Confused about equipment!

[lilyandlove]

I haven't made anything yet... but I have been OBSESSIVELY researching for quite awhile! lol I'm ready (finally) to purchase stuff to make my first batch! YAY!

But I'm a little confused and need some help...

1) I was going to get Pyrex 2 QT measuring bowl (cup?) and 2 to 3 small pyrex measuring cups, but then I see people say things like "NEVER GET GLASS BOWLS". In the video tutorials, I always see glass bowls, like Pyrex. Should I avoid and just get 2 QT plastic paint mixing buckets and smaller paint mixing buckets?

2) I'm really stumped about which scale to get. I keep seeing that the KD8000 is the one to get, but I really want to keep my cost down. It would be great if it can measure in small increments. Any specific recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

3) I'm pretty set on just using a milk carton as my first mold (to keep costs down). This is a silly question... I see that some people specify "wax lined milk carton". Are all milk cartons okay to use? I'm thinking about using the 32 oz (smaller) cartons.

4) I thought I was set on getting a stainless steel stick blender, but read here that many use the cheaper plastic ones. Now, I'm confused about which stick blender to get, too.

5) Ok, so I know I said I'm set on using milk cartons, but I was thinking about getting the BB 10" loaf mold for next time. Then, I keep seeing the wood molds with the silicone liners with the lip going over the wood mold. Where do you guys get those?


Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[SunRiseArts]

My 2 cents, although I ain't no expert.


1. Personally, my son works at a hotel and brings me from time to time coffee cups from there that are really sturdy. I use those for my lye, and then throw them away. I do think glass can shatter eventually, your best bet might be a really cheap plastic bucket that is heat resistant. Lye etches the plastic, and thin plastic not proper for lye will bend all over. (Learned that the old fashion way)

2. I have a cheap scale, although looking into buying another one, because my ounces do not have 2 digits and I am always guessing. Not sure about which one you are talking about, but if it has the 2 digits is the best most likely.

3. Milk cartons are just fine. You do not need to lined them or anything. I like making HP soap, and use them all the time.
I use the half and half skinny ones.

4. I think it does not matter with the stick blender except for the fact that the plastic ones are cheap and the motor can get hot when you are mixing for soap. A steel one IMO will just last longer. I got mine at Walmart for 16 dollars. So it was kind of cheap.

5. BB, and many other suppliers carry the silicone molds with the wood box, but they are expensive. BUT I got mine on ebay, and if you are very patient since they come from China, you get them for a lot less.

Here is a link from where I got mine and it arrived in less than 3 weeks. Although I never use it, since I normally make 1 pound batches. I have several 1 pound silicone cubes.

Without box

With box

US seller with box

My favorite one pounder

Hope that helps!

Another idea for cool mold that would make round soap is an empty potato chip tube.

 

[lilyandlove]

Thank you so much for replying!

- Ok, plastic paint mixing buckets sound good to me!

- I was looking at this scale.

- Yay milk cartons!

- Cheaper stainless stick blender it is!

- OMG Thank you for the links!!!!!!!! Amazing lol.


One step closer to buying equipment!

Another idea for cool mold that would make round soap is an empty potato chip tube.

I saw that somewhere and ya, that would be cool! This would need to be lined with parchment paper, yes?

 

[Susie]

I haven't made anything yet... but I have been OBSESSIVELY researching for quite awhile! lol I'm ready (finally) to purchase stuff to make my first batch! YAY!

But I'm a little confused and need some help...

1) I was going to get Pyrex 2 QT measuring bowl (cup?) and 2 to 3 small pyrex measuring cups, but then I see people say things like "NEVER GET GLASS BOWLS". In the video tutorials, I always see glass bowls, like Pyrex. Should I avoid and just get 2 QT plastic paint mixing buckets and smaller paint mixing buckets?

Those paint mixing buckets need to have either a 2 or a 5 in the little recycling triangle on the bottom. Lye reacts with everything else.

2) I'm really stumped about which scale to get. I keep seeing that the KD8000 is the one to get, but I really want to keep my cost down. It would be great if it can measure in small increments. Any specific recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

I started with a kitchen scale from Walmart. It lasted me about a year. I bought the KD7000, and it is still going strong. You get what you pay for.

3) I'm pretty set on just using a milk carton as my first mold (to keep costs down). This is a silly question... I see that some people specify "wax lined milk carton". Are all milk cartons okay to use? I'm thinking about using the 32 oz (smaller) cartons.

Milk cartons are fine. My first mold was a cardboard box lined with a trash bag. You don't need to splurge on your first few molds. Once you know you are going to stick with soapmaking, you can slowly save up for the good stuff. If you have someone who is handy with a saw and a sander, you can make an excellent mold that you can then line with freezer paper.

