Suggestions for Making your own Colloidal Silver Generator and Colloidal Silver Solution

Introduction:  Colloidal Silver References The following info is for your own study; use this info at your own discretion. I do not endorse, sell or prescribe colloidal silver, but provide this info for you to use as a springboard into your own study of colloidal silver. There is potential risk for developing permanent argyria (blue or grey staining of skin) with internal use, although I have been unable to verify this myself through a review of current literature regarding present day pure electro-colloidal silver made without use of salt or saline. This particle is reported to be a smaller particle size than that of the silver compounds and salts that have been known to cause this condition. By definition, colloids are very small particles able to be held in suspension by their electrical charge. Salts prefer to spread evenly through a liquid, and elemental silver (as in silver proteins) tends to sink rather than stay in solution.

NEW LINK:

Please check this interesting link regarding what the FDA apparently* has disclosed to Brent Finnigan LMP, Tacoma, WA 98408 regarding argyria and safety of electro-colloidal silver: http://www.colloidalsilvergens.com/colloidal_silver_safety_information.htm .

*I have not verified the information at this webpage for accuracy. Judge for yourself, ask Brent Finnigan or write the FDA yourself with the same questions if you wish! If you do, I'd like to hear from you what you find out!                  Nancy -  

Web references for colloidal silver (mostly non-ads, non-MLM). Note: some address the silver compounds or salts, or an unidentified product as in the case with the woman who turned blue from taking a product OVER 40 YEARS AGO. Yet that is her only symptom, a cosmetic one, and the only one claimed by the FDA according to this posting. I have my doubts that that was a small particle solution, too.

http://www.cassia.org/index.html

http://www.tomifobia.com/previous/rosemary.html (a personal account of argyria due to use of silver salts (NOT electro-colloidal silver)

Robert Beck, re: page on CS: http://www.portal.ca:80/~gekko/silverzap/

Rife index: http://www.eskimo.com/~ghawk/rife/ (not sure if this is accessible anymore; you can search for silver.)

Also, try joining silver-list-request@eskimo.com (type "subscribe" in the subject data block). You can post questions there, and other silver users will respond.

Also, excerpts and ordering info from Baranowski's booklet, "Colloidal Silver, the antibiotic Alternative" can be found at: http://www.elixa.com/silver/zanesize.htm. This reference has many studies & reports, old & new re: colloidal and non colloidal silver and info on manufacturing, recommendations for use, etc.

Overview on making a colloidal silver: (Other methods are cited below under "Alternate CS Generator Plans")

Below is an attachment from with instructions for making a colloidal silver generator. My husband used these instructions with one modification: he used a 24 volt ac-dc generator so we would be assured of a steady supply of electricity. Also, when I generate silver, the light bulb does not visibly light; if it did, it would mean too much electrolyte or bridging (full current flow due to visible particulate bridging) or your wires are touching each other. (Updated 5/2003:) The light bulb is a "nice idea" but an unnecessary as far as monitoring production of CS. You can see if you are making CS if there are bubbles coming off the silver wire. However, the lightbulb serves a very useful and necessary purpose as a current limiter from an electical standpoint. Thanks to Geoff C. for the following clarification:

As a man who spent 46 years in electronics, I assure you that you do need a current limiter ( lamp/resister ) in series with your generator. If you do not, if/when your silver wires short circuit you will either short circuit your ac/dc power supply or battery, which ever you are using, this is bad.

Also, I ran 3 tests at an environmental lab at $21 each to arrive at a known, practical ppm (particles silver per million solution). The notion that 1 minute processing = 1 ppm is totally off at least with my system. I got 0.012 ppm with a 5 minute process, 3.03 ppm in 300 ml distilled water with a 30 minute process, and 8.38 ppm with an hour process with 350 ml distilled water (stopping 2 or 3 times to wipe the wires of excess silver oxide). I kept the wires about 1 cm- 1/2" apart at all times to come up with this ppm.  I also used a drop of a solution of 1/8 tsp. baking soda in 8 oz. distilled water as an electrolyte to start the transfer of silver into the solution.  This is not necessary; you can use "none" (actually using the minute particles present in the distilled water) or you can add a little previously made silver solution to get it going (about 25 ml), but the processing time will vary and you should test for ppm whenever you change the procedure.  It takes about 4-6 minutes or longer to see the tiny bubbles coming off. It helps if you put a dark paper behind the beaker to see these tiny bubbles & particles coming off.

