Disaster...*UPDATE*

[barred rock]

OK, I think I figured out why my oatmeal, honey and buttermilk soap turned out the way that it did. I decided to make my little girl a batch of pink soap tonight...just a plain jane unscented nothing in it soap except a little papricka for pinkish color. After I got it to a light to medium trace I put the lid on the crock and let it cook, it folded in on itself once and didn't even make it to folding over itself a second time it was to a vaseline phase shortly after folding over itself the first time. I did a zap test and found out what soap that still has lye in it feels like and it is deffinately a ZAP! I spooned it in a mold anyway and maybe it will work its way out in 24 hours.

So, here is what I think was wrong...my recipe...all hard oils: 35% New Crisco, 35% Lard and 30% Coconut. My hunch is something to do with this hard oil combo is causing it to cook too fast/get too hot or something. I am using a 3.3 quart crockpot (small size) and these are all 1 lb batches. I cooked it on low this time, never had it on high since my batch before this which was my oatmeal, honey and buttermilk seemed to have been burnt. Any ideas as to what went wrong?

 

[jennikate]

If you got zapped should have let it keep cooking. No reason put it in mold if not done cooking. Theres no issue with the oils you used just remember can take up to 2- 3 hours complete cooking. Good luck.

 

[barred rock]

If you got zapped should have let it keep cooking. No reason put it in mold if not done cooking. Theres no issue with the oils you used just remember can take up to 2 3 hours complete cooking. Good luck.

I couldn't cook it anymore, it was solidifying in the crockpot...if I would have kept cooking it, it would have completely dried out.

 

[Hazel]

It's been more than a year since I've done a HP batch. I used new Crisco, coconut, olive and castor and didn't have any problems. I don't know for sure but maybe it's the lard that's causing the problem. I just guessing but maybe try cutting back on the lard and adding some olive oil.

Also, new Crisco isn't a hard oil. It's very soft because of the soybean oil in it. The soybean is what makes it so conditioning.

You could try sodium lactate in your HP batches to help with fluidity. Also, are you using the full amount of water recommended for the size of batch?

 

[AmyW]

How old is your crockpot, or is it a cheapy? Could it be overheating?

 

[carebear]

solid oils would have nothing to do with it at all.

cook it with the lid on, or use more water, or both.

 

[Guest]

I would definitely recommend more water if it is getting hard or crumbly too soon. Technically soap doesn't need water, it only enables the cook to mix the lye and the oils evenly before it gets hard. So if its getting hard to soon, there is only one solution: water.

 

[barred rock]

I would definitely recommend more water if it is getting hard or crumbly too soon. Technically soap doesn't need water, it only enables the cook to mix the lye and the oils evenly before it gets hard. So if its getting hard to soon, there is only one solution: water.

Hmmm....after mixing the lye, I got side tracked for over an hour and maybe some evaporated?

Yeap, it's an old cheapy crockpot and small only can do 1 lb batches.

Could be my scale too...not very acurate, only measures to the ounce.

 

[carebear]

you've got to be kidding. get a new scale.

 

[barred rock]

you've got to be kidding. get a new scale.

Is there one you recommend for a decent price that I can pick up at Walmart?

 

[carebear]

no, I cannot.

for a batch 2+ pounds of oils you need one that measure AT least in grams or tenth of an ounce. you will have to look and see what you can find. maybe not at walmart.

for smaller batches you should be even more precise.

this is chemistry folks, with caustic materials. eyeballing it isn't going to cut it.

 

[AmyW]

I got my scale from amazon. It's definitely not high end but it does go to tenth of an ounce, also does grams.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UG4UM6

My HP crockpot (6qt) I got from walmart for $20.

 

[Sunny]

Do this one:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Biggest-L ... y/11090896

It has 1 gram and .1 ounce options.

Choose the site-to-store option, they will ship the item free to whichever Wal-Mart you prefer, and you go pick it up at your Wal-Mart.

It has a 6 lb max, so don't do any soap batches over 6 lbs of oil... lol. You are new so I hope this wouldn't be an issue for you anyway!

 

[Tabitha]

Don't, don't, don't make soap for your child until you have been doing this for a very long time. You will feel horrible (and so will she) if you burn her. My husband was the 1st person I scalded & I felt bad enough, if it had een my child I can't even imagine how horrible I would have felt. It's not worth the risk. Get a years worth of good batches under your belt 1st, I know this seems like easy-peasy fun & games but it's not. It's chemistry. For her sake, practice/test the next 100 batches on your skin but don't make your child a guinea pig.

