For Craft's Sake Block Molds

[Mellifera]

Hi All,
I have some (almost) brand new, 25 lb block molds and cutter from FCS. I like the workmanship--very nice! I've made two batches in them, and so far, so good. But I'm curious if others have and use them, and if you have any tips.

For instance, I'm finding the mylar sheets used to line them stick a bit, even with a pretty hard recipe.

Also, this second batch, a few tablespoons of clear-something seeped out the bottom. I haven't taken it out of the mold yet, but I know the soap was sufficiently emulsified, so I'm not sure what/why the leakage. Given the size of the block, the amount won't affect anything, but... should I use petroleum jelly on the joints to prevent leakage?

And third, I make a lot of milk and honey soaps. Given the mass, I can see overheating could be a problems with these. In fact, yesterday's soaps were goat milk, so I opened a window to the cold night air and put a fan on them, just in case. Any experience or tips?

Thanks, all!

 

[navigator9]

I think those are the type of molds that Ariane Arsenault uses in this video.... [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6fjQDgpiy8[/ame] If I were you, I'd try contacting her to see if she has any suggestions. She seems very nice, and soapmakers always like to help each other out. Good luck!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I saw one of her videos where the Mylar stuck a little, she put it down to beeswax. Not sure if you use that at all.

As for the leakage, was it all tight as a tiger or was something a little loose?

 

[navigator9]

And here's the video where she unmolds them, and she does mention the mylar sticking depending on the recipe, so I'm thinking she would be a good source of info for you.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS8HEAUaNwg[/ame]

 

[Mellifera]

I saw her videos! They were one of the reasons I bought these. I needed bigger molds, and was debating these or the soap equipment.com version. In fact, I re-watched the videos before my first batch in them. Such fun!

My husband is downstairs making dollies for them right now, in fact (though since I'm a beekeeper, lifting these 30+ pound blocks full is nothing compared to the 90+ pound supers I yank around in the bee yard...). Still, the dollies seem like a good idea since there's less change of spilling if I roll them around versus lifting.

She doesn't mention doing anything to seal the seams, and I did make sure all my bolts were tight. So the seepage wasn't that. I think a bit of petroleum jelly in the seams will do it. I'd hoped to skip that, because I try to avoid petroleum products... but you can't really, not completely.

I haven't noticed beeswax making my soaps sticky. In fact, usually, they make the recipe harder, so less problem with sticking. But I use silicone, or the Bramble Berry dividers, which are some sort of hard plastic. So maybe a different situation?

My first recipes were pretty hard batches, but I'm wondering if I should leave it in the mold a bit longer. I admit to being excited to cut the first bars. I'll eave yesterday's batch a full 24 hours, and see if that helps.

It seems the open window and putting a fan on them helped with the possibility of overheating. One block was swollen and cracked a bit last night, but both had nice smooth tops this morning, so it cooled down again.

I was thinking about all the soapy stages I've gone through, from 2 lb batches to (now) 50+ lb batches, and how every time, there's a learning curve, something about scaling up that I need to learn. I also remember putting off using my first 10 lb mold for a long time, because I was so afraid I'd mess up the batch and waste all those supplies! And now 20+ is routine, and soon it will be 50+...

 

[IrishLass]

Lesli- you can try very lightly 'greasing' the mylar pieces facing your soap with mineral oil. I know you said you don't like to use petroleum products, but it can help with your sticking issue. I don't use the molds in question, but I do use heat-resistant mylar to line my (much smaller) wood molds, and a very light greasing of mineral oil always does the trick for me. Using sodium lactate in your formula @ 2% or 3% ppo can help, too.


IrishLass

 

[Mellifera]

Thanks, I was wondering if mineral oil would do it. I have used it on the BB 26-bar mold, which my salt bars (of all things) can stick to.

I noticed that on mine and on Ariane's soap, the liner stuck in the middle, precisely the hottest area, and the one most likely to have gelled. I wonder if those sections are still a bit warm and just need more time.

I'll find out today! I can unfold yesterday's soap in about 2 hours. (Sorta wanna now...)

 

[houseofwool]

I am watching this thread closely because I am this close to buying one of these molds. I simply cannot catch up making 48 bars at a time.

 

[Mellifera]

The other issue is having a vat large enough to mix 50+ lb of soap. I do, but the spigot on it clogged and I had to scoop batter out. (You aren't going to lift and pour 50lbs, right?) Also, I've just bought a larger stick blender. The wimpy 8 inch one is not long enough. All part of scaling up...

 

[houseofwool]

I'm planning on getting just one mold for the time being, so I think I should still be able to pour normally.

What stick blender did your get?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Check out soapequipment.com for some large scale hand made gear. One thing I'll be looking for in the future is a way of doing hp at these sorts of sizes. Not so simple.

 

[Mellifera]

I bought the Waring Big Stik. The shaft is removable, AND you can buy various lengths. I started with a 12 inch, since that's the depth of this guy, the vat I used to mix the 50-ish pound batch yesterday. It also has a gizmo for clamping it to the side of a pot for hands-free blending. I might go for that later, for liquid soap...

