I have been involved with making this since 1998. I use a small older generator from Silver Gen but have also used 3 x 9 volts batteries for 27 volts. Silvergen's new units may be too pricey but there are others. I have also ordered (in Canada only) from www.csilver.com who have actually done lab tests.

The info I see here has a lot of misinformation although all well-intended;  and it is indeed very difficult to sort out claims initially. It takes a couple of years of wading thru a lot of competing statements. There are some excellent web sources of information these days however (see end).

My DIY set up used a current limiter  in the early days which was just a hobby RR train light. The light limits the current from rising  which is VERY important in making quality CS. The current will otherwise increase enormously as the solution becomes more conductive. As current becomes high and 'runs away' - large chunks of silver are torn from the electrode (microscopically, not to the unaided eye). That increase in particle size is poor quality and a waste of precious silver (cannot just order after the PS).

I suggest that for the money you will save vs the health benefits and quality - consider  a professionally made small unit with a current limiter or constant current circuit. And a stock of silver electrodes as well. Or pre-test drive a DIY set up along with a home distillation set up, to iron out any bugs.

Some misconceptions:-

1)  PPM
The NZ government does not allow CS to be sold above 10 ppm. A very good rule. More is absolutely NOT better. Anyone taking say 100 or 200  or higher ppm CS is not doing their body a favour. But there are sites that make such claims, way up to 2000 ppm! It also cost a lot more to use so much excess silver. AND the most effective CS is around 10 ppm and is in ionic form, not particles visible to any light. You can do very well with just 5 ppm at which level there are still more ions available (silver bullets) then bacteria to shoot. Why waste ammo? Taking 5 ppm more  frequently during infection is more effective than a big whomp at 30 ppm less often.

Ionic is DISSOLVED in water, invisible. It is called 'colloidal' because the process is the same but you only want the ionic ideally, not the solid silver colloid particles. Some of the latter does no harm but is not as effective.

Science fact: Silver can only remain in ionic form up to 13.7 ppm at 72 degrees F (warm room temp). If temp drops, some comes out of solution as colloidal particles. If particles clump they may settle to the bottom if too big to remain suspended. So obviously pushing it above 10 ppm is counter-productive.

2) COLOR
The color is the Tyndall effect. Ideally you want NO color!! Not pale yellow, nor orange and certainly not brown or black. In emergency situations you can live with a light tinge. The darker the color the larger the particle size (Tyndall).  Ionic has NO perceptible solid particle size because it is truly dissolved - exactly what you want and by far the most effective. It is a better match in size for the enemy - viruses and bacteria - and more effective due to the electric charge of the ionic form.

Speaking of drinking yellow colored solutions you should check out urology! During WW1 when medics were pinned down and unable to get anti-septic solutions for surgery  - they used human urine. President Ghandi used to drink his own each day and it does have benefits. Urine is not so much waste as it is excess substances of all kinds (amino acids, hormones, salts, minerals) which cannot be used by the body at the moment of kidney action, but re-cycled they can be. This is Survivor Series - the Afterrtime - but 'to each his own' as female hormones do not do a male body any good, for example.

3) ADDITIVES
Use absolutely NO additives at all. Any additive whatsoever reduces quality and effectiveness. Some scoundrel makers add all sorts of things as stabilizers (to keep oversize particles from sinking - bad), or to accelerate production. If there are particles on the bottom of the bottle, they should be filtered out or left behind.
 
4) WATER
Use the purest water you can get your hands on - like home distilled. Why? Argyria - which is not pretty (turn a permanent blue gray color, but not harmful). A Montana congressman was making his own CS with Montana tap water and ended up with argyria. His water had high mineral content.

Tap water has chlorine. Chlorine + silver = silver chloride molecules - of no use to the body. Of course tap water will not be available in the Aftertime but if you are building CS stock for later, use distilled. If you have worked out a safe water supply with a home distillation set up you are a big step ahead of many.

5) START UP
The initial several minutes of making a new batch is extremely slow until conductivity increases with the silver flows off the cathode. The way around this is the same as for crops - save some for seeding. Set aside a half cup or so from the last batch and use it as a starter solution for the next - it will proceed MUCH more quickly as it already has good conductivity.

6) DOSAGE
CS or silver is not an essential nutrient. It is not something that needs to be taken everyday nor should it be. CS makers want to sell product so will say to use it everyday. It is a good preventive anti-biotic (anti-microbial technically) which will likely be greatly in need and super useful in the Aftertime. It does not boost the immune system technically, it supplants the immune sytsem - immunity in  a bottle. I would advise taking 4 to 7 tblspoons a day during any infection and then continuing for  several days after to avoid bacterial re-population. That works well with ear infections for children for example. It can be inhaled if you have an atomizer and can be put into eyes for eye infections. It is used in all critical burn units to deal with massive infection risks and it does promote wound healing.

It is best taken by swishing around in the mouth and holding it under the tongue several minutes until it dissipates. It will osmose thru mucosal tissues into the blood and bypass mixing with stomach contents. But it can be swallowed too, better on an empty stomach.

It will kill some friendly flora in the GI tract so can cause urgent trots initially. This soon subsides on subsequent usage. That is another good reason not to use every day. GI flora promote health and produce some vitamins.

7) LIMITATIONS
It does not attack eukaryote tissues (us, multi-celled organisms) which is good. It does not attack bacteria that are spore formers - such as military anthrax and C. Dificile. It makes most warts worse if applied topically. It does not seem to be very effective against toe nail infections and fungal infections (which have a spore stage). It does attack most viruses and bacteria as shown by tests at UCLA decades ago before it was suppressed by Big Pharma. You will find sites that found it effective against everything tested - some 650 organisms. :-)

8) PPM Measuring.
There is no easy way to accurately measure the PPM without equipment beyond the scope of those in the Aftertime. But with a 'current limiter' and practice and consistency of starter size and batch sizes, you can usually use TIME as a fair indication of when to stop. Failing that you can run it until the very initial hint of straw colored or pale yellow occurs. It can also be tasted -  silver has a very slightly bitter taste, certainly no judge of ppm though. It should not be shaken before use - you want any large particles left on the bottom.

9) SYSTEMs
 High voltage systems HVAC or even some MHVAC systems are not good because the arcing of sparks can create nitrogen precipitates in the solution. Silver nitrate is used for devloping films and will turn skin black and just about anything it touches. HV is not practical in the Aftertime either. You want low voltage (around 27 to 36) with a current limiter or constant current - a LVDC set up. Household  AC systems will shed silver from BOTH electrodes and do run cleaner, but not likely available in the Aftertime. If you store a supply of Scotchbrite pads, these are excellent for cleaning the electrodes lightly after wards, then gently wiping. Otherwise  a layer of oxide forms and comes off in chunks and blocks CS formation on start-up (resistance).

In the Aftertime you will look to water and wind power mostly, so again you want LVDC. Incessant rain for 2 years can be harnessed anywhere it falls (a roof or waterfall) to drive a small pelton wheel hydro generator. Can be crudely made from an abandoned car alternator (no shortage of those) and some kind of 'wheel with buckets',  but better to obtain the real thing beforehand. Wind also will be abundant in the thin atmosphere.

Some Sources:
The government tries to close down sources because healthy people do not need Big Pharma. So former excellent suppliers have disappeared from the web to my dismay. #2 below is an interesting DIY set up, esp for tinkerers who may have some of the parts (which are not expensive to acquire)
1) http://www.silvermedicine.org/silver-information.html
2) http://www.quantumbalancing.com/makeyourowncs.htm

I have not done an ambitious search and surely there are many other sources.

I hope this helps.

Regards .. Gene