url: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/m60524.html CS>Re: Long, Boring - Calculations From: AScottSilver Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 23:19:38
Hi Andy, > Hi Mike, [... snip fond nostalgic comments] > Anyhow, I better keep this on topic. I've got about 3 feet of 9999 > 12 ga. wire and I want to build a simple CS generator for someone. > This is an AutoCAD person so I have to keep it simple. I'll > obviously be using something less than 3 feet of wire in the > vessel to allow for headroom and a connection area. Any > suggestions from you or anyone else on the list regarding current > limit, brew vessel size, wire spacing, etc., would be appreciated. > Best regards, > Andy Well, since you ask, here's my recommendation. Get a 9V battery, a battery clip, a 33k resistor, and a package of alligator leads from Radio Shack. A 33k resistor has the bands colored in the following sequence: orange, orange, orange, and gold. It is one of the few values that is impossible to get wrong. (The others are 110 ohms and 2.2k) It's nice to have a dvm, but it's not absolutely essential. You can get one for under 10 dollars from Harbor Freight or WallMart. Don't spend a fortune, but get one that can measure current. Test the battery clip by installing it on the battery. Make sure the leads do not short together. The battery could explode if you left it that way for long. When the contacts seat on the battery, you should hear two distinct clicks. If you hear a thud, take the clip back to Radio Shack. It will be intermittent. The Alligator Leads ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Remove the insulation and cut the leads off the battery clip. Look for two small holes in the fiber material of the connector. You will use them to thread the alligator leads through for strain relief. Pick two alligator leads. Use warm colors (red, orange, yellow) for the positive connection. Cold colors (black, blue, green) for the negative connection. Hold the leads vertical so one alligator clip is shorter than the other. Cut the other ends at the same point. This will make one lead shorter than the other. This helps prevent them from touching and draining the battery when the generator is not being used. The 33k Resistor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Solder the 33k resistor to the positive terminal. Use a very short lead. Cut the other lead from the resistor about 1/8 inch from the body. Try to ensure the other lead cannot reach the negative terminal. You are going to cover the assembly with hot glue later, and you want a bit of clearance to prevent shorting under the glue. Push the end of the positive alligator lead through the hole next to the 33k resistor. Trim the insulation off about 1/16 from the end. Solder it to the free lead of the 33k resistor. Push the negative alligator lead through the other hole and solder it to the negative terminal of the battery connector. Check that you have the polarity correct by installing the clip on the 9V battery and measuring the voltage at the alligator clips. Remember, warm colors are positive, cold colors are negative. Swap the leads if the polarity is reversed. Yes, it's worth the effort. It makes it much easier to tell which electrode is the cathode. Hot Glue ~~~~~~~~ When you are satisfied, pull the leads so they are snug and cover the top of the battery clip with hot glue. Be careful to not burn yourself. The stuff sticks to your finger and is hard to get off, no matter how loud you shout. Of course, when you try to pull it off with the other hand, it sticks there also. Tell the kids to go into the other room, or get them to do it for you. They are the experts. Install the battery clip and hold the leads along the side of the battery. Wrap ordinary electrical tape around the battery to provide strain relief for the leads. The tape comes in pretty colors - use any color you like. The Glass ~~~~~~~~~ Find a 10 oz glass that has a diameter slightly less than the plastic lid from a jar of peanut butter or similar container. The thrift shops are a good place to look. You might find one for 33 cents. Be picky. No scratches or dings, please. We want it to look pretty. Cut your 3 feet of 12 ga in half. Fold each half into a "W" with about 1.5 inches of lead sticking above the center loop of the "W". Bend the free leads together so it looks like a girl with her hands held together above her head. Take a pair of clean pliers and bend both leads about 3/8 of an inch from the end at a right angle to the plane of the "W". Put the electrodes into the glass and find out how far apart they have to be to give clearance to the sides. It may be an inch or so. The distance is not critical. Find the center of the plastic lid. Use an awl to make two holes centered on the center of the lid at the distance you have chosen. I don't bother measuring - I just eyeball it. Get two 6-32 screws, four