I live in Canada by the way!
Don't order stainless steel, order EDM graphite instead...and don't use salt as an electrolytic - it will produce chlorine when using graphite.
Try using standard baking soda - no unwanted gasses are produced except perhaps in the initial few minutes when the carbon is freed from the baking soda - the sodium should stick around though and form an alkaline solution suitable for better electrolysis.
Stainless steel stains in the presence of electric flow even though it's 'stainless' it rusts...the more current, the nastier the water will get, the worse off your purchase. This erosion doesn't really effect the EDM graphite as much, after all, it's used for machining metals with electric current.
You can also experiment with drafting graphite on a small scale - the pencil lead will conduct electricity and it comes in diameters around 5mm.
The plans i received state to use stainless steel pipes. I am trying to replicate carl cella's reactor! I have never had experience with EDM graphite.
I think a link is in order to better understand the 'reactor', knowing what a carl cella reactor is would help :P .
Otherwise, you can just use the graphite rods in the place of the stainless steel.
Stainless steel tube can be purchased from refrigerator manufacturers - ie the water supply lines ( which are usually copper, but some are stainless )
If the carl cella reactor is some sort of fission / fusion reactor, you should probably have graphite rods handy anyway - and if you don't know what i'm talking about, then forget about his invention and replicate a 'joe cell' or one of 'stanley meyer's' devices.
...you may even consider using stainless steel ball bearings rather than rods - there's more surface area.
A cheap alternative for the EDM graphite would be a 'safe carbon arrow' www.safearrow.com (http://www.safearrow.com) ...the wolverine 6070 line conducts electricity down the side but not thru the thickness. They're cheap also, but they may not be available in canada. Walmart sells these for like 3.50 each.
Edit: the link above is actually quite uninformative.
here is a link
http://www.cyberspaceorbit.com/fuelcell.html
http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm
or use this link and the filter to pick ur poison
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/N2DRVSH?PMSECT=1915
With the limited info out there , it is highly likely that you will fail , unless you are as knowledgeable as Carl Cella himself .
Lets hope there is no hidden ghost in the schematics and lets hope that you have the "half-brain" necessary to see throught it ...
From the limited info I have read , there will be much much improvising to do here .
Good luck !