maximum ,so, to be fair, most do have 'some' sort of limit so they won't just heat up, boil water and burn out. I highly doubt that they will produce a uniform particle size. By all indications, the particle size will start out being small and continue to grow. None of this type will produce a clear CS beyond around 5 or 10 PPM and most won't even do that.
You 'can' make decent CS with those generators, if you have time to watch it really close and hook up some manual controls and monitering instruments.
This happens sometimes. There's nothing wrong with the generator. If the water is extremely pure, the generator won't pull up to the set current at first and will [sorta] run away till it reaches the set current control point. The LED will be very dim and gradually brighten to normal.
Since 'runaway' progresses very slow at first, then faster and faster...it can take literally hours just to get things started. The only electrical way out of that is to raise the initial voltage...but..no DC componants are available that will handle more than the voltage I'm already using.
The other way out of that is to increase the initial conductivity of the water by adding some of a previous batch of colloidal silver. If this is the first batch...don't worry, just wait.
Short the electrodes together with some metallic object in a dim room to get an idea of how bright the LED should be. If the LED is dimmer than that when the electrodes are placed in the water, the water is pure enough. If the LED is nearly invisible..the water is EXTREMLY pure and it could take quite a while for things to get started.
If the generator shuts down well before it should or the LED brightens up to full when the electrodes are only a little bit submerged, the water is not pure enough.
Well, you can...but you don't need to. The generators "Auto Off' works just like a meter. It shuts things down at a very exact point. After that point [with the series 2 generators only] you can bypass the off and continue on in an accurate fashion by timing the batch. The 'auto off' gives you an accurate start point for timing.
Timing alone from the start will not work due to the accelerating "Ramp up" of current to the controlled setting and because you don't know where you started so far as PPM is concerned. After the generator shuts off, you know where you are 'as if' you had used a meter to determine that.
Once the current controls kick in, PPM production is strictly linear and predictable because ion production is a function of current and electrode surface area. The electrode surface area changes little [as long as it's still all there], the current...not at all.
Note that heavy deposits on the electrodes can 'fool' the circuitry and prevent timely shut down. Wipe them off if they form.
Yes, the LED being dim is normal. All the current goes through the LED as it's in series with the output. That way, if the LED is lit at all, you know for sure that something is actually conducting through the water. But the low 1 milliamp current doesn't light up an LED very much because they are made to handle up to 20 milliamps. If the water is very pure, the LED may be quite dim for several minutes...even many minutes.
NO NO NO NO many times NO SALT..BAD idea!
In fact, it will not even work if you use salt. You MUST use the purest distilled water [look for sodium free on the label as well..but most distilled water is sodium free anyway] or the PPM/voltage reference circuitry will detect contaminants such as minerals [including salt] as silver and shut itself down.
Well water, spring water, reverse osmosis water, charcoal filtered water, city water, no matter how well filtered, probably won't work at all.
Home distilled water is touchy. Everything must be absolutely clean and the water cannot be run through charcoal afterwards. [Some steam distillers do that to enhance flavor] Double distill and don't let the distiller run dry. If it has a slow setting, use it.
Most distilled water is 'ozonated', hence, there is bound to be a great deal of dissolved oxygen in the water. This oxygen can combine with pure silver ions , producing excessive silver oxides and can sometimes turn the colloidal silver suspension yellow. Even using 'regular' distilled water yields better results if it has been stored loosely capped for a while or preheated and cooled to room temp [or at least under 110deg f]. This allows dissolved oxygen to escape.
The only legitimate way to increase the initial conductivity of the water to decrease the run time is to 'seed' it with a little colloidal silver from a previous run.
No. The referencing circuitry has detected impurities in your water and the voltage has decreased to the referenced shut down point. It was fooled into thinking it was done. USE ONLY THE FINEST PUREST DISTILLED WATER!
I am suspicious about all the fabulous claims that people make about Colloidal Silver. The sole reason I embarked on this project is that I saw I could make something much better for a lot less.
I recently tore a one inch circle of skin off my hand. I mean "OFF" This usually results in a long term scab, oozing pus and at least a little skin loss even if Neosporin is used. I picked the hunk of me off the dirty shop floor, sprayed it and the hole off with CS and smeared it back on, then covered it with a paper towel soaked in CS until it stopped bleeding. In only 4 days, it was completely healed with no scabbing. Only a slight reddish spot remained on the 5th day. By the 7th day, no sign of injury! [I might have a few freckles on upside down though.]