Note:  the temperature of the water also affects processing time.  Anytime you introduce a variable, you should test for results.  Some people preheat the water for a faster process and heat or maintain the temperature by using a cup warmer or other source of constant heat.  This can enhance production of golden CS as opposed to nearly colorless CS. But it may also increase your production of silver oxide (oxidized silver, not colloidal silver that you want). You decide what you want-- golden CS with silver oxide or pale to colorless CS with little silver oxide. I'd opt for the latter.

Initially, I had taken 3 TBS of 8.38 ppm twice daily (on an empty stomach) for my LD treatment, and 2 tsp. to 1 TBS daily as a maintenance dose.  Some recommend that you drink additional water too, to dilute it, but others say wait an hour so it doesn't all dump into the GI tract.  I have since increased my "therapeutic" dosage based on recommendations found at Lyme Disease and AIDS Treatment Protocol. (Added 10/02) I adapted the numbers to my ppm but also took into consideration that colloidal silver may be absorbed better than silver protein so less may be needed.

I always filter my low voltage colloidal silver with a coffee filter at the end of the process. I use a plastic lid with 2 slits in it to keep the silver wires in place over the beaker but some people simply bend them over the edge of the glass or beaker and tape the clamps/wires on the outside to hold them in place.

Enclosed are the directions my husband used to make my generator. I got them from a woman (Marsha) who posted her story on news:sci.med.diseases.lyme in November, '96.  The only modification we made was that he used a 24 volt AC-DC converter he had hanging around so that the rate of electricity would be consistent (no dying batteries).

I no longer use or condone using a granule of sea salt with the 250 cc distilled water, and processing for 30 minutes has yielded 3ppm, so the "rule" 1 ppm/minute is not true for me. I strongly advise against use of salt in producing CS. If you want to get your first batch quicker, add some pre-existing CS (say, an ounce) to speed it up. Or make your own starter using just a smidgen of pure baking soda, not salt. Use it only once, save an ounce for "starter" and discard the rest of the CS. Then use that ounce in your next batch of CS. Don't add any soda hereafter; just save an ounce for starter.

A word of caution! Long term use of colloidal silver made with salt (or saline) has been associated with argyria in at least one case reported to me by the victim herself. Since it causes formation of large particles of  silver chloride, this silver salt is the likely culprit of argyria when consumed in large quantities over a long period of time (reportedly a 1-2 glassfuls a day for six years). So do NOT routinely use salt with your low-voltage (battery or AC to DC) generator to prevent formation of this undesirable silver salt or it's ingestion. And in my opinion, even one glassful (8 oz.) daily for an extended period of time is far excessive intake.

I would highly recommend that you test your solution at an environmental lab (look up testing laboratories in the yellow pages.) The test costs only about $10-20, and it is worth it to know just what you are producing and how concentrated. If it turns out you make a rather strong solution, cut back on the time or dilute it with distilled water when you are done to get the desired ppm. From my reading, most people prefer a ppm within the range of 3 to 20. Higher ppm is not necessarily more effective. I also filter my solution in with a coffee filter to strain out any sediments (black flakes of silver oxide). 
 

Testing your Colloidal Silver Solution The ppm (particles per million) test is rather inexpensive; you may want to submit a couple different samples processed at different lengths or heated up vs. room temp. for comparison.  Here's a lab that will test for PPM  for apparently only $10/sample (1996):  Kimball Laboratories and Consulting, (801) 571-3695.

Before submitting your solution, you may want to produce a quart or gallon's worth so that you get the results for a large, averaged out quantity rather than test individual batches, especially if you are testing for particle size.  To test for particle size, you can call  EMS labs at (818) 568-4065.

 

Here's a site that has reference to a good booklet on C.S. online; http://www.elixa.com/silver/zanesize.htm.

Here's also a more polished source of info on CS making: http://www.portal.ca:80/~gekko/silverzap/

Of course, you don't have to purchase their machine to make your own CS if you can make your own generator.  I checked this site out; it is a sub-page from a CS generator distributor. It contains quotes from his book, and you can order it from them or perhaps get it at a nature foods store as I did.

