Hello Leigh! Lots of good questions. <grin>
> 1. I bought a Hannah TSD 1 with the distiller, because that's what they > sold, and I wanted a way to gauge the quality of the DW I made with the > unit. In making CS, if I have a reading on the DW before, is the > difference in the reading after making the CS equivalent to the PPM in > the CS? > > 2. I've noted that some use a PWT for this purpose... is one better or > worse than the other? What is the difference? I want to balance the other answers you received on this. The Hannah TDS-1 and the PWT both work by measuring the conductance of the water or CS. For that reason they will only give you a reading on the conductive part of the silver in the water (plus whatever conductive impurities there happen to be). The TDS-1 costs only about $20. It is calibrated in ppm for a particular kind of calcium salt, I believe. Thus, it's readings will be off if the calibration constant of the material you're trying to measure is different. This is almost certainly true of our CS, though for measuring the tap water before distilling and the distilled water output, it gives reasonable readings. The biggest problem it has is that it's full scale reading is something like 2000ppm while we're trying to read only a few ppm. This will be like trying to measure a half cup of milk for a recipe when you only have a 1 gallon pitcher to use as a measuring cup! The accuracy is not the best. In practice, I have found my TDS-1 to be stable and a workable check on the quality of my distilled water and the consistency of various batches of CS. It does *NOT* give anything I would consider a true reading of ppm of silver. It's only a relative measurement. That said, a reading of 0 or 1 on the TDS-1 meter should be good enough for making CS. The PWT is better for two reasons: First, it's full scale is only about 1/10th that of the TDS-1. So, to re-use the analogy, you're trying to measure your half cup of milk with a 2 or 4 cup measuring cup, instead of a gallon! The other reason it's better is that it is calibrated directly in units of conductivity, siemens, which is a more "honest" way to report the results. It doesn't tempt you believe that it is somehow related to actual ppm of Silver, or any other particular substance. The PWT costs more like $50. Either is usable. If you don't want to spend more, then keep your TDS-1 and use it as a quick though imprecise check on water quality. If the extra $30 is no problem and they'll take back the TDS-1, then buy a PWT. You'll have a meter that will be better matched to what you're measuring and won't tempt you to think that what you're measuring actually represents the ppm of the product. > 7. (Last one... really.. <g>) After testing the water before and after > distilling, and seeing what's left behind in the distiller, I'm > wondering if it would be preferable to distill our drinking water? I was > a kind of grossed out at the gunk in the bottom of the distiller after > making the DW. I've always thought that the minerals in water were > beneficial, but in looking into buying a distiller, I've seen DW touted > as the best and only pure water, and as preferable for drinking. Any > opinions on this? I've been drinking mostly distilled water for several years in an effort to reduce my consumption of flouride. I re-mineralize the water with a dash of sea salt. I'm sure there are better ways than this, but it's simple. I can't say if it's made any difference. Be well, Mike D. [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [[email protected] ] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver List archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html Address Off-Topic messages to: [email protected] OT Archive: http://escribe.com/health/silverofftopiclist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
