Are you using any form of current control?
As for heat, it does raise the conductivity, and so it's possible that you're electrodes were overloaded in terms of electrolytic processing. Keeping in mind that the total surface area is best maintained at/or aprox. 1mah per square inch of Silver anode.
As for the best, I personally believe this will vary based on application. ie, some conditions may response better to ionic solutions, whereas others such as myself, will yield better results from nanoparticles.