There's no need to spend $100 or more on a device; mine almost looks like the one on the homepage referenced on that site above. The only difference is that my wire leads are not rigidly fixed to the box; I punched holes in a plastic lid to keep them in place(with tape too,) over my beaker.  You can get as "fancy" as you like, but the mechanism will work the same way regardless of the casing.

Nancy

Where to get Pure Silver wire (.999) 

One  supplier for the silver is:  Hauser and Miller Co. 10950 Lin Valle Drive, St. Louis, MO 63123, 800-462-7447. You`ll need 10 inches of .999 fine 14 gauge silver wire. They sell by the ounce; we bought 1.05 oz. for $16.50. That was enough to make 5-6 generators. (You may just want to make more for family or ill friends. The silver kills other bacteria, not just Lyme, and perhaps viruses too.) 
  *Here's some links for suppliers of silver for your convenience:

http://www.gilanet.com/fasterhorses/y2k/collsilvermaker.html#wire

http://www.aa-micro.com/rods.html

http://www.csprosystems.com/order.htm

Directions for Making Your own CS Generator:
These instructions are unedited as received from Marsha except as noted in crossed out text for my de-emphasis and [brackets] as a means of updating the content to reflect current thought and trends in design .  My other comments follow. Marsha conveyed these directions to me, but the original author is unknown.

 

How to make your own Silver Colloid Generator 

While it has been discovered that 30 volts is the ideal for Silver Colloid production, 27 volts is very effective and happens to be the convenient result of wiring three 9-volt batteries together. Therefore, you'll need three 9-volt transistor radio batteries, three battery snap-on lead connectors, 2 insulated alligator clips, 1 24 volt 40 mA sub miniature incandescent bulb (28 volt 40 mA will also do fine), a foot of 3/32" heat shrink insulation tubing, a foot of 2-conductor stranded insulated zipper wire for clip-leads, a small box to put it all in, and 10" of pure silver wire (.999 fine). This should cost under $30.00 for everything. Assuming some skill with a soldering iron, you should spend about thirty minutes constructing the generator. 

Solder your three snap-on battery clips in series (red to black) to provide 27 volts. Connect a 24V incandescent lamp in series with either positive or negative output lead.[The bulb is an unnecessary accessory.] Solder the red insulated alligator clip to the positive (anode) and the black insulated clip to the negative (cathode) 2 conductor lead wires. Insulation is shrunk over soldered connections using a heat gun or hair dryer. 

Cut your 10" of silver wire in half. Bend top ends of your two 5" silver electrode wires so they can clip over the top rim of a plastic or glass cup (not metal). About 4" of each wire should be submerged. WARNING! Use ONLY pure silver (.999 fine) electrodes. #14 gauge is the preferred thickness. Pure silver is sometimes available at electroplating supply companies. Or, inquire at a jewelry store specializing in silver about who their wholesale supplier is. Do not confuse sterling silver (.9275) with pure silver since sterling also contains other metals. With this in mind, you may want to have a chemical analysis (assay) of your purchased silver in addition to the written word of your supplier. 

[(UPDATED 01/24/2001*) If the Silver Colloid is to be ingested or injected, be sure to use distilled water. Tap water is fine for other uses, such as for a topical spray or for plants. *OPTIONAL: Also, before beginning to make your Colloidal Silver for the first time, you may make a saline solution for enhancing conductivity. Recommended: Once you have a batch of colloidal silver (made with or without addition of saline), use a little of that batch as "starter" for the next and so on rather than continuing to use salt to start the conductivity. Better yet, don't use any salt. Just use a pinch of baking soda for your first batch.] If you are using filtered spring water, no saline solution will be needed as spring water already has a natural saline content. If the saline content of the water is too high, black flakes will begin to appear on the surface of the water. 

Saline solution can be made by mixing approximately four ounces of distilled water with half a tea-spoon of sea salt in a separate container. Do not use common table salt as table salt has chemical additives. After stirring the salt solution for a minute, pour some of the water into an eye dropper bottle. 

Now you're ready to make Colloidal Silver. Pour eight ounces of distilled water into your glass. Add 1 or 2 drops of saline solution (3 drops at the most; if you use too much salt, you'll be making silver chloride instead!) [Instead of salt, use a pinch of baking soda for your first batch only; thereafter, use an ounce of pre-made colloidal silver] to water and stir with a plastic/non-conductive utensil. 

