Author Topic: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron  (Read 47582 times)

Offline cfnisbet

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HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« on: March 23, 2020, 01:05:48 PM »
For some time now, we have seen people struggling to put together the appropriate kit to make colloidal silver.

I thought it was time to go through the non-SilverTron process for those who wish to have a kit with which to make their own colloidal silver but who don't know what to buy or where to buy it from.

I will be going through the entire process, with links to where the items can be purchased. We have no arrangements or sponsorship with any suppliers, we are completely independent.

P.S. If they become available again, a SilverTron is a much better option, but it costs a lot more.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2020, 12:22:18 PM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2020, 01:19:25 PM »
The Power Supply Unit;

This is the sort of laboratory bench Power Supply Unit you need. The one in the photo is a 30 Volt 5 Amp DC power supply. It must have a Constant-Current circuit in the specifications, and 30V with 3A output is about the minimum.

I am not going to give schematics or tell people how to convert a plug-in wall transformer, as I want anyone to be able to buy the stuff that I recommend straight off the shelf and use it.

The disadvantage of this unit is that the Constant Current circuitry is not very accurate in the measurement of very small currents, but it does hold that small current accurately. What I mean is that one of my bench PSU holds a current of 5 milliamps accurately at 7 milliamps; the stated current (5mA) is not the same as the output current (which is 7mA), but it does hold 7mA reasonably closely throughout the run. It is therefore adequate for our purpose.

The units are reasonably cheap and can be bought from eBay or Amazon very easily.
« Last Edit: April 02, 2020, 01:19:36 PM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2020, 07:41:55 AM »
This is the sort of thing;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FY4J9PY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

or

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ReaseJoy-Laboratory-Regulated-Adjustable-Precision/dp/B06X9DD4HJ/ref=sr_1_31?dchild=1&keywords=DC+constant+current+power+supply&qid=1585642963&s=diy&sr=1-31

or

https://cpc.farnell.com/tenma/72-10480/power-supply-1ch-30v-3a-adjustable/dp/IN06822

as discovered by member Turbidaceous.

If you enter the search term as "DC power supply regulated constant current" then loads of similar offerings will come up. It is acceptable for the PSU display to have 3 digits (this will allow you to use a minimum current of 10mA), but it is better to check that the display is 4 digits with a minimum current of 0.001 A (1mA) in the specifications.

Don't use one with reversing polarity, because we are going to use a copper/brass rod for the cathode, and reversing polarity will put unwanted contaminants into the water.

When the colloidal silver is being brewed, you should see the constant-current circuit hold the amperage within a certain range. At the currents we are using, the machinery cannot hold the current rock-steady; you will have to settle for a reasonable approximation of steady-stage current; that was what the SilverTron did so very well, amongst other things.
« Last Edit: April 16, 2020, 11:13:38 AM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2020, 07:51:40 AM »
Then you will need a hotplate and beaker like the ones shown. If you are just beginning, I would suggest that you buy a 1 litre cafetiere (or more than one) from your local supermarket. These are very cheap and are available in sizes from 250 ml up to 1 litre. When you gain experience or if you want to make larger amounts at once, then the 3-litre Pyrex beaker shown is a good choice. Remember that the beaker, although it may be Pyrex glass, will still crack if you heat it empty and then pour cold water into it. Fill it with distilled water before you switch it on, and don't leave it unattended at any time.

The hotplate is a cheap single hotplate of the sort suggested for student accommodation (!) at about 20 GBP or thereabouts.
« Last Edit: March 26, 2020, 03:44:37 PM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2020, 07:56:08 AM »
The next item is a digital ammeter as shown. eBay or Amazon will give you plenty of choice, but you will need an Ammeter with a scale for 0-20 mA and 0-200 mA DC and 0-20 volts DC. This is because the built-in meters in the PSU do not give adequate accuracy at very low amperages of the sort we are going to use.

It will also enable you to accurately measure the voltage if you need to.
« Last Edit: March 26, 2020, 03:45:36 PM by cfnisbet »

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2020, 09:47:07 AM »
Now for the electrode array.

