Hi, Duncan.
Firstly, I'm a newbie to this game and have yet to
construct my own unit. Hopefully there are experienced users of Acid/Alkaline
makers that can contribute - hello Nina. Having said that, the following
observations may help.
1: Magnets will do nothing in respect of separating ions in solution.
("Magnetic conditioning" of water is a separate field of which I have no firm
opinion on at this point).
2: You seem to be referring to the DIY plans at angelfire.com.au when talking
about 12V as the suggested value. Attempting to use 4000 volts would likely
prove either catastrophic or disappointing, depending on the available current
draw. A potential (voltage) without current can do nothing - it is current flow
over time that matters. Optimum voltage - who knows? I'd try about 30V
initially, based on the following.
3: The whole area is "wooley" - there are loose parameters such as appropriate
water conductivity, current draw, electrolysing time etc that are just not
properly discussed anywhere I have found. An example of trying to
"back-figure": Most commercial units seem to be rated at around 50-100 watts.
Assuming 12 V DC at the electrodes, that works out at about 4-8 amps current
through the cell. That is supposed to be using just filtered tap water. This
seems way out. I have done a quick experiment, modifying my CS unit. Two silver
plate electrodes, each having a wetted area of 160mm X 40mm X 2(both sides of
plate included), separated by 62mm, with 23.7 V applied between them, gave the
following current draws:
Distilled water:
1.5 mA
Tap water:
21.3 mA
Tap water plus 1/2 level tsp potassium citrate dissolved in: 393 mA
While some vendors of batch type units recommend adding a pinch of sea salt, it
would have to be an awfully big pinch to get even 1 amp flowing. So there are
big question marks. Tap water conductivity will vary enormously from one locale
to another, which to me makes nonsense of any standard procedure assuming tap
water, which is just what most units do. Output must be markedly dependent on
input.
5: What exactly are we trying to achieve - is it alkaline pH, negative ORP
(oxidation/reduction potential), or "microclustering" of the water? All three
are variously claimed to be "the" important factor. If it's pH, then just
adding a pinch of lime to plain water would suffice. If microclustering is the
thing, then despite the impression given by most vendors, only a tiny fraction
of the water could be converted, given the running times and likely currents
applying to their machines. I think the fellow at www.h-minus-ion.org makes
most sense - a highly negative ORP seems to be the number one factor. That
translates into maximising the level of dissolved hydrogen. What is not clear
is whether the hydrogen is simply dissolved H2 or "nascent" hydrogen as
single-atom H, but presumably it is the latter. In that case I would think
vigorous stirring around the area of the negative electrode is advisable -
sweep hydrogen away before it can combine to produce H2 gas. How much nascent H
can water hold? How much is desirable? What factors affect it's stability? I
have not even seen these questions asked let alone answered. So without solid
parameters to aim for, I'm afraid much is left to anecdotal accounts and vendor
statements that often conflict. Vendors can't be blamed for unwillingness to
divulge all, but it would help to get some really useful info!
6: There is one site that nicely provides the clues for making a cheap unit -
http://www.quantumbalancing.com/e-water.htm. Notice that carbon electrodes seem
to be used.
Hope the above helps. Regards, Kevin Nolan [email protected]
Original message:
Hi Kevin;
The instructions for the alkaline water maker say that 12 volts is enough...
some instructions I saw somewhere indicate you could also use one or 2
magnets to separate the water into ionic components, and that current was
not required; only the potential was.
Or are we interested in not only ionic separation, but hydrolization to get
those hydrogen ions?
The 12-volt thing takes several hours...how about if I was to try the 4000
volt microwave circuit I use to make colloidal silver?? Do you think I could
make a batch in several minutes?
Anyone got some details/ideas on this?
Duncan Crow