4) I thought I was set on getting a stainless steel stick blender, but read here that many use the cheaper plastic ones. Now, I'm confused about which stick blender to get, too.

If you are planning to make liquid soap, go ahead and get the one with the stainless steel shaft and bell from Walmart. Liquid soap gets hotter, and the stainless steel one is not that much more.

5) Ok, so I know I said I'm set on using milk cartons, but I was thinking about getting the BB 10" loaf mold for next time. Then, I keep seeing the wood molds with the silicone liners with the lip going over the wood mold. Where do you guys get those?

I still have and use silicone molds, even though I have a larger wooden one now.

 

[shunt2011]

I highly recommend the same as Susie. Never use glass, it can etch and cause damage and harm. You can certainly start with inexpensive items for molds. Use buckets and get silicone or plastic mesuring cups at the Dollar Tree for coloring smaller amounts and scraping everything down.

I use wood molds with silicone liners. But try your milk cartons to see if you even like making soap. If you like it that's when it can become an expensive hobby.

 

[navigator9]

1. Old Pyrex is different than new Pyrex. Lye can etch the new Pyrex, and it's possible to get micro slivers of glass in your soap. Personally, I like stainless steel for mixing both lye and soap batter. I prefer it because it's easy to feel the temperature of what's inside by putting the palm of your hand on the outside. For the lye, I use a sauce pan, and for the batter I use a stock pot. These are pots that I already had, and I still use them for cooking. Stainless steel is not absorbent, and if you wash it well with hot, soapy water, it's fine to use. If you don't already have pots you can use, thrift stores are a good place to find them. This is just my personal preference, many people do use plastic.

2. I can't help you with the KD scale, as it's not what I use. I use an Escali that I got from Amazon.

3. As far as I know, all cardboard milk cartons are wax lined. It's what I used to make my first batch, (pictured below), and it worked just fine.

4. I have both a stainless and a plastic stick blender, they both work fine, I just happen to prefer the plastic one. If you're trying to keep costs down, I'd say buy what you can afford for now. My plastic blender cost about ten dollars.

5. I have a mold similar to the one you mention, but from WSP. Because it's a "stand alone" mold, (no wooden box), it's stiffer than a silicone liner that uses a box to hold it. For me, it's a bear to get the soap out. I have to push so hard on the bottom with my thumbs that I always dent the soap. If I were you, I'd go with this mold. https://nurturesoap.com/collections...pound-loaf-silicone-liner?variant=20033048070 If you have someone who could build you a wooden box for it, that would be great. Or you could make it yourself. I'm a woman with no woodworking experience, and I did it, so I'm sure you could too.

 

[artemis]

I have to say that I am still very glad that the first mold I bought was NOT the 10 inch one. I bought the smaller 4" loaf mold ( https://www.brambleberry.com/4-Silicone-Loaf-Mold-P5531.aspx ). It will yield 4-5 bars, depending on how you cut them. Making smaller batches means that I can experiment more often without having a ton of soap everywhere in my house. This is still the mold I use most, unless I am making a bunch of gifts to share.

 

[dixiedragon]

1) I was going to get Pyrex 2 QT measuring bowl (cup?) and 2 to 3 small pyrex measuring cups, but then I see people say things like "NEVER GET GLASS BOWLS". In the video tutorials, I always see glass bowls, like Pyrex. Should I avoid and just get 2 QT plastic paint mixing buckets and smaller paint mixing buckets?

Glass bowls can develop micro-fractures over time and one day may shatter. That being said, using them occasionally is fine. As far as plastic, you need something with a 5 or a 2 on the bottom inside the recycling symbol. To hold your lye water, I recommend a pitcher with a lid. You can get all of this stuff pretty cheap at the Dollar Store. I think the video tutorial people use glass b/c it looks better. Like the TV cooks use the little glass bowls for their ingredients.

2) I'm really stumped about which scale to get. I keep seeing that the KD8000 is the one to get, but I really want to keep my cost down. It would be great if it can measure in small increments. Any specific recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

If you have a Bargain Hunt near you, check them out for a food scale. You want a food scale (not a postal scale) b/c a food scale is for measuring as your pour/add stuff. Make sure you find one that measures in 1 gram increments. You can get a decent one at Bed Bath and Beyond.

3) I'm pretty set on just using a milk carton as my first mold (to keep costs down). This is a silly question... I see that some people specify "wax lined milk carton". Are all milk cartons okay to use? I'm thinking about using the 32 oz (smaller) cartons.

