How to heat up a lot of oils at once?

[mikvahnrose]

I was looking at the powerblankets to heat up oils to make a masterbatch. But it's pricy just for that one thing.

When you make you masterbatch oils, do you heat them up just in a regular pot and transfer to a bucket? Those commercial stockpots or just regular large kitchen pots can get pricy too. I have a bad back so i want to reduce amount of heavy lifting.

 

[earlene]

My soaping instructor uses a heated floor mat that she got for a good price, but she said in the winter it takes over 24 hours to melt the buckets of oils. I think she can fit 3 or 4 buckets of oils on a mat. It's something like this link. One of those is certainly less expensive than the blankets at Global. I don't know where you priced them. Also the max temp of the blanket is a bit higher, too.

Also, she doesn't lift the buckets after softening the oils. She uses a ladle which stays with the bucket, so there is some bending involved, but much less lifting.

Another thought: We use a space heater in our bedroom in the winter and it has a temperature setting of as high as 85F which could presumably melt or soften many of your hard oils ff they were all in a confined room with the heater. Maybe that would be more affordable?

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Electric heat should be easy and cheap. Heating is often required to successfully brew 5 or 10 gallons of beer in the winter, so lots of people have already thought about this issue. Here are some ideas.

1 - electric-blanket type throw from Walmart
2 - large cardboard box (like refrigerator box) with a small electric heater inside
3 - at a farm supply store, get an immersible heater used to keep water from freezing and put the bucket of oils in a hot water bath (like a rubbermaid container) with the heater.
4 - you could even use a reptile heater if the amount of oil isn't too big and insulation is good.

I can give better advice if you tell me how much oil you're talking about melting at once. But whichever method you choose a few commonalities will help. Lift the bucket above a concrete or tile floor to stop heat being drawn out by the ground. A couple of layers of cardboard, rubber mat, rug, etc are enough. Enclose the oil and heater in something to keep the heat "in" melting your oils.

 

[CaraBou]

How big are the master batches you want to make? I mb up to 2000 g in an old lard container, which is enough for 4 individual batches (I obviously don't sell). Either the stove or short bursts in microwave works fine for this approach.

If you sell and want bigger batches, you could pour your melted/mixed mb into smaller containers so you only have to handle the large quantity once. That will make it easier for subsequent melting too.