You will need a few 1" copper nails (steel will do), a strip of 6 plastic electrical junctions, a brass rod for the cathode (thick copper or alloy wire will do), a small crocodile clip of sufficient strength to hold onto your chosen anode, and a piece of polythene mesh or sheet (I used a plastic gutter cover, but you could use a plastic cutting board or sheet of perspex).

The first few photos are attached; click to expand a photo in order to magnify it.

In the UK, all the items are available from B&Q or other retail builders' merchants. I would imagine that the USA has the same things (only half the price!)
« Last Edit: March 31, 2020, 11:31:45 AM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2020, 03:39:21 PM »
A few more photos of the electrode array so you can see how it is put together.

A copper nail is pushed up (from the bottom) through the plastic frame/holder (drill the holder or use a heated nail) at each end of the junction block. Screw the end junction block screws to hold the junction block tightly against the plastic holder.

Insert a copper nail down through the junction block and secure by tightening the junction block screws. Solder or crimp the anode holder (crocodile clip) to the nail. Ensure that there is enough nail exposed above the holder to attach the anode wire with a crocodile clip.

Open the junction block screws at the other end (about 1 1/2" away from the anode clip) and insert a brass rod or fairly thick copper wire through the junction block and tighten one junction block screw gently to hold it. This is your cathode, and it needs to be able to be loosened in order to slide the cathode up and down to put more or less cathode into the distilled water.

This is your electrode array; it's fairly easy to make, but you can use any equivalent system.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2020, 10:23:25 AM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2020, 03:52:33 PM »
Then you will need a small blowtorch, or you can use a gas burner ring or any other source of a reducing flame (blue flame).

The photo is of the one that I use, but any equivalent is fine.

When you have finished the reaction, fire-clean your anode before you put it away, using the blowtorch or a gas flame on your cooker. HOLDING THE ANODE WITH A PAIR OF PLIERS hold it in the flame until the black oxide layer turns white (the oxide turns back into silver crystals). Allow it to cool in a safe place. Don't think you can hold the anode in your fingers; silver is the most conductive metal on earth and the heat will reach your fingers faster than you can imagine.

Don't overdo it, or your anode will melt.

WARNING! Warning Will Robinson! (Joke for the older readers).

Almost every serious fire in a home or industrial workplace has been caused by unattended burning equipment. Every time I have asked for a quotation for professional indemnity insurance, the first question the insurance company asks is: "Do you use any burning equipment in your sites for business purposes?" It frightens them silly.

If in doubt, write to HM The Queen and ask her about that question. It was the cause of the huge fire at Windsor Castle. Given the value and irreplaceable nature of the historical artefacts lost in that fire, I find it madness that a night watchman was not hired to sit in the main hall at Windsor every night that the builders were in the Castle.

Do not leave your blowtorch unattended at any time, until the flame is out, and the body of the torch has cooled off.
« Last Edit: March 31, 2020, 11:43:47 AM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #8 on: March 26, 2020, 04:07:21 PM »
THE ANODE

You will see in this post and the next, a selection of silver anodes. With the exception of the 1Toz bullion bars, they are all .999 fine silver bought from Cookson Gold or Argex. (1toz or 1Toz = 1 Troy Ounce).

The blue colour on the largest bars is a protective plastic film to keep the silver from discolouration (Argex is a supplier to manufacturing jewellers) and of course, the plastic film is removed before use as an anode.

You do not need .9999 fine silver; some bullion authorities consider that .999 tests the same as .9999 under hallmarking analysis, so save your money. The bullion bars (or coins) can be used as received; there is no protective coating on silver bullion.

You can see my face and phone camera reflected in the silver sheet; silver is the most reflective element on earth.

When adjusting an anode in colloidal silver production, the principle is that you maximize the anode, minimize the cathode. The total surface area of the anode should be at least three times larger than the cathode (especially if you don't have a stirrer). A large anode  produces fewer silver ions per unit of anode area, which results in less fallout of silver oxide.  A small cathode keeps the voltage up and therefore the electric field strength is higher, which helps propel the silver ions out of the diffusion layer at the anode and also helps prevent the silver from precipitating out of solution as silver oxide.

You adjust cell voltage by raising or lowering the cathode in the water. Aim for a minimum of 10 volts across your electrodes for a 1.5 inch electrode spacing.  Different spacings have different minimum voltages.

