Please note that the safety of ingesting colloidal silver is not proven, so I do not advise making it to drink. It may have other uses for its antibacterial properties. My own experimentation with it was mainly for the novelty of diffusing metal into liquid electrically.
A friend sent this to me for repair. It has a few design issues that I fixed.
I also make a simple, but distinctly unsafe looking prototype of a mains voltage unit that can impart nasty (but very low current) shocks from its electrodes.
Note that my mains voltage unit was an experiment. If you emulate it, the resistors must be the correct value (triple check!), good quality and there must be several in series as they are a safety critical component. Hot melt glue and heatshrink is not an acceptable approach for a commercial product. It may well be functional, but the appearance won't do you any favours if there is an incident.
For those not familiar with colloidal silver - it's one of those "Internet things" that are quite controversial.
You make it by passing a low current between two pure silver electrodes in distilled water, and as a result a fine diffusion of silver particles form in the liquid. There are definite uses for colloidal silver, but its credibility takes a major hit when the quacks get involved. Claims are made that it cures everything, with the more delusional preachers actively putting people's lives at risk by implying it is an alternative to other proven treatments.
There's a wide range of opinion on the purity of water used and whether there should be any additives. Ideally the water should be very clean distilled water, as impurities can result in the silver bonding to other elements and making random silver salts. The downside of pure distilled water is that it has a very high resistance, resulting in the need for a modest voltage to result in current flow. As the water becomes silver enriched it also becomes progressively more conductive.
The concentration is usually measured by a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter which indicates parts per million based on water conductivity between two electrodes.
Using ordinary tap water or accelerating the process with salts results in a complex silver cocktail that may have some uses. People who consume huge quantities of colloidal silver have developed a condition called Argyria where their skin takes on a grey colour due to the presence of silver compounds in it.
Another area of controversy is the current and voltage involved. That opens up a whole other area of quackery with sellers claiming that they use special frequencies or high voltage, or AC versus DC to make a better colloidal silver solution. Others suggest that turbulence results in smaller particles of silver being encouraged from the electrodes as they detach.
The silver electrodes are usually made of pure ".999" (99.9% pure) silver wire. This is available from bullion merchants and jewellery supply companies. Standard Sterling silver used in jewellery is usually an alloy with 92.5% silver and other elements like copper to make it more workable. When buying the .999 fine silver wire you can choose the diameter (usually 2mm to 3mm for electrodes) and the length. It gets cut, coiled and then weighed to determine the price. Because it's an "investment" metal the price fluctuates wildly with global austerity.
If you've made colloidal silver in the past, let me know what sort of setup you used and what your thoughts are on its safety.
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12 thoughts on “Fixing a colloidal silver unit and making a slightly dangerous one.”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Angry Irishman says:

    For penicillin, colloidal silver was the number one antibiotic in the world. it was used for all different treatments Kala silver is easy to make. You can make it with two wires and 5 – 9V batteries.. it is great for your health.

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Angry Irishman says:

    You turned BLUE because you are in Glasgow! I need to stop by there next year and visit a few family graves.

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Joe Mason says:

    I use a 15kv 45mA nst to make silver Clive

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars John says:

    Huh?

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Kennet Rautio says:

    Mmh damn really good buyers trick! Make good money on bullshit ion silver popper & poppy want to drink 😂🎉

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars alan brown says:

    Would you be willing to sell me some of them silver rods . Cheers.

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Felicity Chevalier says:

    is this what the dr. manhattan actor did to get into the role? he did a good job
    also, 50 quid? these people are really getting scammed, jeez

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars 7Ann7 Seven says:

    Use only purest silver sticks you can get.
    Use only Distilled water.
    Keep the Colloidal Silver water out of light of any kind.
    Scrape off the black stuff from the Silver Sticks and save that black stuff and put some in Aloe Vera gel . It makes a wonderful skin salve to put onto a fresh cut to keep infection away.
    I also keep a tiny blue spray bottle of it inside my purse so I can spray it into an opening to kill infection right away. Getting a cough?
    I take a deep breath while I am inhaling the spray from my tiny bottle, of course I will cough a little bit, but I do it 4 times or so . Voila !!
    Kills the bad germ in my lungs trying to start an infection. Spray a bit up your nostrils too as you inhale and it's been keeping my nose from getting an infection too and sinuses.
    I keep a tiny squeeze bottle of it in my purse. I am a clod, so I am always bumping my forearms and getting a tiny cut and when I am out and about it's easy to get an infection. I keep Q0tips in the bag too to dab into my eye if I feel it is itchy. It won't hurt your good bacteria only the bad stuff. You don't need much so don't overdue it.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Brusselpicker says:

    Smurf making machine. Nice.

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Shazroh73 says:

    It makes a great mouth wash before bed time. No more stinky morning breath and prevents cavities.

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Forester Forester says:

    That box is rubbish, it is only a $2 DC/DC converter from China. For proper operation, it should be done every few minutes to change polarity, so as to not get dirt. 150-ohm resistor is also wrong.

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Futt.Buckerson says:

    I used to make CS w/ a friend. IIRC, the blue-ness only happens when salts form in impure water. If that's true, I see no real issue apart from gut flora. But taking hits off an ultrasonic humidifier could be helpful in some situations.

    One issue we ran into was "fuzz" building up on the anode. So, we built a switching generator that switched the anode/cathode every couple of minutes.

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