washers and nuts. They should be galvanized to prevent rusting. They will rust anyway, but we will cover them with your wife's screaming purple acrylic nail polish. In fact, do that now. Cover the threads about 1/8 inch from the head, and the underneath of the head and set them to dry. Do the same with the washers. OK, they are dry now. Put a washer on one of the 6-23 screws and push it through one of the holes in the lid. Put a washer on the other side and thread the nut on the end of the screw. Put the ends of one of the electrodes under the washer and tighten the nut so it is held firmly. Do the same with the other electrode. Place the electrode assembly on the glass and check for alignment. The electrodes should be vertical, facing each other, and centered in the glass. Don't be too fussy - 1/8 of an inch won't make any difference. Marking The Fill Line ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Clean the glass with isopropyl alcohol inside and out and mount the electrode assembly. Find something so you can rest a marking pen at the height of the bottom of the lid. Rotate the glass and make a line all the way around. This is your fill line. Cover the line with clear scotch tape to prevent rubbing it off. If you are careful, there will be no bubbles or creases and no one will notice the tape. Fill the glass to the fill line with ordinary water. Pour it into a measuring cup and see how much liquid volume you have. Mine measures 425 millilitres. Pour the water out and clean the glass with a pad of unbleached tissue. Cleaning ~~~~~~~~ Now you are ready to clean the electrodes. Wash your hands in isopropyl alcohol. Make a pad with unbleached tissue and soak it in isoprope. Wipe the electrodes with the alcohol, and repeat with a fresh dry pad. When you are done, never touch the electrodes with your fingers, and never rest them on the table. A bit of contamination can make you very ill. Use the lid upside-down to keep the electrodes in the air while you are transferring the dw to and from the glass. The First Run ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fill the glass with dw up to the fill line. Mark one of the 6-32 screws with a piece of tape. This will be the positive electrode for the first run. Connect the alligator clips to the 6-32 screws and measure the voltage across the cell with a dvm. You should read something between 3V and 6V. It should start dropping soon. If the voltage is very low, change to a better quality dw. If it is very high, find some dw that is not so pure. Leave it like that for 6 to 8 hrs then disconnect the alligator clips. If you like, you can remove one of the alligator clips and measure the current at the end of the run. I get about 225 microamps. You may get a bit more or less. Hopefully, yours will be within 10 or 20 percent of this value. It is not very critical. You can adjust the brew time to compensate. You may notice a small amount of gray sludge on the bottom of the cathode (negative) electrode. This is a good sign, but don't worry if you see no change at all. Things are happening, and we will show it later. Remove the assembly and wipe both electrodes with a dry pad. See if the anode has a trace of black residue. It may or may not have. It doesn't matter either way. The Salt Test ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pour 1 inch of the solution in a glass and add three shakes of salt. You should see white clouds growing from the bottom of the glass, with wisps going off in different directions. This is good. If everything checks out, discard the cs and fill the glass again. The Second Run ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Connect the alligator clips with the opposite polarity to the first run. That is, connect the negative lead to the 6-32 screw that you used for the anode. Leave it another 6 to 8 hrs. Test the result - you should get the same as before. Discard the solution and remove the tape. Now you won't be able to tell which electrode is which, and the law of averages tells you will use both electrodes about the same. This will equalize the wear and give very long life for the electrodes. The Good Run ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The electrodes are now clean and you are now ready to make your first cs. Fill the glass again and let it run for 6 to 8 hrs. Test the result to confirm the strength. I recommend holding a mouthful for ten minutes, then either swallowing it slowly or spitting it out. If you made one run per day, the battery should last the better part of a year. The electrodes should last several years. But you probably won't need this much cs unless you have a very large family. Congratulations. You are now a cs expert. Make a generator for your friends, and get them to do the same. Best Regards, Mike Monett -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. 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