Lye behaving badly

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Hi All,
I'm really hoping somebody can help me out here... my Lye is out of control.

I bought Lye packaged in white plastic bottles, in pellet form. The pellets are very tiny... like clumps-of-mascara-size.

The problem is, when I open the bottle and tip it up to pour, the pellets fling themselves out of the bottle in a cloud and get all over the worktable. It happens every time. I suspected it might be static electricity somehow, so this last time I had one hand on a copper ground wire (clamped onto a cold water pipe) while I poured with the other hand. It made no difference. I still got a cloud of lye ejecting from the open bottle.

I also thought it might be humidity, but it's happened at the height of summer and now, in fall too. I'm working in a basement with humidity between 50% (summer) and 30% (now).

Am I the only one who sees this? (maybe my lye is possessed by evil spirits? :???: ) Or - is this common, and there's a good solution?

I'm eager for any suggestions, as I have another 2 bottles of this stuff, and I don't want to be afraid of it!

Thanks in advance.
Todd

 

[Robert]

I bought Lye packaged in white plastic bottles, in pellet form. The pellets are very tiny... like clumps-of-mascara-size.

The problem is, when I open the bottle and tip it up to pour, the pellets fling themselves out of the bottle in a cloud and get all over the worktable. It happens every time. I suspected it might be static electricity somehow, so this last time I had one hand on a copper ground wire (clamped onto a cold water pipe) while I poured with the other hand. It made no difference. I still got a cloud of lye ejecting from the open bottle.

I also thought it might be humidity, but it's happened at the height of summer and now, in fall too. I'm working in a basement with humidity between 50% (summer) and 30% (now).

It can still be static electricity. Grounding yourself doesn't help because the container you're pouring from isn't electrically conductive. The humidity of the surrounding air doesn't matter because it's what's inside the bottle that counts. Of course you don't want humidity in the bottle, because you want to keep your lye dry, but lye is so good at soaking up humidity that it will actually dehumidify the air in the bottle between openings.

I have seen exactly that sort of static electricity effect like that when pouring powders from a container into a container of similar material. There's some repulsion there which is fighting your attempt to get all the material into the container, plus the repulsion the powder has for itself that tends to scatter it. Really made weighing stuff out a pain.

What material type of container are you pouring into? Is your weighing container in fact of the same type of plastic? It would help if you were pouring into metal, especially if it's grounded (like on a metal top of a scale that itself is grounded), because metal being electrically conductive, it will tend to polarize opposite whatever charge is on your lye and thereby attract it.

 

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Hey Robert,
Thanks for the insights! I hadn't thought about the containers' materials.

Right now, the lye is in a HDPE bottle (recycling code 2), and I'm pouring it into a transparent Polypropylene dish (recycling code 5) like you get pasta salad in from a deli.

Maybe after I open the HDPE bottle, I could drop in one end of a flexible (braided?) copper wire, and touch the other end to a metal dish that I'd then pour into? And would that also need to be grounded, or would it be enough to just make an electrical connection between the two containers?

Or.... has somebody else already solved this one?
I can't be the first!

Thanks again - all info so much appreciated!
Todd

 

[cerelife]

Todd, just rub a dryer sheet on the top of your bottle of lye and do the same with with the container you're using to measure the lye. I buy my lye locally under the Rooto brand at Ace hardware and pour into a small plastic container to measure. Using dryer sheets completely cured my static electricity "fly-aways"!

 

[pamielynn]

Yep - the dryer sheet works great! I swipe my scale, pot and around the top of the lye container. Works like a charm.

 

[Robert]

Right now, the lye is in a HDPE bottle (recycling code 2), and I'm pouring it into a transparent Polypropylene dish (recycling code 5) like you get pasta salad in from a deli.

For purposes of electricity, same type.

Can I assume the polypropylene dish is sitting on the pan of a balance?

Maybe after I open the HDPE bottle, I could drop in one end of a flexible (braided?) copper wire, and touch the other end to a metal dish that I'd then pour into? And would that also need to be grounded, or would it be enough to just make an electrical connection between the two containers?

That wouldn't do much good to bleed the charge off the granules of lye. They don't conduct electricity well enough. You'd have to stir the wire around in the lye for a long time, and that won't be good for either the copper or the lye.

Is it possible for you to fit a suitable metal weighing dish of some nonreactive kind on your balance? If not, could you pour the lye into a metal pan first, then spoon it into the weighing dish? Or, more simply, stick a metal spoon into the lye container and use that directly to spoon it into the weighing container?

 

[grayceworks]

I'm having the same problem with those lye granules. Once I get it into the measuring container it's fine, but the problem is that it's floating right up out of the white container it comes in as soon as I open it, before I ever even get a chance to pour it. It literally flies up out of the container as soon as I take the lid off, and I end up with granules on my clothes my gloves, my arms, my glasses, the countertop -- seriously, that's how bad it is jumping out of it's bottle.

