Lye brand

[Jen74]

I usually get my sodium hydroxide from Belle Chemicals. It says it is at minimum 99% pure. Well I had one container kind of go bad a few months back( I think their was moisture in the bottle), so I orderd my lye from Essential Depot this time. I made my soap and it is curing( it seems okay so far), but I was reading the Essential Depot website and it says their Lye has a minimun strength of 96%. Is this good? I mean is there a difference? Is this pure enough?

 

[dibbles]

I've used ED lye plenty of times. It's always been just fine.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Lye has a minimun strength of 96%. Is this good? I mean is there a difference? Is this pure enough?

Yes, it's fine. They just guarantee a minimum strength at delivery time. It's not even that the average strength is 96%, it's probably higher (but will diminish over time when you repeatedly open the bottle). They just tell you that, when you use it as if it were 100%, you have anything between 0 and 4% extra superfat. Which is within the limits of measurement precision and SAP variablility of the supplies anyway.

It is common practice to indicate minimum contents, i. e. the professionals do it that way. If you're all the way into precision, you would have to measure (titrate) the strength of the lye any time anyway.

 

[earlene]

...the Essential Depot website and it says their Lye has a minimun strength of 96%. Is this good? I mean is there a difference? Is this pure enough?

All chemicals that can draw moisture from the air, will do so, even when a container is air-sealed in the factory. There is always a certain amount of room air in the top of the bottle of lye prior to that seal being secured, therefore the product inside will interact with whatever is in that little bit of air, including the water. The result will be some sodium bicarbonate is formed inside the bottle, but not a lot of it if the seal is not broken. That is what will cause a lower lye 'purity' or strength. However, every time you open it, more air is introduced into the bottle, so it is important to securely re-cap your lye containers to prevent an excess of air-exchange. (Same is true for master-batched lye solution.)

For this reason, lye calculators tend to default to 5% SF to give soapmakers a bit of leeway in case we count on 100% 'pure' lye and really have a less 'pure' lye. Some calculators do allow for picking your own lye purity (soapee.com is one such calculator), or the soapmaker can alter the SF setting to adjust to the lye purity. Some soapmakers actually test the lye purity prior to soaping and adjust their recipes accordingly. (Link to How to Check Lye Purity)

In that link, DeeAnna also talks about the dry bucket storage method for storing dry lye. It's not only effective to keep excess moisture out of your dry lye, but also adds extra security to lye storage. (Kids & others are less likely to get into the bucket with a gamma lid. And if the bucket is in a cupboard or closet or piled high with other soap supplies on top of it, it is even less likely.)

 

[TheGecko]

I usually get my sodium hydroxide from Belle Chemicals. It says it is at minimum 99% pure. Well I had one container kind of go bad a few months back (I think their was moisture in the bottle), so I orderd my lye from Essential Depot this time. I made my soap and it is curing (it seems okay so far), but I was reading the Essential Depot website and it says their Lye has a minimun strength of 96%. Is this good? I mean is there a difference? Is this pure enough?

Until I found a local soap supplier, I was using ED lye with no issues.