Frequently Asked Questions

All of the information below pertains to LifeForce Devices Colloidal Silver Generators using 14 gauge 9999 pure silver wire and may not be applicable to other brands of colloidal silver generators or homemade devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best practice for operating my LifeForce Devices colloidal silver generator?

First, if you are new to making colloidal silver, process a 10-minute test batch using tap/well water to see the white streamers coming off the positive wire and bubbles coming off the negative wire. Notice the need to stir due to pooling of white silver compounds at the bottom, which can short-circuit and stop the process, if the concentrated pool touches the silver wires. With distilled water the process indicators are invisible, except for tiny bubbles that cling to the negative wire. Rely on the indicator light brightening, the silver wires getting dirty and the metallic taste to confirm processing is happening.

Second, stir the distilled water for 5 seconds with a thermometer to get a stable reading. 72°F is preferred to process vigorously. Heat the water if necessary.

Third, scrub the silver wires with the plastic scrubber, even when new, since the shiny finish reduces processing. Wipe off the plastic and silver particles created to prevent residue buildup during processing.

Fourth, form the silver wires into a “J” shape for quart jars and a “U” shape for shallower containers, because the silver wires should be at least 1.5 inches above the bottom of the container.

Fifth, when processing, black silver oxide and brown silver hydroxide form on the negative wire and positive wire, respectively, and some brown haze can be seen between the wires. Lift off the unit and wipe the wires with a tissue and stir the colloidal silver at 10 minutes and then every 30 minutes afterwards. Residue that falls into the water can be filtered out with paper coffee filters at the end.

Sixth, all chart times are cut by 33% for 12 gauge silver wires and by 50% for 10 gauge silver wires.

How is processing time determined?

This timing chart is for 14 gauge silver wire and distilled water at 72° F.  Times are doubled for 62˚F.

                       16oz                24oz                32oz

5 ppm             16min              24min              32min

10 ppm           32min              48min              64min

15 ppm           48min              72min              96min

20 ppm           64min              96min             128min

30 ppm           96min              144min            192min

40 ppm           128min            192min            256min   (ppm=parts per million)

Heating the distilled water to 82° F cuts all times in the chart in half so stirring and cleaning of the silver wires is reduced. Note: tds water testers always read the ppm low, since the colloidal silver particles are suspended and not dissolved (tds = total dissolved solids). The chart is most accurate.

What should I expect my product to look and taste like?

Color changes usually take 12 to 72 hours to appear.   Using 14-gauge silver wire, 5 ppm and 10 ppm are clear, 15 ppm is faint yellow, 20 ppm is bright yellow, 30 ppm is orange and 40 ppm and above are reddish/brown. Using 12-gauge silver wires, 23 ppm is faint yellow, 30 ppm bright yellow, 40 ppm orange and 53 ppm reddish brown. Using 10-gauge silver wires, these colors appear at 30 ppm, 40 ppm, 60 ppm and 80 ppm. The color deepens slightly for 3 days. This is due to clumping of small and medium particles into larger particles. The color is due to scattering of light at the wavelength of the largest particles present. For example, using 14-gauge silver wires, 20 ppm is bright yellow, and yellow light wavelength is 570 nm, so there is a fraction of about 15-25% of large particles that are about 500 nm in size.

The particle size range at each concentration using 14 gauge silver wires is as follows: 5 ppm, smallest to small particles (1 nm to 100nm), (nm = nanometer = 1 billionth of a meter), at 10 ppm, small to medium particles (5 nm to 300 nm), at 15 ppm, small to large particles (5 nm to 500 nm), at 20 ppm small to larger particles (5 nm to 570 nm), at 30 ppm medium to larger particles (600 nm) and 40 ppm medium to largest particles (up to 700nm). The colloidal silver will taste metallic and more so at higher ppm.

Use a clean glass container: plastic or dirty containers produce cloudiness. Using tap, well, spring, or bottled waters produces a cloudy, gray product and faint colors due to the specific minerals present.

Can tap, well, spring, or bottled water be used for processing?

          Yes, but virtually all the product will be ionic silver compounds due to the reaction of the silver expelled from the positive silver wire with the dissolved minerals.   However, the ionic silver compounds still have some antimicrobial effectiveness, though not nearly as much as solid metallic colloidal silver particles suspended in distilled water, which is what colloidal silver contains.

           Also, processing takes roughly half as long as the chart times, because water containing dissolved minerals is more conductive than pure distilled water.      

What is the best practice for taking colloidal silver?

First, fresh colloidal silver is best, as the particles have the most electrical charges on them. The electrical charges are gone in about 2 weeks to a month.

Second, drink it on an empty stomach. No stomach acid will react with the silver, preventing production of silver chloride, which cause Argyria (blue/gray skin). Friendly gut bacteria are protected by the mucus layer lining the intestinal tract, which is disrupted when digestion is happening. Commence eating 5-10 minutes after taking colloidal silver.

Third, take 1 oz. of 5 ppm colloidal silver per 25 lbs. of body mass daily, or take 1 oz. of 10 ppm per 50 lbs. daily, or take 1 oz. of 15 ppm per 75 lbs. daily. As examples, if you weigh 100 pounds, take 4 oz. of 5 ppm daily or 2 oz. of 10 ppm daily or 1.5 oz. of 15 ppm daily. Colloidal silver at 20 ppm to 40 ppm is not recommended for ingestion, although testimonials indicate that 20 ppm can be ingested for intestinal infections, if followed 2 hours later with probiotics. If the digestive tract is compromised, swish and gargle 30 ppm to 40 ppm colloidal silver in the mouth (do NOT swallow it) to absorb silver.