Also, you don't need a silver cathode (negative electrode)  A piece of copper wire or brass rod will work just as well.  No metal comes off the negative electrode.
« Last Edit: March 31, 2020, 09:31:35 AM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #9 on: March 27, 2020, 05:51:19 PM »
This one shows some more anode pictures.

The really small anode is 70mm x 3mm and was bought with a commercial colloidal silver generator from a colloidal silver sales site. The anodes were also offered for sale as a pair (separately) at 16 GBP which is an utter rip-off, and is the reason why you should always buy silver from a bullion dealer instead.

The wire is 1.5mm fine silver wire, which can be used provided you utilise very low currents. I personally prefer to use a large silver bar, as I can then use higher currents and make 3 litres at a time at a reasonable speed.

The yellow rod is a brass cathode to act as the negative electrode in the cell. The silver anodes accompanying it are pieces of silver that I had spare, and had them rolled out into small sheets.

I bought the colloidal silver generator because it was small and powered by a 9 volt battery, so I thought it was a good buy (in the dim and distant past) for travel use. I now make some 320ppm colloidal silver and take it in my hold baggage.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2020, 05:56:52 PM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #10 on: March 27, 2020, 05:57:53 PM »
Now we need the reagents:

You will need an electrolyte, a reducing agent and a capping agent.

ELECTROLYTE

This is one of the three biggest secrets on this entire forum, and we are going to give you the secrets for nothing.

When people began to make colloidal silver, they used to run the electrolysis cell until the cut-off point of the machine was reached. The machines were expensive and the cut-off point gave no indication as to the exact amount of silver ions in the water. The end result was I.S.O. (Ionic Silver Oxide), a powerful anti-bacterial, but it was not, and is not, colloidal silver. People used it because it worked, not because they understood the process.

In an attempt to speed the process up, they started to use common table salt as an electrolyte. How wrong they were, and yet how close to the right answer! Using Table Salt (Sodium Chloride) as the electrolyte made silver chloride, not Ionic Silver Oxide, and this was what gave Paul Karason (and others) Argyria, the darkening of the skin to a bluish or greyish colour. It also gave Big Pharma the perfect gift to destroy the reputation of colloidal silver as a superb anti-bacterial, and they did not hesitate to use it against the sellers of Ionic Silver Oxide. WE DO NOT USE SODIUM CHLORIDE TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER.

The correct electrolyte, which (i) allows you to speed up the process, (ii) allows you to calculate the amount of silver in solution, and (iii) to not make unwanted (Argyria-causing) silver salts, is SODIUM CARBONATE; Washing Soda. As the reaction proceeds, the electrolyte is catalytic; there is the same amount of it at the end of the reaction as at the beginning. Sodium Carbonate is either bought as Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (in the USA) or as Washing Soda from any big supermarket (in the UK).

If you can't buy it easily, you can order it from a chemical supply house, or you can make your own by heating Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) in the oven at moderate heat. You eat washing soda whenever you consume a piece of cake. It is harmless in the amounts we are going to use.

To make the electrolyte, we use 1 Molar Sodium Carbonate, made by dissolving 12.4 grams of sodium carbonate monohydrate (Arm & Hammer or UK supermarket) in enough water to make 100ml solution (in other words, you put the washing soda in a beaker and add enough water to fill the beaker up to the 100ml mark). 

OR

If you have made your own by baking sodium bicarbonate in the oven, dissolve 10.6 grams sodium carbonate (anhydrous) in enough water to make 100ml solution.

This is your stock electrolyte solution. The amount you use will be 1 ml of the stock electrolyte solution per litre of distilled water.




[Historical note: I must clarify this slightly on the grounds of full and honest transmission of information; as mentioned in a different thread, an old-time and esteemed contributor to the forum has pointed out that Sodium Hydroxide will work as well as Sodium Carbonate, in fact it was the original electrolyte selected by Kephra for the manufacture of colloidal silver.

However, it is highly caustic and also has a further risk associated with it; if you get a "burn" from caustic soda/lye/sodium hydroxide (alternative names for the same thing) it does not hurt until severe damage is done.

I still have a scar on my left middle finger where I was cleaning a surface with NaOH and there was a tiny hole in my glove. By the time I realised it, there was a raw exposed area where the body fats in my skin had been dissolved.

