Has anyone used this 5 gallon pail warmer?

[ambers_artworld]

Hi all, has anyone ever used this bucket warmer to melt coconut oil? Would it work on a 50 pound bucket from soaper's choice? Thanks for your help!!

http://www.caulkwarmer.com/proddetail.php?prod=5-Gallon-Pail-Warmer

 

[dixiedragon]

Oh how cool! I want! I don't see why it wouldn't. It says the max temp is 115, and coconut oil melts at 76 or at 92, depending on what kind you got. The bucket in the picture looks like a plastic 5 gallon bucket to me.

 

[cmzaha]

It should work, but I would have to ask why you want to melt that much CO. Are you adding a spigot to the 50 lb bucket? Just curious. I get mine in 35 lbs buckets (5 gallons) and hate it when it is melted. It is so much easier to scoop. We used a similiar blanket in our former manufacturing plant and they do work, however we did not use it for oil but for urethane during the winter

 

[ambers_artworld]

Thanks so much for the replies!! The reason I melt that much at one time is because of the cost savings per pound in buying 50lbs at once...however, during winter, after half a day in the garage it is rock solid and waaaay too hard to scoop. "Chisel" would be a better word


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[cmzaha]

Thanks so much for the replies!! The reason I melt that much at one time is because of the cost savings per pound in buying 50lbs at once...however, during winter, after half a day in the garage it is rock solid and waaaay too hard to scoop. "Chisel" would be a better word

I certainly understand why you buy that much. I buy mine in 5 gallon pails 35 lbs and buy about 4 at a time. I am fortunate enough to have a local supplier so the 50 lbs is not cheaper for me especially with shipping. I have never had the 76 degree coconut oil get so hard I cannot scoop, the 92 yes it almost takes a jack hammer. I am in So Calif so we do not get severe cold weather. The blanket will help a lot, just get one that fits your bucket. They would keep our urethane at an even temp. I use ice cream spatulas for my 92 degree and they work great since they have a slight sharpened edge

 

[100%Natural]

Great thread! Has anyone tried it or come up with a convenient way to just soften the oils? I'd just as soon not melt it, but having it easier to scoop out of those pails would be fabulous!

Wonder if an electric blanket would work?

 

[Skatergirl46]

I wonder if anyone has tried a regular heating pad?

I have an unconventional oven in my kitchen that's always on, so the area near it is always warm. I sit my CO on the counter top near my oven and it melts in a couple of hours. It works great for RT soaping.

 

[soap_rat]

I researched other types of pail warmers and most of them had bad reviews, some even melted plastic buckets as they only heated a narrow strip. That item looks pretty nice.

I "always" knew that Palm oil needed to be melted and stirred, and kept mixed while rehardening, but I didn't know that my coconut oil was going to have almost 2 inches of pure stearic acid on the bottom of the bucket, (plus all that I could see on the sides) so now I melt down my coconut oil too and put it into smaller containers. I did it just last night! I hoisted that sucker into a huge canning pot-- setting it on a block of 2x4 to lift it off the bottom--put water around it and 3 hours later it was all melted. Now it's in smaller containers I can fit in the microwave. It really sucked to lift that bucket onto the stove, though, so please try out that bucket warmer and get back to us!


If you watch the coconut oil harden, you'll see the dots of stearic form on the sides, bottom and even the top. It's cool to watch! That to me makes for inconsistent sap value, and i don't like worrying about that.

 

[marquis.de.soap]

It is so much easier to scoop.

I know this is thread necro but this thread is a first-page Google result for people looking for ways to easily liquify 50lb pails of oil.

It's really important to point out:

In soapmaking you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT do this. Coconut oil may "be solid" below 76F, but it actually has a slight liquid (oleic/linoleic/caprylic) portion even then -- which is why it feels greasy -- and if you don't melt the oil to process it into soap then you're not getting the same fraction of oil each time you use it, and the soap results are inconsistent. You have to melt and mix it EVERY TIME for QA purposes. You can only "scoop" pure oils made of single fatty acids, like refined stearic acid. Coconut oil is comprised of no less than 8 important fatty acids, some of which are liquid well below 76F.

 

[cmzaha]

I know this is thread necro but this thread is a first-page Google result for people looking for ways to easily liquify 50lb pails of oil.

It's really important to point out:

In soapmaking you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT do this. Coconut oil may "be solid" below 76F, but it actually has a slight liquid (oleic/linoleic/caprylic) portion even then -- which is why it feels greasy -- and if you don't melt the oil to process it into soap then you're not getting the same fraction of oil each time you use it, and the soap results are inconsistent. You have to melt and mix it EVERY TIME for QA purposes. You can only "scoop" pure oils made of single fatty acids, like refined stearic acid. Coconut oil is comprised of no less than 8 important fatty acids, some of which are liquid well below 76F.

Guess what I have been doing this for years with no problems, so I still will not melt down the whole bucket until it decides to melt down itself in the summer. I scoop from different areas with no problems. I have never had the stearic sink to the bottom it is always on the top when the oil solidifies. And I can ABSOLUTELY DO IT THIS WAY...please do not tell me what I can and can not do

 

[shunt2011]

I've never melted my CO down and have never had an issue. I don't plan on starting any time soon either.

 

[cmzaha]

I've never melted my CO down and have never had an issue. I don't plan on starting any time soon either.

Me either, I hate dealing with 5 gallons of melted CO

 

[kdaniels8811]

I have a bucket heater from Duda Diesal that is 6" wide and works well. I masterbatch my oils and that is what I use it for. To get solid coconut oil out of the 50 pound bucket I use a long handled steel spoon I found at a restaurant supply store. It works fine to scoop out 15 pounds at a time - the amount i use when I masterbatch my oils.