Some cartons are lined with foil on the inside. I'm not sure about milk cartons specifically, but if you get the square cartons with soup or broth, some are lined with foil and some not. Another cheap option is Gladware type stuff. If you have some without a lid (admit it, you do!) you can use that. I don't like to use stuff for food after I've used it for soap, b/c those FOs can stick around.

4) I thought I was set on getting a stainless steel stick blender, but read here that many use the cheaper plastic ones. Now, I'm confused about which stick blender to get, too.

If you see one used for cheap (under $5) just get it. If you are buying new, check out this thread: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=63421 If you are at Bargain Hunt, look for a stick blender as well as a scale. If you have a hand-mixer and you don't want to invest in a stick blender yet, that would be okay. It's not ideal - it might fling some batter out of the bowl and it will whip air into your soap, but other than that it's workable.

5) Ok, so I know I said I'm set on using milk cartons, but I was thinking about getting the BB 10" loaf mold for next time. Then, I keep seeing the wood molds with the silicone liners with the lip going over the wood mold. Where do you guys get those?

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[aihrat]

I have to say that I am still very glad that the first mold I bought was NOT the 10 inch one. I bought the smaller 4" loaf mold ( https://www.brambleberry.com/4-Silicone-Loaf-Mold-P5531.aspx ). It will yield 4-5 bars, depending on how you cut them. Making smaller batches means that I can experiment more often without having a ton of soap everywhere in my house. This is still the mold I use most, unless I am making a bunch of gifts to share.

Although I wish I did start off with the 4" moulds, I do want to add that using a larger mould, such as the 8" Crafter's Choice 1501, has saved my ass a few times from measurement errors. The smaller your batch, the less tolerant it will be of measurement errors. 1g of extra lye may not be a huge issue in a large batch, but in a small batch it can mean the difference between a successful and a lye-heavy soap. I'd suggest using a more accurate scale (down to the nearest .5g if possible) if you want to start soaping with small batches.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Although I wish I did start off with the 4" moulds, I do want to add that using a larger mould, such as the 8" Crafter's Choice 1501, has saved my ass a few times from measurement errors. The smaller your batch, the less tolerant it will be of measurement errors. 1g of extra lye may not be a huge issue in a large batch, but in a small batch it can mean the difference between a successful and a lye-heavy soap. I'd suggest using a more accurate scale (down to the nearest .5g if possible) if you want to start soaping with small batches.

(emphasis mine)

I don't mean to contradict you, because you are definitely right when batch sizes get really small. But I think this effect is sometimes assumed to be more significant than it actually is. If you play around with soapcalc a bit adjusting superfat and recalculating lye amount - sort of doing it backwards - you can see the effect. That 1g change in lye make less than a 1% difference in superfat for a 500g batch of oils, which is about what a 4" mold holds. That's the reason conventional wisdom around here is not to make batches smaller than 500g. But even a 250g batch only changes superfat by about 3% with 1g of lye. Point being that although increased precision is really helpful, especially for consistency of final product, its lack probably won't make dangerously lye-heavy soap as long as batch sizes aren't crazy small.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I would also say that 500g being weighed on a 1g scale is fine, especially as most people generally round up on oils and down on lye.

 

[lilyandlove]

Thank you all for replying and for your insight!
Thank you especially for talking me out of Pyrex bowls.
I like the idea of stainless steel bowls, but maybe not right at this moment.

For now I think I will get...

1 x 2QT plastic paint mixing buckets (with "5" or "2" on it) for oil and mixing

2 x 1QT plastic paint mixing buckets (with "5" or "2" on it ) for lye measuring and making lye water

Maybe a couple of these cups when I decide to divide the batter...

This kitchen scale

A stick blender with stainless steel shaft. Maybe like this one?

Silicone spoon and spatula

Milk cartons for now (and pringles cans)


and do you guys recommend getting a temperature gun? Is it worth it?

 

[Primrose]

I'm interested to hear the advice re the thermometer. I'm new and have done three batches so far without one.

