Wanting to make my own lye

[Raven1]

I want to make my own lye. Can I use one of those blue plastic barrels or do I have to use a wooden one.

 

[vsavor]

I plan to make some this summer, also. As far as I can tell anything that won't corrode with the acid will be fine.

 

[smittenheart]

Just wondering why you want to make your own??

 

[carebear]

it's a dangerous endeavor. be careful that animals and kids cannot get into your setup.

 

[ChrissyB]

I am of the understanding that the resulting "lye" will be of questionable strength and quality.
Not sure if it's worth the hassle.
JMHO> :roll:

 

[Healinya]

it's a dangerous endeavor. be careful that animals and kids cannot get into your setup.

I never thought about that possibility. If a kid cuts thru your yard and knocks it over getting hurt - it doesn't matter if they're tresspassing - it's your insurance company that it's going thru. To be honest, if I saw a neighbor making it, I would let the police know to make sure it's being done safely. With the meth problem in the country, I wouldn't be surprised if it's illegal in some towns. It probably will be one day.

 

[carebear]

how'd the lye making go, vsavor?

 

[soapbuddy]

I am of the understanding that the resulting "lye" will be of questionable strength and quality.
Not sure if it's worth the hassle.
JMHO> :roll:

Exactly. There is no way to know the strength of your final lye solution without some expensive equipment and the strength will vary from batch to batch.

 

[Traceyann]

wow dont wanna sound dumb here , but I didnt even know u could !!!!

 

[carebear]

vsavor posted a year ago that she'd be trying it over the summer. wondering what her results were.

I plan to make some this summer, also. As far as I can tell anything that won't corrode with the acid will be fine.

(however, it's not acid - it's the opposite, actually. nor is it sodium hydroxide)

 

[carebear]

I deleted a couple of posts from this thread - I'm 99% sure you all didn't man anything by them but they could be mis-construed. It took me a couple of reads to get that.

If you have issues with my removal please PM me and we can discuss.

 

[kelleyaynn]

I plan to make some this summer, also. As far as I can tell anything that won't corrode with the acid will be fine.

(however, it's not acid - it's the opposite, actually. nor is it sodium hydroxide)[/quote]

Yes, lye is a base, not an acid. Strong enough, they can both corrode things. But, um, lye is sodium hydroxide. Or potassium hydroxide.

 

[Dennis]

Nasty stuff. pH - 14.0

 

[Deda]

Yes, lye is a base, not an acid. Strong enough, they can both corrode things. But, um, lye is sodium hydroxide. Or potassium hydroxide.

What Carebear stated was the the resultant caustic from home made lye would NOT be either or an acid OR sodium hydroxide. And she is quite correct.

The alkali you'd end up with would be potassium hydroxide or caustic potash, but it would never be sodium hydroxide.

 

[carebear]

which is why back in the old days, the resulting soap goo was then boiled in a strong salt solution - to replace sodium with potassium in the soap so you could end up with bars instead of goo.

 

[Dennis]

which is why back in the old days, the resulting soap goo was then boiled in a strong salt solution - to replace sodium with potassium in the soap so you could end up with bars instead of goo.

And way back when, I wonder how that was discovered. Intentional process or accident?

 

[kelleyaynn]

What Carebear stated was the the resultant caustic from home made lye would NOT be either or an acid OR sodium hydroxide. And she is quite correct.

The alkali you'd end up with would be potassium hydroxide or caustic potash, but it would never be sodium hydroxide.

Ah, I misunderstood what she meant. I missed that she was talking about the result of trying to make homemade lye. Sorry about that.

 

[kelleyaynn]

which is why back in the old days, the resulting soap goo was then boiled in a strong salt solution - to replace sodium with potassium in the soap so you could end up with bars instead of goo.

Wouldn't that be to replace the potassium with sodium? Table salt is sodium chloride, and soapers use KOH to make liquid soap. Just confused here.


And to answer Dennis, soap was probably discovered by accident. Perhaps some wet ash got into a used cooking pot with grease in it, and the conditions were such that some soap was made, and someone noticed that the pot either got cleaner or was more easily cleaned. I would bet the earliest soaps were extremely primitive.

 

[carebear]

Wouldn't that be to replace the potassium with sodium?

oops - I typed it backward LOL. you are correct!