a lot of lye/water

[youreapima2]

Has anyone ever tried mixing lye/water in a gal. bottle and storing it for future use?

Does this work? or will it lose something in the chemistry?

If you were to do this and your recipe calls for28 oz. water and 12 oz. lye, would you use it in the recipe at 28 oz. or use it at 40 oz in a recipe if it was premixed?

 

[LuvOurNewf]

I've done this with no problems at 50% lye/50% water pre-mix.

In your example, based on a 50/50 pre-mix, start with 24 oz. of the pre-mix which is 12 oz. lye & 12 oz. water, then add another 16 oz. of straight water to get to 12 oz. lye & 28 oz. water.

Does this help?

 

[IrishLass]

Oh my- a definite yes- making a large masterbatch of lye solution is very do-able. I do it all the time and prefer it so much better than mixing lye solution for every batch I make.

I make my 50/50 solution in a large polypropylene pitcher, and when it has cooled off I store it in a well-cleaned and air-dried ALL brand liquid detergent bottle (the kind with the 'no-drip' pour spout) that I reclaimed for the purpose. It's made of HDPE plastic which is perfect for storing lye solution long term. Here are some threads that discuss the subject:


http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... asterbatch

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... asterbatch

As far as figuring out how much 50/50 lye solution to use for your batches that ask for different lye solution percents, here is the simple, handy-dandy equation I use. Because you will be working from a 50/50 lye solution, the following equation will work no matter what lye concentration you are using:

Total recipe amount of lye multiplied by 2 = how much of the 50% lye solution to weigh out for your batch.

Total recipe amount of liquid minus the total recipe amount of lye = how much more liquid to add to your batch.


IrishLass

 

[youreapima2]

Thank you so much for your reply. I really hate mixing this up as needed, and have thought about this for quite some time.

Thank you for the links as well, which answered how to heat up the lye water without having to do it on the stove top or microwave (which I would not have done), But I figured I would just use the cold lye to the warm oil, and hope it didn't turn into a blob of $@*&.

Woo hoo, masterbatching here I come
Good thing my laundry soap is almost gone!

Thank you again!!!!!!!!

 

[agriffin]

Be sure you store it in a proper container...NOT a milk jug type of thing.

 

[IrishLass]

Be sure you store it in a proper container...NOT a milk jug type of thing.

Quite right! Not just any plastic will do (I hate to say it, but ask me how I know :shock: ). You'll want to make sure you look on the bottom or underside of the would-be storage container at the recycle number in the little triangle to see what kind of plastic it is. Here is what I have in my notes as to which types of plastic are best:


"Best one is polypropylene (#5), since it's resistant to alkali and can withstand boiling water, plus it goes into dishwasher without problems (this is the whitish-transluscent plastic that some of the Rubbermaid containers are made from). Next best one is HDPE (#2), though it can only be used at 190 F. After that, you have LDPE (#4) (150F) and PVC (#3) (140F).

Do not put lye into the following plastics because they are not alkali resistant: polycarbonate (the crystal clear Rubbermaid containers); nylon (polyamide); polystyrene plastics (PS #6, or ABS which is a type of styrene plastic [acrylonitrile butadiene styrene); and PETE (#1). The numbers in parenthesis are the recycling codes found on plastic items.

Acrylics are ok for very short term exposure, but not for repeated use or long term storage. "



The first time I ever masterbatched my lye a few years ago, I made the mistake of storing it in a container made from PETE #1 (it was a reclaimed Downey Fabric Softener bottle). Within about a week or two a small hole formed in a corner of the bottle near the bottom and my solution slowly made its way out. Thankfully, I caught it in time before it caused any serious mayhem.


IrishLass

 

[youreapima2]

The bottle I was thinking of using is an old GAIN detergent one. The bottom of the bottle HDPE #2.
My other concern is the bottle is green in color, will the color do anything to the masterbatch? I would hate to mix it all, and have a caustic mess on my hands, or find that it's all turned a funky color.
Believe it or not I CANNOT use the ALL free it irritates my skin! Don't ask how, I know it's free of perfume and dye. Perhaps my skin is used to harsh chemicals.
If not I have an old vinegar gal. bottle clear color which is also a #2
Would it make a difference what was originally in the bottle if I wash it out thoroughly?

 

[IrishLass]

HDPE #2 is perfect.

The color of the bottle has never messed with my solution (sometimes I use a bright yellow/orange Arm & Hammer detergent bottle and my lye solution is always clear).

As long as you wash the container out thoroughly and let it air dry completely, you should be fine.

IrishLass

 

[JackiK]

I cleaned out a liquit detergent bottle, even cleaned it with some lye solution after rinsing FOREVER.

My secondary question to this thread is: Does the remaining scent in the bottle cause any issues? It's pretty strong in the cleaned-out bottle. I'd sure hate to mix that much lye water only to have it cause issues with EOs or FOs used to make the soap.

Thanks!

 

[IrishLass]

I cleaned out a liquit detergent bottle, even cleaned it with some lye solution after rinsing FOREVER.

My secondary question to this thread is: Does the remaining scent in the bottle cause any issues? It's pretty strong in the cleaned-out bottle. I'd sure hate to mix that much lye water only to have it cause issues with EOs or FOs used to make the soap.

Thanks!

I can't be 100% sure, but I don't 'think' there should be a problem. I base this on the one time I wrongly used a Downey fabric softener bottle in which to store my lye solution back when I first started masterbatching. I say 'wrongly' because it was made of the wrong kind of plastic and the solution leaked out after about a week. Anyway, the residual scent of the softener still left behind after having cleaned the bottle out quite sufficiently did not transfer itself to any of my soaps made with that batch of lye solution. The detergent bottles I use are from unscented liquid detergents.

Hopefully other masterbatchers will chime in and confirm that it's the same with reclaimed scented detergent bottles as it was with my softener bottle (except for the leaking part :wink: ).

IrishLass

 

[JackiK]

Thanks, IrishLass. AGriffin was kind enough to send me information on a carboy container in which to mix it. Not sure my budget can handle the price tag, though. I've contacted the chemical supply house I use to see if they can get something suitable for less money.

Anyway, I'm going to give it a shot. I'll mix and store outside just to be safe. The weather is cool here, which is a good thing.

Jacki