Insert silver electrode wires. Placement of wires is not critical, but they must not be touching each other or the process will stop. (You cannot shock yourself in this process so do not be concerned.) Attach alligator clips to the ends of the silver electrode wires coming over the outside rim of the glass and you will see a grey mist inside the glass start to peel away from the positive polarity wire while bubbles of hydrogen rise from the other. Laboratory tests show that this method creates a silver colloid of approximately 1 ppm per minute of activation time. Since you are only taking microscopic particles from the silver wire, your silver wire may very well last for years. 

The brightness of the light bulb is related to the conductivity of the water. It is not necessarily a problem if the bulb is very dim or even remains dark as long as the process itself is occurring. [The lightbulb is essential to protect your unit from damage in the case of a short circuit.] Of course, when batteries are old, the light will also become dimmer, signaling it's time for a change. Touch the two alligator clips together to test the brightness of the bulb as a battery check. A fresh set of batteries should last a year or more. 

When finished, detach alligator clips. Clean silver electrode wire after each use to remove dark oxide on the anode. Use a small piece of 1/4" thick nylon kitchen scouring pad to polish dried silver, then wipe with paper napkin to make ready for next use. Store your Colloidal Silver in dark, non-conductive (and if plastic, non-reactive) containers, like empty hydrogen peroxide bottles. Keep away from light as even room light will degrade colloids rapidly by turning solution grey or black just as exposure to light darkens the silver in camera film. Stir thoroughly or shake each time before using. Keep cool, but do not refrigerate. Also, put a few drops of Silver Colloid in the saline solution to prevent fungus growth. [You do not need to shake or stir CS before using. It should be evenly distributed due to electrical charge. However, if there is any silver oxide (burnt silver) "fallout", you should filter your solution with coffee filter paper.]

My comments and reminders:
Make sure you are using pure silver and not sterling, which contains toxic nickel. (I ran an extra test for nickel once, $20 just to be sure.) I strongly advise you to have your CS solution tested for PPM; it doesn't cost much. Also, don't try to speed up the process by adding more salt, etc. I no longer use any salts to process my CS.  I just add some ready made colloidal silver as "starter."  In using table salt, you will create a lot of (bound) silver chloride and cause pitting of your wires and may be associated with argyria-- permanent internal blue-grey staining of skin and mucous membranes. 

Results may vary depending on the amt. of salt or baking soda solution. you use, how far the wires are in the solution, how long you process; how far apart the wires are, water temperature and perhaps how much voltage you use.  If you want to speed up the process, heat your water for 5 minutes in a microwave or double boiler (glass jar in a pot of boiling water will due).    Then place it on a hot plate (a mug warmer or coffee maker will do.) 

Be consistent and keep records. Lack of color does not mean you haven't made CS either. That's dependent upon the amount of oxidation that has occured, presence of silver oxide (burnt silver that can be filtered out), and heat.  If you want to see a lot of color, heat your water.But beware; you may increase silver oxide besides the color. I self-medicated for LD with CS. I have not required antibiotics  since Oct. 96 when I began using CS for Lyme disease. After using CS fairly regularly for about 20 months, I switched to using it only as needed for minor ailments. I believe colloidal silver cured my Lyme disease. It has been the answer to a very heartfelt prayer for healing.

Another possible scientifically based treament for LD to investigate:

Hyperbaric chamber treatment (high air pressure chamber.)  I understand that people are having success with this (possibly cured!?)  and there is scientific basis for it considering LD is a nearly anaerobic organism that doesn't tolerate high levels of O2, increases in body temp (that increase circulation) and exercise.  This is true of other bacteria as well, thus the hyperbaric chamber has been useful in treating gangrene and other serious infections as well as brain trauma.

Alternate CS Generator Plans

http://www.eskimo.com/~reid/txt/mycs.txt

Sorry; this link is no longer valid.

Note: I have not tried these plans but post them here for your examination and consideration.  I will try to get other directions, too for more options.  Note:  follow the directions specific to the generator you use, and be sure to test for ppm (and particle size if you desire) from a good lab.

Write me: nancy<at>silverworks.org.

This page was last updated 5/2003