WE NO LONGER RECOMMEND THE USE OF SODIUM HYDROXIDE AS AN ELECTROLYTE, despite it being a valid substance to use as an electrolyte, due to the excessive danger associated with this product. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]




« Last Edit: June 08, 2020, 08:40:00 PM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #11 on: March 28, 2020, 07:47:55 PM »
REDUCING AND CAPPING AGENTS

With the exception of gelatine, all the reducing agents are also capping agents of varying strengths.

All machines supposedly sold for making colloidal silver actually make I.S.O. (Ionic Silver Oxide). While this works extremely well as an anti-microbial agent, it may give rise to Argyria when most of it will instantly turn into silver chloride in the stomach. This is also undesirable in any case, as silver chloride is not as good at killing microbes as Ionic Silver Oxide or colloidal silver.

Therefore, we need a method of turning Ionic Silver Oxide into colloidal silver by reducing Silver Oxide to elemental Silver particles, and the second big secret of this forum is the use of reducing agents. The method we use results in nanoparticles of elemental silver of approximately 14 nanometres in size. This has been shown to give the best kill-rate of microbes; particles that are much smaller can actually be toxic. Larger particles are considerably less effective as they have difficulty in entering the bloodstream, and even if they do, for any given weight of silver there will be many fewer of them.

Nanoparticles of silver work by trundling around the bloodstream (or inside the intestine) like fog particles floating in the air. When a silver nanoparticle touches a bacterium, it causes a few atoms to exert a relatively huge electrical field between the bacterium and the nanoparticle. This burns a hole in the “skin” of the bacterium, killing it.

As you can imagine, the bacterium has no knowledge of nanoparticles, nor can it see the nanoparticle approaching, so it can neither avoid it, nor discern its' approaching nemesis. It is for this reason that killing bacteria with nanoparticles is so effective and is so unlikely to result in a bacterium becoming immune to colloidal silver, unlike conventional antibiotics.

It is similar to a mouse being struck by the arm of a mousetrap rather than a poison. It is difficult to learn from the experience if a hole is burned through your abdomen and your body contents are spilled into the bloodstream, especially if you can’t see the nanoparticles coming.

Most reducing agents, except gelatine, also act as capping agents; that is to say, the capping agent surrounds the nanoparticle and this protects it from the harsh acids in the stomach to a greater or lesser degree. Gelatine is only a capping agent (but it does this extremely well).

The reducing agents we are going to use are (in order of increasing capping ability) Karo corn syrup (in the USA), or Golden Syrup (in the UK); Maltodextrin (available as a pure white powder or as Carbogain in fitness shops); Cinnulin (cinnamon tincture); and maltodextrin or karo followed by gelatine.

Now, the obvious question is that if gelatine is the best capping agent, why would you use anything else? The answer is somewhat complicated, as there are a number of uses for colloidal silver and we do not have the research facilities to discern exactly what is happening at an atomic level. However, common sense assists us in general terms, and we strongly discourage people from using gelatine-capped colloidal silver for anything except internal (oral or drinking) use.

We suggest that people use Cinnulin or Gelatine capping for internal (drinking) use.
We suggest that people use Karo, Maltodextrin, or Cinnulin-reduced colloidal silver for external use on wounds or suchlike.
We suggest that people use Karo or Maltodextrin capped colloidal silver for inhalation for bacterial lung infections.
We suggest that if you are in a place where the medical professionals are free to use products without having their careers destroyed, (we have members in Africa who do this) you can also give Colloidal Silver by injection, in which case we would recommend the use of Karo, Golden syrup, glucose or maltodextrin as reducing/capping agents.
You can also administer Colloidal Silver anally, but the only country which has a history of doing this is France. People of Anglo-Saxon origin find this method laughable, but it is certainly valid as an administration technique, if you have the stomach for it, in which case we would recommend the use of sugar-capped Colloidal Silver. 

A few other notes on capping:
Capping prevents the silver particles from touching each other preventing agglomeration. Capping agents allow for higher ppm to be made.  You can also reduce colloidal silver by the use of heat alone, using a hotplate while the colloidal silver is being made, or by making colloidal silver cold and then heating it in a microwave oven.