 

[IrishLass]

I agree 100% with the advice to get a new scale that measures lower for a more accurate weight. As others have attested, you can find them in many different places.

I myself use a postal scale that I bought over at Staples office supply store (Pelouze brand). It measures weight from 1/10 oz/1gram to 5 lbs. I make 2.5 lb batches about 98% of the time with an occassional 5 pounder and 1.13 pounder here and there, and it works great for me.

Also- I always test it before use to see if it's weighing properly. You can test it by weighing 5 US quarters on it (they should always weigh 1 oz.) Or you can test it out by weighing something else with a known weight.

If my batch sizes were anything less than my 1.13 pounder I would use my little Jenning's scale that I have on hand for lotion making. It measures from .0005 oz/.01 gram up to 7 ounces/200 grams.

I doubt very much that your oils/fats had anything to do with what went wrong. I've HP'd much harder batches (my shaving soap formula) and it comes out just fine. I agree with those who say that your water amount is the culprit.


IrishLass

 

[ChristinaB]

Also, most of my HP soap does go through a solid phase quickly at first, then to gel. At first I thought I'd ruined my batches but I just leave it alone until the solid island in the middle disappears, or almost. Don't try to mix that solid part in with the gelled part; it leaves little white spots that don't break down for some reason, and I think they stay lye active? At least mine did. I only did that once and had to throw the batch away. Of course, if it's crawling up the sides of the crock you have to scrape it down (and that can give different white spots but not lye active ones), but otherwise, leave the lid on and let it go on low. I let it cook for one hour, stir if the island is mostly gone (like maybe two inches left?) then let it cook another hour, and usually end up going another 15 minutes or so. HTH Some soaps are definitely more thick and gloppy than others while they cook but of the 20+ batches of HP I've done so far none have solidified permanently in the pot!

 

[barred rock]

I agree 100% with the advice to get a new scale that measures lower for a more accurate weight. As others have attested, you can find them in many different places.

I myself use a postal scale that I bought over at Staples office supply store (Pelouze brand). It measures weight from 1/10 oz/1gram to 5 lbs. I make 2.5 lb batches about 98% of the time with an occassional 5 pounder and 1.13 pounder here and there, and it works great for me.

Also- I always test it before use to see if it's weighing properly. You can test it by weighing 5 US quarters on it (they should always weigh 1 oz.) Or you can test it out by weighing something else with a known weight.

If my batch sizes were anything less than my 1.13 pounder I would use my little Jenning's scale that I have on hand for lotion making. It measures from .0005 oz/.01 gram up to 7 ounces/200 grams.

I doubt very much that your oils/fats had anything to do with what went wrong. I've HP'd much harder batches (my shaving soap formula) and it comes out just fine. I agree with those who say that your water amount is the culprit.


IrishLass

I put the exact amount of water that the recipe that I ran through soapcalc called for so I am not really understanding that?

I will get a more accurate scale and not make another batch until I do.

Tabitha: I guess I got lucky on one batch because my child took a bath with it after I showered with soap from the same batch for a week before letting her use it and I had no issues and neither did she...

Thanks for the links to scales.

 

[AmyW]

Not poo-pooing on Tabitha's idea, but I have a different opinion. I wouldn't go so far as to wait for a year's worth of soaping experience before letting my child use my soap (yes for selling though), but I did wait until I was confident in the process, my recipe, and the finished soap before my kids started using them. I always test a bar on myself just in case I screwed up somewhere, before the kids use it. Granted I've only been soaping 7 months, but there's been no issues - actually the opposite as the kids aren't breaking out any more from storebought soap

 

[Coop]

I would also think about a new crock pot. When I first tried HP I used an old one that I had lying around and never threw out. I have a dear friend that all she soaps is HP and loves it! I hated every minute of the two batches I made, thinking on the first it was the learning curve. The soap was usable thankfully but not pretty and not worth the pain in my you know what to make. A few years ago I bought a new. Nothing fancy, one on sale at Christmas time for $10., and it made a world of difference, the old one was over heating.

 

[barred rock]

I would also think about a new crock pot. When I first tried HP I used an old one that I had lying around and never threw out. I have a dear friend that all she soaps is HP and loves it! I hated every minute of the two batches I made, thinking on the first it was the learning curve. The soap was usable thankfully but not pretty and not worth the pain in my you know what to make. A few years ago I bought a new. Nothing fancy, one on sale at Christmas time for $10., and it made a world of difference, the old one was over heating.

I am going to get a new crockpot too, but in the meantime I guess I will try some cold process soap making...I need a thermometer to do that correct? What type?