Need Rapid Testing / Suggestions Now

[Yooper]

1. I love the new look -- it's really convenient that it adds up the percentages as you go, and you don't need to click to see results. I also like the longevity bit.
2. What does "stable" mean? For most oils, it seems to be the same as "longevity", i.e., the sum of palmitic and stearic. However, for castor oil, I notice that it says longevity:0 and stable: 90.
3. I like the Expand option under the Oils. Would it be possible to keep the header fixed? If I scroll down, I cannot see the header.
4. Under Select recipe units of measure, do we really need the first line? I don't know anyone actually adds oils by weight and builds the recipe; I'm guessing everyone uses a percentage?
5. Anyway, if I do choose "grams" in the first line, it correctly shows the total in grams but still displays the unit for each oil as % -- see screen shot.
View attachment 32495
6. This one is a Chemistry question -- wondering if someone (@DeeAnna, @SaltedFig, anyone else?) can suggest a way for it to be incorporated into the calculator. What causes olive and castor oils to form hard bars after cure (even though the numbers here give them 0 and 17 respectively), and is there any way to reflect this in the calculator?

​

1. I like it too!
2. Asking the developer to answer- as I have no idea.
3. Asking about this as well.
4. I sometimes will use amounts, as I might only have 17 ounces of olive oil I want to use up, but still look at the percentages.
5. Yes.
6. For an expert!

 

[Dawni]

I think a few people mentioned additives.....

I like having to see how much sodium lactate I should use, if I'm using it.. I'm under the impression this is one of the more common additives, as well as salt and ACV? I know adding "options" for all the additives is impossible but it would be nice to have em for the common ones.

I think I found a glitch? It happened to me twice but now I'm trying to replicate it so I can take a screenshot but it seems to have been fixed.. But if it isn't, sometimes a fat that hasn't been selected (meaning it isn't showing up below with an option to input weight/percentage) is showing as if selected (meaning it is highlighted and has a minus, not plus sign on the list). I hope you understand me lol

 

[Dawni]

If it fits, can we have "Oils Total/Mold Capacity:" so that forgetful people like me (who have already read the tip but still got confused coz she forgot what the tip told her) don't go looking for where to input mold capacity lol

 

[Yooper]

2. What does "stable" mean? For most oils, it seems to be the same as "longevity", i.e., the sum of palmitic and stearic. However, for castor oil, I notice that it says longevity:0 and stable: 90.

I got an answer about 'stable':
stable: 'How long the lather will stay fluffy with big bubbles'

 

[Yooper]

I think a few people mentioned additives.....

I like having to see how much sodium lactate I should use, if I'm using it.. I'm under the impression this is one of the more common additives, as well as salt and ACV? I know adding "options" for all the additives is impossible but it would be nice to have em for the common ones.

I think I found a glitch? It happened to me twice but now I'm trying to replicate it so I can take a screenshot but it seems to have been fixed.. But if it isn't, sometimes a fat that hasn't been selected (meaning it isn't showing up below with an option to input weight/percentage) is showing as if selected (meaning it is highlighted and has a minus, not plus sign on the list). I hope you understand me lol

I can't recreate the glitch, but I do understand! Yes, I think sodium lactate should be added as well. I'll check into that.
We have 'custom' ingredients, but we are also going to have a few additives that are very commonly used.

If it fits, can we have "Oils Total/Mold Capacity:" so that forgetful people like me (who have already read the tip but still got confused coz she forgot what the tip told her) don't go looking for where to input mold capacity lol

As a matter of fact, we are adding mold capacity today! We'll have both I think- the way it is now with the 'total liquids and oils" as we as the size of the mold that calculates the capacity.

 

[Dawni]

Thank you! I asked about stability as well, good to know what it is now lol but since it's about lather......

Is it too much to ask for another point that will tell me (also numerically, maybe like 1 for it'll spoil very soon and 10 for it'll take years lol) that my soap might go bad this quick or that long (because maybe I used too much sunflower oil or another oil with short shelf life)?

Also, speaking of oils total and mold capacity.... Please correct this newbie if she's wrong. I had this option checked (see screenshot above) and used 1600 as mold capacity but the results are showing a bigger volume. Is this correct? Or am I incorrectly assuming that I should be getting a total of everything that should fit in my mold (meaning it shouldn't go past 1600)?

 

[Yooper]

Thank you! I asked about stability as well, good to know what it is now lol but since it's about lather......

Is it too much to ask for another point that will tell me (also numerically, maybe like 1 for it'll spoil very soon and 10 for it'll take years lol) that my soap might go bad this quick or that long (because maybe I used too much sunflower oil or another oil with short shelf life)?

Also, speaking of oils total and mold capacity.... Please correct this newbie if she's wrong. I had this option checked (see screenshot above) and used 1600 as mold capacity but the results are showing a bigger volume. Is this correct? Or am I incorrectly assuming that I should be getting a total of everything that should fit in my mold (meaning it shouldn't go past 1600)?

I don't know if any calculator can tell you how long a soap will be usable or the shelf life, besides the INS and things we already have in place.

Your screenshots are perfect- that should NOT be happening. I reported it to the developer immediately.

As far as the stable quality is concerned, I've been told that it is the sum of ''palmitic', 'stearic', 'ricinoleic' that is calculated for that quality.