Heat-reduced and Karo-reduced colloidal silver is only stable to about 20 ppm. The use of Maltodextrin allows the manufacture of nanoparticles up to about 100 ppm. Cinnulin is good for concentrations up to about 150 ppm. We have yet to find a concentration limit for gelatine, but Kephra has demonstrated 1000 ppm. Gelatine is the best at protecting the silver particles from being eroded by stomach acid.
« Last Edit: June 08, 2020, 08:42:01 PM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #12 on: March 28, 2020, 08:54:29 PM »
THE MAKING AND USE OF GELATINE AND CINNAMON TINCTURE

To make the gelatine solution:

4 grams of gelatin per litre of water. Gelatin should be added to the water, allowed to bloom, then heated to simmer to dissolve gelatin before electrolysis is started. (This is an amendment from posts made recently by Kephra to clarify the amounts and order of addition to the electrolysis cell).

Dissolve 1 gram of Knox unflavoured gelatine in 1 cup of cold water. (Metric: 4g / litre of DW).
Allow to bloom for 5 minutes.
Heat until the gelatine dissolves (water looks clear again)
Allow to cool, and then bottle the gelatine liquid.
This is your gelatine stock solution.

Make the colloidal silver. While the colloidal silver is still hot, add 5 or 10 mls of the gelatine formula per 250ml of colloidal silver. Allow to cool; OR, for high-strength gelatine-capped Colloidal Silver (320 ppm), use 4 grams of gelatine per liter of water.  The gelatine should be added to the water, allowed to bloom, then heated to simmer to dissolve gelatine before electrolysis is started.


To make cinnamon extract:

Buy the cheapest vodka from the supermarket and put 100 mls into a bottle with a tightly-fitting cap.

Obtain a coffee filter paper circle. In the middle of the filter paper, put 1 teaspoon of GOOD cinnamon powder, ideally Druera cinnamon direct from Ceylon. You can buy 1 lb online and it will arrive in less than a week. It will last you forever.

https://druera.com/ceylon-cinnamon-powder-grams-p-108.html?currency=GBP

Fold the filter paper into a "tea bag". Soak the "teabag" in 100ml vodka for 2 days. Remove and discard the "teabag". If you are very good at decanting liquids from powder residue, you can forget the coffee paper and just add the cinnamon directly to the vodka, let it steep for a couple of days and decant the tincture from the powder sludge which will settle at the bottom of the bottle. Then wash out the bottle and store the tincture back in the container.

The deep red liquid is the cinnamon tincture. Add 1 ml of tincture to each litre of distilled water in your reaction flask.
« Last Edit: March 31, 2022, 09:03:02 AM by cfnisbet »

Offline cfnisbet

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #13 on: March 28, 2020, 10:04:05 PM »
THE CALCULATION

This is the third big secret of the manufacture of colloidal silver. The amount of silver liberated from the anode and turned into Ionic Silver Oxide and released into the Distilled Water (DW) to be reduced into colloidal silver is only dependant on current and time. Heat does not release more silver into solution. A higher production voltage makes the reaction work better but does not increase the ppm. The electrolyte enables the power supply to keep the current at a constant level, and this allows the ppm of the final product to be calculated.

The calculation for a constant-current electrolysis cell is:

Litres of distilled water x desired ppm of silver x 15 / milliamps on the ammeter = Minutes of runtime

Example 1:

3 litres DW x 20 ppm x 15   =   180 minutes
                  5 mA

Example 2:

250 ml DW x 20 ppm x 15   =     25 minutes
                  3 mA
« Last Edit: March 30, 2020, 07:40:43 PM by cfnisbet »

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Re: HOW TO MAKE COLLOIDAL SILVER if you can't get a SilverTron
« Reply #14 on: March 30, 2020, 08:20:17 PM »
SUNDRIES

It is advisable to also have the following sundry items in your kit:

A few oral dosing syringes (available from any chemist, no prescription required in the UK).
A thermometer, digital or analogue.
2 sets of digital scales; one for weighing the small weights of chemicals 0-50g or 0-100g, and one which can weigh the distilled water 0-5000g (5kg).
A TDS meter ONLY for checking the quality of distilled water; this is NOT for checking the ppm of the finished product.
Various small beakers for mixing your reagents.