Fourth, if you are currently infected with a pathogen, a quantity of up to 4 times the daily amount, divided into 4 equal amounts can be taken 5-10 minutes before each meal and at bedtime. Follow each meal with acidophilus milk or yogurt or probiotics to restore friendly gut bacteria.

Fifth, for cuts, burns, scrapes, make 30 ppm to 40 ppm colloidal silver, wet the affected area and bandage. The bandage will soak up and hold the colloidal silver.

Can colloidal silver be stored?

Yes. Use a brown or blue glass bottle or an opaque plastic bottle. Store in the dark, but DO NOT REFRIGERATE IT. Store at low room temperature 50-65°F. The silver particles will lose their charges over a period of two weeks to a month and the color will deepen. If it still has a metallic taste, there is still some silver antimicrobial effect. It is best to make it and drink it fresh.

What particle size is the most effective?

           It turns out from both theory and testimonials, that the most effective particle size is correlated to the size of the targeted micro-organism. Viruses are most affected by small particles (1 to 100 nm), bacteria by medium particles (100 to 400 nm) and single-celled microorganisms (yeasts, mold/fungus, candida, giardia, spirochetes, etc.) by large particles (400 to 700 nm) [nm = nanometer = a billionth of a meter = a thousandth of a micron].  LifeForce Devices colloidal silver generators produce these ranges of particle sizes with different concentrations that can be controlled by the processing time.

5 ppm is all small particles

10 ppm about 60/40 small and medium particles

15 ppm is 50/40/10 small, medium and large particles

Testimonials indicate, during the winter months, when colds and flu are present, which are caused by viruses, 5 or 10 ppm is best for ingestion. The rest of the year, drinking 15 ppm is reported to be best for broad-spectrum anti-microbial activity. 20 ppm, which has a 40/40/20 distribution of small, medium and large particles has been reported to be effective for intestinal infections and Lyme’s disease. 30 ppm is

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25/25/50 and 40 ppm is 20/20/60 and both are for topical application, because the small and medium particles are absorbed into the tissue immediately, but the large particles remain on the surface before they break down into smaller particles and affect microbes that haven’t entered the tissue yet.

Can colloidal silver be tested with a tds water tester?

Yes, but they will read low, because tds meters (tds=total dissolved solids) are designed to read dissolved solids, while colloidal silver is a suspension of silver nanoparticles. Dissolved solids are in the form of ions, atoms or molecules, but the silver nanoparticles are clumps of silver atoms ranging in size from a few dozen to thousands. The larger the nanoparticle, the worse it is at carrying the tiny electrical current (a few micro-amps) that the tds tester passes through the suspension.

Our $400 lab-grade tds meter starts reading low at 13 ppm, while tds meters costing $25 to $50 may read low starting at 2 ppm to 3 ppm. The timing chart was developed by reading the electrical current present and calculating the production of colloidal silver, so it is the most accurate way to estimate the ppm.

Can I use heavier gauge silver wires in LifeForce Devices machines?

            Yes. There are two effects using thicker silver wires: 1) processing times are reduced, because the surface area of the silver wires is greater. Processing times for 12-gauge silver wire are cut by 33% and are cut by 50% for 10-gauge silver wire. 2) the greater surface area also causes smaller particles to be made for a longer time. Colloidal silver made with 14-gauge silver wire is faint yellow at 15 ppm, with 12 gauge at 23 ppm, and with 10 gauge at 30 ppm. The other colors will appear at proportionately higher concentrations. This means higher concentrations can be made for ingestion with the thicker silver wires, because the cut-off point for ingestion is just when the colloidal silver is faint yellow, where 1 - 5% of the particles are large.

Are LifeForce Devices machines making colloidal silver and not ionic silver, and how can I test the product to confirm that?

Yes, the LifeForce Devices machines make colloidal silver. When making colloidal silver with distilled water, first, a process called electrolysis occurs, where the water molecules are split into ions H⁺ and OH^- and O^-2 ions due to passing an electrical current through the water. Second, silver colloid particles are ejected from the positive electrode (colloids are suspensions of nanoparticles that are larger than ions, atoms or molecules - in the case of silver, these are clumps of silver atoms). Third, some silver ions are formed on the surface of the positive wire. The OH- ions produced by electrolysis react with those silver ions to form the insoluble ionic compound silver hydroxide, which is the brown residue on the positive wire. Fourth, the O^-2 ions produced by electrolysis react at the surface of the negative wire forming the insoluble ionic compound silver oxide, which is black and clings to the negative wire. Last, the H⁺ ions formed by electrolysis combine with electrons from the electrical current and bubble off the negative wire as the diatomic molecule H₂.

What remains are colloidal silver nanoparticles of solid silver suspended in the distilled water. The colloidal silver nanoparticles have numerous charges on them and are surrounded by excess OH^- ions. This can be verified because the pH rises from 7 to about 10 to 10.5 which is substantially alkaline.

A bright penlight can be shined through the suspension and a beam will appear like a headlight passing through fog. This is the Tyndall test for the presence of a colloidal suspension.

Disclaimer: None of the statements in this publication have been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. LifeForce Devices Colloidal Silver Generators and the product they generate are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. As with all questions of health, consult your physician.     Copyright 2018 Lifeforce Devices Rev 2/14/2020 Email: customerservice@lifeforcecolloidalsilver.com

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