Tried the dryer sheet thing -- didn't help with this although it did help with the measuring container.

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[Robert]

I'm having the same problem with those lye granules. Once I get it into the measuring container it's fine, but the problem is that it's floating right up out of the white container it comes in as soon as I open it, before I ever even get a chance to pour it. It literally flies up out of the container as soon as I take the lid off, and I end up with granules on my clothes my gloves, my arms, my glasses, the countertop -- seriously, that's how bad it is jumping out of it's bottle.

Tried the dryer sheet thing -- didn't help with this although it did help with the measuring container.

You might try complaining to the packer. I don't think that much static charge is produced merely by the contents rubbing against the container. They need to ground the equipment it was packed on.

 

[Lindy]

Robert the container the lye is in does not count - a lot! Lye in plastic bottles is very static prone.

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Try wiping the inside of the bottle with the dryer sheet as well before pouring. If it is really bad this is going to take more than a few wipes from the dryer sheet. I have my lye in pails (I pour it into them) and it helps a lot as I can control the items used to measure with by wiping with a dryer cloth, including glass.

 

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Great feedback all! Thanks a million.
(And - Graceyworks - thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one...)

I guess my next step is magic dryer sheets.
But I also like the idea of calling the supplier and asking what they propose.
I imagine they'd be interested to know why I'd hesitate to buy lye from them again.

I'll try dryer sheets and let y'all know if I'm still in trouble.

Thanks all!
Todd

 

[grayceworks]

Great feedback all! Thanks a million.
(And - Graceyworks - thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one...)

I guess my next step is magic dryer sheets.
But I also like the idea of calling the supplier and asking what they propose.
I imagine they'd be interested to know why I'd hesitate to buy lye from them again.

I'll try dryer sheets and let y'all know if I'm still in trouble.

Thanks all!
Todd

Try wiping the inside of the bottle with the dryer sheet as well before pouring. If it is really bad this is going to take more than a few wipes from the dryer sheet. I have my lye in pails (I pour it into them) and it helps a lot as I can control the items used to measure with by wiping with a dryer cloth, including glass.

Not sure how I would go about wiping the inside of the bottle without getting more lye everywhere? The granules stick to the sides of the bottle all the way up the inside of the bottle to the opening, and just jump out and try to get me as soon as I open the lid. This is the lye I was using, in the picture.

I just got another brand that I saw that said crystals, but it's not, it's granules also, just a lot smaller ones, but the bottle has a much narrower opening so although they have some static (not as much as the kind in the picture) the granules can't jump out at me as easily at least!

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[Lindy]

Not sure how I would go about wiping the inside of the bottle without getting more lye everywhere? The granules stick to the sides of the bottle all the way up the inside of the bottle to the opening, and just jump out and try to get me as soon as I open the lid. This is the lye I was using, in the picture.

I just got another brand that I saw that said crystals, but it's not, it's granules also, just a lot smaller ones, but the bottle has a much narrower opening so although they have some static (not as much as the kind in the picture) the granules can't jump out at me as easily at least!

Sent from my ME301T using Tapatalk

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[DeeAnna]

I also just wipe the around the area -- the scale table, the nearby work surface, the outside of the container that will be receiving the lye, and the outside of the lye bottle -- with a slightly damp towel or sponge right before measuring the lye into a container. A metallic container helps a bit too, but I've found using a damp towel helps a lot. A dryer sheet would provide much the same benefit, but I don't do dryer sheets. Anything to encourage the dissipation of static electricity.

 

[grayceworks]

Would it be a good idea to get a stainless steel canister to keep the lye in, and just pour it in there and get rid of the plastic container?

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My tablet has a wonky on-screen keyboard with a mind of its own -- ignore the typos :-/

 

[Skatergirl46]

My last batch of lye was from Brambleberry and it was flakes. I don't have the static problem at all with the flakes. They won't hit the bottom of the weighing dish and bounce out either.

 

[grayceworks]

It comes in flakes? Cool. My KOH comes in flakes, I didn't know the NaOH did also. I will be ordering THAT next time.

 

[Robert]

Would it be a good idea to get a stainless steel canister to keep the lye in, and just pour it in there and get rid of the plastic container?

That'd work, but there are some steps short of that that'd probably work as well. If you can not only use a metal spoon, but position it over the mouth of the plastic container after you unscrew the lid as you just start to slide the lid toward the other side, it should attract the charged lye that's nearest to the top of the container.

There are stainless steel bowls you can get with tight fitting plastic lids (I have a set of them). However, there are some containers you might already have around the house that have metal bottoms; I've used some that nuts came in, and some that drink mix tubs came in, all with snap-top plastic lids, and I used those containers to hold static-sensitive explosive powders. Just make sure the metal bottoms aren't of a lye-reactive material such as Al.

 

[My Mountain Soaps]

how odd, i have never had that trouble with the lye? i wonder could elevation have something to do with it, humidity? very very interesting.