I discovered that the cheap plastic chinese/takeaway containers, like this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Take-awa...hash=item3f5bdce79d:m:m6Weef2oLAkjGkA_SZHSZLQ of which I have a metric crap tonne at home, are heat safe (they have a 5 underneath). I've found they are handy at this early stage to weight stuff in eg. all my oils etc and I can just chuck them out. If I stick to soap making, I will buy some non-disposable mixing bowls etc. I also used one as a mould, it was great although didn't make for the nicest shaped soap lol

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I use an infrared thermometer for my lotions, but I don't really worry about soap any more but I go by feel. The advice for newbies to get the lye and oils within a set range is good in that it gives something to aim for which will take away pretty much all issues in that area, but is far from being a requirement of soaping. You will find that the temperature of both the lye and oils can vary bigly depending on what the goal is

 

[aihrat]

(emphasis mine)

I don't mean to contradict you, because you are definitely right when batch sizes get really small. But I think this effect is sometimes assumed to be more significant than it actually is. If you play around with soapcalc a bit adjusting superfat and recalculating lye amount - sort of doing it backwards - you can see the effect. That 1g change in lye make less than a 1% difference in superfat for a 500g batch of oils, which is about what a 4" mold holds. That's the reason conventional wisdom around here is not to make batches smaller than 500g. But even a 250g batch only changes superfat by about 3% with 1g of lye. Point being that although increased precision is really helpful, especially for consistency of final product, its lack probably won't make dangerously lye-heavy soap as long as batch sizes aren't crazy small.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge BrewerGeorge! I must admit that I do lean towards over-cautious in terms of lye-heavy batch risks. And funny that you mention that it's not as high of a risk as it seems, unless your batches are really small - I recently made small, ~100g experiment batches and did have trouble, but that's a lot less than a batch that would fit into a 4" mould. This is good to know for the future if I do ~500g batches - definitely makes me feel less stressed-out at the prospect

 

[navigator9]

lilyandlove, it's very easy for beginners to get swept up in the excitement of making soap for the first time, and buy a lot of stuff that they will never or rarely use. My advice would be to buy only what you absolutely need for now, until you make soap for a while, and discover for yourself what you really need and want. As for a temperature gun, I agree with TEG. I take the temp of my stuff by feeling the sides of pots with my hand. It tells me all I need to know. Most critical, a good scale, and a stick blender. And I didn't see you mention protection above. Goggles and gloves, especially goggles!

 

[lilyandlove]

lilyandlove, it's very easy for beginners to get swept up in the excitement of making soap for the first time, and buy a lot of stuff that they will never or rarely use. My advice would be to buy only what you absolutely need for now, until you make soap for a while, and discover for yourself what you really need and want. As for a temperature gun, I agree with TEG. I take the temp of my stuff by feeling the sides of pots with my hand. It tells me all I need to know. Most critical, a good scale, and a stick blender. And I didn't see you mention protection above. Goggles and gloves, especially goggles!

Goggles and gloves are totally on my list! I have no questions about that so I didn't mention it in my original post.

Yea, you're right... only buy what I absolutely need! Trust me, this list is much much shorter than what I first wrote down lol.

This is what I believe I need right now...

big bucket to mix ($3)
small containers for lye and water ($3 for 2)
scale (~$15)
stick blender (~$15)
silicone spoon and spatula (at dollar store)
milk carton
protective goggles and gloves (~$15)

and of course the ingredients, but that's a separate thread...

 

[sweetbean]

Some have had luck with the stick blender you linked, but I personally hated it. It's my "back up," and I mainly use a $10 plastic one I got from Walmart.

The SS blender you linked is pretty powerful (too powerful for what I need), and heavy! My plastic is much lighter, doesn't whip air into my soap like that SB, and isn't as powerful.

But, that is just my experience--you may love it.

 

[dixiedragon]

Stainless steel bowls - you want depth, not breadth, in your containers, b/c stuff CAN splash out. I would not recommend a shallow bowl of any type. Test your stainless steel with a magnet. If the magnet doesn't stick - it's not stainless. I use a set of cheapo stainless pots I got from Fred's Pharmacy. They aren't good for cooking - the bottom is so thin that any burns. They are only good for boiling water for pasta - or soaping!

The little paint buckets are nice - get the lids!

The Norpro cups - there are cheaper places online. I got mine for about $3 each from the same place I got my temp gun.

http://www.midlandhardware.com/166982.html

Temp gun - totally worth it to me for several reasons.
1) I need a thermometer b/c without one I get impatient and soap too hot.
2) The temp gun doesn't vanish into the drawer of random kitchen crap
3) move from lye water to oil without needed to wipe down
4) faster
5) Great for lotions - if you decide to make lotion, some preservatives are deactivated at certain temps so you want to be very certain of your temperatures.

Scale - I think you may want to find a bigger/broader one - because I think your container might make it hard for you to see the read out.

 

[lilyandlove]

Some have had luck with the stick blender you linked, but I personally hated it. It's my "back up," and I mainly use a $10 plastic one I got from Walmart.

The SS blender you linked is pretty powerful (too powerful for what I need), and heavy! My plastic is much lighter, doesn't whip air into my soap like that SB, and isn't as powerful.

But, that is just my experience--you may love it.

Ah, weight! Didn't even think about that. Will investigate a little further...