 

[Nanditasr]

I got an answer about 'stable':
stable: 'How long the lather will stay fluffy with big bubbles'

Thanks. I went down the entire list, and there are only two that have a different value for Longevity vs. Stable -- castor oil and "Soapquick, conventional". It may be more helpful to call it "Lather stability" or "Stable lather"?

4. I sometimes will use amounts, as I might only have 17 ounces of olive oil I want to use up, but still look at the percentages.
5. Yes.

4. OK.
5. Is this a feature (not a bug)?

 

[Nanditasr]

I don't know if any calculator can tell you how long a soap will be usable or the shelf life, besides the INS and things we already have in place.

Your screenshots are perfect- that should NOT be happening. I reported it to the developer immediately.

As far as the stable quality is concerned, I've been told that it is the sum of ''palmitic', 'stearic', 'ricinoleic' that is calculated for that quality.

Ricinoleic is not mentioned in the oil analysis -- I guess it needs to be added?

 

[amd]

A quick look at lye masterbatching, I don't like that the final recipe includes the total lye weight.


Found this error when doing a water ratio that wasn't a whole number, but it only showed the one time, after that it calculated correctly.

 

[Dawni]

I don't know if any calculator can tell you how long a soap will be usable or the shelf life, besides the INS and things we already have in place.

Ah, a girl can dream then lol right now I have to keep my notebook open while I'm using Soapcalc to remember each n everything haha

Your screenshots are perfect- that should NOT be happening. I reported it to the developer immediately.

Very glad I could help

As far as the stable quality is concerned, I've been told that it is the sum of ''palmitic', 'stearic', 'ricinoleic' that is calculated for that quality.

Ah yes, I remember I read about the numbers from Dee Anna's post (I think). And I get now how shelf life might not be numerically calculable.

Oh btw... Keep forgetting. Thank you for your (and everyone else's) hard work on this!

 

[Admin]

Ah, a girl can dream then lol right now I have to keep my notebook open while I'm using Soapcalc to remember each n everything haha

What do you mean by this? You have to keep a notebook for each batch to understand when it will go bad?

We have on our list doing Batches, so you can make a batch out of a recipe and track it.

What features/options do you want to track a batch?

 

[Dawni]

What do you mean by this? You have to keep a notebook for each batch to understand when it will go bad?

Oh no that's not what I meant at all! Hehe.. I meant, as a newbie, there's too many things to remember, so I keep this notebook of mine full of "research" open, and I'm constantly checking it whenever I try to formulate a batch (because mostly I don't want to waste anything on a bad batch although it is inevitable).

Which is why I was dreaming of things that will help me, at a glance, like about the shelf life question that Yooper answered.

We have on our list doing Batches, so you can make a batch out of a recipe and track it.

What features/options do you want to track a batch?

I just saw that thread... I have to sit and think on this and get back to you over there

 

[Yooper]

5. Is this a feature (not a bug)?

Oh, no, definitely not a feature! I sent it over to the developer.

 

[Yooper]

Can I get some opinions on additives that should be part of the options, vs custom additives?
I know that many people add clay, stearic acid, etc- but those are definitely more user specific in my opinion as are things like goat's milk, honey, etc.

For common additives that need calculating though, I think we're all in agreement that they should be added. Citric acid and vinegar for example need lye calculations.

Someone else suggested sodium lactate. I know there are 'suggested amounts' in recipes, but are they any particular ingredients or additives that you feel should be a part of the additives for everyone? We will have citric acid and vinegar as "global" items, but for things like sea salt and sugar, it will be custom additives I think since they aren't part of the calculation, and salt is different, depending on what the soapmaker is making. For example, when I make salt bars I might use 50% of the weight of the oils- but that's not typically used in other soaps.

What do you think we need to have in the calculator that we may be missing?

 

[Yooper]

Ricinoleic is not mentioned in the oil analysis -- I guess it needs to be added?

Fixed!

A quick look at lye masterbatching, I don't like that the final recipe includes the total lye weight.

This should be fixed now! Thank you.

 

[Lankan]

I had this option checked (see screenshot above) and used 1600 as mold capacity but the results are showing a bigger volume. Is this correct? Or am I incorrectly assuming that I should be getting a total of everything that should fit in my mold (meaning it shouldn't go past 1600)?

Any explanation or correction on this one. Soapee also gives a similar results

 

[SoapmakingFriend]

Any explanation or correction on this one. Soapee also gives a similar results

This has been corrected on soapmakingfriend today

 

[Yooper]

@amd @SaltedFig @DeeAnna @CaraBou and any other "masterbatchers"- can you check now and see if you have what would be needed so we can wrap that part up? I've never done it, so I don't know what you need and what sort of calculations make sense to you.


I'd really appreciate any input on this. We want it to be perfect (and easy!) to use and I really don't know if this is what you would like or not.

 

[amd]

@Yooper I have a few suggestions for the masterbatching
1. Move the Masterbatch Lye question to the liquids section. I think it would make more sense there than with the type of soap made. Doing up a quick recipe, I totally missed it and was expecting to see it in the liquids section.

2. I think the description Total Liquid Required is misleading, it was better on the previous version when it was called Total Additional Liquid Required.

I'm really excited about this calculator! I think it will be a great resource