I usually use that vat to make liquid soap (the temp gage on the side comes in handy...). I'd hoped to use the spigot to pour into the molds, but it clogged up pretty quickly. I'll check why, but scooping with a plastic measuring cup worked fine (and gave me a nice swirl...)

Craig, I love soapquipment.com and spend a lot of time on that site! Water jacketed tanks are something beekeepers use, too, to liquify honey, melt beeswax, etc. Not that I have them--I've never had enough hives for it. But I'm thinking of the day when I'll need a pot tipper, those melters, a winch...

Oh, and my six year old daughter spotted the smiley faces to the right of the editing screen and wants me to use some. So here goes: :razz: :shock:

 

[DeeAnna]

I thought y'all might get some ideas for scaling up from this video: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_aYS3jOPe8[/ame]

 

[Mellifera]

Very cool! I like the device that holds her stick blender... I'll bet her overhead is low. :razz:

 

[navigator9]

Thanks, I was wondering if mineral oil would do it. I have used it on the BB 26-bar mold, which my salt bars (of all things) can stick to.

I noticed that on mine and on Ariane's soap, the liner stuck in the middle, precisely the hottest area, and the one most likely to have gelled. I wonder if those sections are still a bit warm and just need more time.

I'll find out today! I can unfold yesterday's soap in about 2 hours. (Sorta wanna now...)

Good observation....it would be the warmest and likely the softest. A batch that big probably takes a good while to cool down. We're always anxious to cut, but I'd bet a longer wait might just solve that sticking problem. You could try removing the sides of the mold to let it cool faster, and wait to remove the mylar until later. And the good thing is, with a batch that size, it's going to generate a lot of heat, so I'd imagine it gels all the way every time. You've got me wanting to make some BIG batches!

 

[cmzaha]

Good observation....it would be the warmest and likely the softest. A batch that big probably takes a good while to cool down. We're always anxious to cut, but I'd bet a longer wait might just solve that sticking problem. You could try removing the sides of the mold to let it cool faster, and wait to remove the mylar until later. And the good thing is, with a batch that size, it's going to generate a lot of heat, so I'd imagine it gels all the way every time. You've got me wanting to make some BIG batches!

Not me, I like to control the colors and play with colors in my soaps and if a batch of south it is much easier to fix. I pour 20-30 lbs at a time of my best sellers, but still prefer my 5-6lb hdpe molds. I make over 2k bars a year and it is very do-able. This equals, very roughly, 11k lbs of soap

 

[shunt2011]

This year I made between 1,500 & 2,000 bars. I don't find it difficult to do and I also work a full time job. I masterbatch my oils in 5 gallon buckets with a spigot and will measure off 4-5 batches at a time for my best sellers (about 20-25lbs) and this has worked well. I also have a 12lb mold that I'll use sometimes as well if I happen to be on a roll and run out of my other molds. However, I love my 5 lb silicone molds best. I don't think I'd want to mix more than that at a time. I would also be concerned about really expensive errors. Thank goodness they don't happen too often though they do happen.

 

[Mellifera]

The expensive errors are what worry me, too. But if the soap is usable, I donate it to local shelters. I haven't binned much soap, luckily.

I make a lot of things besides soap: balms, lotion bars, lip balm, fizzies, liquid soap--and I have beehives to look after and honey to pull in season--not to mention a husband and 6 year old. So I'm gearing things towards scaling up my business by finding efficiencies where I can that don't change the quality or the hand made nature of what I do. Most of my time seems to go into prepping a batch and cleaning up. So the bigger the batch, the better off I am as far as time goes. And cleaning up is easier now with a deep sink, overhead sprayer, and my favorite purchase: a restaurant quality dishwasher. Best investment. Ever.

Some soaps, like a custom multi-colored one, will always be done in 5 lb loaf molds (though I can do two or three at a time), and salt soaps harden too quickly for these blocks, but my lavender, coffee/calendula, and other big sellers do just as well in a big block mold as they do in a loaf. I even made nice swirls!

As for gelling, yes, they do gel, though not necessarily all the way through. Ariane said in a video about shampoo bars that her basement was particularly chilly that winter, and she needed to insulate these to get gel. My basement is kept between 55-65F, and I've gotten partial gel. One of my worries was that a honey and/or milk soap would volcano in these, but so far, no worries. When the basement is 10 degrees warmer in summer, we'll see if that changes.

Anyway... The holiday season wiped out my stock and a lot of places I wholesale to. So--back to work!

 

[Mellifera]

Since I started this thread, I thought you all might want to see the results of the block mold! I'm really glad I can get pretty swirls even in such a large mold. And it's pretty gratifying to make so much at once.

ETA I'm going to cut a sheet of mylar to fit the top, so that the top is smoother. Even though the ends get cut off, I'll save some soap if they aren't too wonky, and I'm apparently bad at smoothing the tops.

I used my new big blender for this batch, too, and underestimated the shear. Even though I soaped room temp, it set up like pudding in no time, so I was glopping more than pouring into the molds. I'll have to dial that puppy back a bit...

 

[boyago]

I thought y'all might get some ideas for scaling up from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_aYS3jOPe8

Holy water in soap! She better put some warning labels on it for those of us it might burn.