Author Topic: 12 Guage copper cathode wire  (Read 1155 times)

Tubig

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12 Guage copper cathode wire
« on: April 04, 2018, 06:34:50 AM »
Hello everyone.  Newbie here.  I've read most of the articles and a lot of different posts.
Regarding creating ionic silver, and then converting it to colloidal silver, My question is if it is ok to use 12 Guage copper cathode wire?
I'm assuming that the copper  wire will only get  plated and not contaminate the solution?
Is there any advantage or disadvantage to using copper wire vs silver for the cathode?
I also have 1oz pure copper bullion bar that I can use for  the cathode.
Thoughts?

Offline kephra

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Re: 12 Guage copper cathode wire
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2018, 12:00:09 PM »
As stated here before, copper wire is ok for the cathode, as is silver, stainless steel, etc.  No metal comes off the cathode.

Forget the copper bar though, as you want a small cathode and a large anode.
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Tubig

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Re: 12 Guage copper cathode wire
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2018, 03:28:36 PM »
Thank you Kephra.  I did read you mentioning this in one of your articles.  I just wanted to be double sure as I have not attempted my first batch yet.  Still waiting for delivery of supplies/material.   :)

Offline Bobby

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Re: 12 Guage copper cathode wire
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2018, 08:17:50 AM »
Tubig,
  When brewing a batch of  collidol silver some if not all of us has had trouble getting the cathode deep enough in the solution to maintain the voltage in the sweet spot.  That's where a very thin and stiff copper wire comes into play.  When needed I use a stripped piece of telephone wire. It's about 1 mm thick and 4-5 inches long. Just depends on the setup your using at the time.  Hope  this helps and good luck.

Bobby
« Last Edit: April 05, 2018, 04:04:36 PM by Bobby »
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Offline Dean

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Re: 12 Guage copper cathode wire
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2018, 11:52:39 AM »
Also double checking your electrolyte concentration will possibly see you getting more of the standard 12 gauge silver cathode in the cell.

I had incredible problems running 320ppm at the start as I barely had a 1/4" submerged at the beginning.

discarding and diligently re-mixing my electrolyte instantly changed that to about 3/4".
Much more headroom then for a long run of 5 hours.

All ammo for you to nail you r production problems!
 

Tubig

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Re: 12 Guage copper cathode wire
« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2018, 07:34:59 PM »
Thanks to everyone for all your input.  I made my first couple of batches last week, and they look pretty good.  Now, im going to try the 320 ppm method.  :)

Offline Cher Sherwood

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Re: 12 Guage copper cathode wire
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2018, 12:39:08 AM »
That's great!
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