My skeptical sisters years long stomach troubles have vanished, a friend of the family amazed his doctor when his chonic and untreatable lung infection cleared up after inhaling colloidal silver water mist a few times a day for a few days. I now have zero plaque and tarter on my teeth and the dentist is amazed every time he sees me. I cleared up a sty in my eye in only 2 days. I freind of mine STOPPED an active cavity. [...a BIG one and nothing left in the cavern but clean healthy bone! Blew his dentists mind!]
On and on......
Several amazing reports have come in.
I don't credit the hucksters on either side [pro or con] for doodley squat, but my own experience says this just might be the real thing. The catch 22 is..how do I know if Colloidal Silver has "cured" anything if I never get sick?
Well, my dentist is going broke. He told me he expected the multitude of old fillings to be a disaster area, but has yet to find a new cavity or any plaque at all! He asked what I was doing differently. I told him that I swish colloidal silver around in my mouth for several minutes after brushing and let it trickle down slowly. [As of 1/01 ..still no cavities or plaque... All the "watch spots" remain on watch]
Update 8/02...one watch spot finally needed filling [maybe] and another got a filling just because he was there now..a.very small filling on "GP" [general principle] ..or maybe he needed to make a mortgage payment on his new building. [whatever]
Update 04..still nothing happening....06, still nothing.
The set of electrodes that comes with the kit should last for a long long time. For personal use, I wouldn't be surprised if they lasted five years or more. They're are beefy.
Even 50 PPM is well below the EPAs max figures for silver ingestion safety at any reasonable amount of CS water. There have been toxicity tests where scientist actually killed dogs with silver but it took about enough injected silver over a short period of time in various compounds [not even colloidal silver] to make a small bullet. They could have shot the dogs a lot faster. [They were trying to kill the dogs, not heal them. Even at that, they had to try really hard]
I've been getting very good results by placing warm water on a crystal illuminator [a small 7 watt light in a base that illuminates crystals from the bottom]. Not only does it look really cool and make everything visible in process, it also induces a very gentle thermal convection current that's enough to disperse the ion cloud and interrupt current pathways but not enough to disturb the oxides.
A laser pointer or strong flashlight allows for seeing the ion clouds forming as well.
The socket area is separate from the component section. Getting water on any components will not hurt them but the generator shouldn't be run until it has dried thoroughly. If you have accidentally dumped the generator over and suspect that colloidal silver water has gotten into either the component area or the socket area, rinse the silver water out with pure distilled water and allow to dry. Both areas are purposefully open but seperate to allow for drying and air circulation. When you pull the cap out of the water, lay it on it's side so that colloidal silver water doesn't run down the electrodes and get in the sockets. Better yet, remove and clean the electrodes before turning the cap in any direction.
This was especially important with the model that used the motorized [top down] stirrer. [no longer available for that reason].
The newer "Mag Stir" [bottom up] stirrers don't have water exposure problems at all.
Take them out of the sockets and wipe them off with a piece of denim or a paper towel. Don't worry if they don't shine like new. That's normal. In fact, blackened pitted electrodes seem to develop fewer deposits and the pitting increases surface area as the electrode decreases in diameter as it gets used up.
The electrodes are easily interchangeable.
That is pure silver that was captured on the surface of hydrogen bubbles. It can build up enough to make a bubble cluster that gives the appearance of "furry fuzz". Both bubbles and water have a surface tension...an air to gas interface. When you remove the electrodes from the water, some of the silver will transfer from the bubble surface to the water surface as the bubble pops. This can either be filtered out or scooped off with a plastic spoon. The "floater" is extremely thin and contains very little silver. It looks a lot worse than it is.
Removing the cap very slowly in a verticle fashion while the unit is 'on' helps limit the transfer.
No..well maybe some silver plateout that fell off an electrode.. Mostly, it's dust, pollen, fiber particles or possibly chucks of silver oxide that got washed off the blackened electrode somehow and hydrogen bubble/silver "structures" that vanish in a few days The air is full of particulate matter. Check your local sunbeam. Wiping anything leaves fibers etc. behind.
Filtering removes it pretty well. Or, let it settle and 'decant', leaving the stuff in the bottom. [That's what works the best]
It's harmless anyhow.
A coffee filter is sufficient. Rinse it with distilled water before using in order to remove any chemicals that might be in it.