Piping hot!

[wearytraveler]

I have CPOP'ed my batches since I started making soap last year (with the exception of the 2 HP batches I made) but this weekend I'd like to try my hand a batch of round soap and I bought a PVC pipe that I'll cut to about 15" and a flat cap for the bottom. I'm no PVC expert by any means but I'm pretty sure that the temp limits for PVC is 140-ish so CPOPing this might be problematic.
I am thinking that I can set up a hot air room heater in a room and set the temp to about 80 and leave the mold sitting in front of it for a few hours in order to force gel. Does anyone see any issues with this? I just want to ensure this goes through gel.

 

[KristaY]

That might work but I'm not sure it'll completely go through gel with air temp at 80. I'd be more inclined to wrap the pipe in a heating pad, then wrap that with towels or a blanket. If you're doing CP you'll have to keep the pipe upright so I'd wrap the whole thing tightly. It still won't guarantee it'll go all the way through gel though.

 

[RalphTheMastiff]

I have CPOP'ed my batches since I started making soap last year (with the exception of the 2 HP batches I made) but this weekend I'd like to try my hand a batch of round soap and I bought a PVC pipe that I'll cut to about 15" and a flat cap for the bottom. I'm no PVC expert by any means but I'm pretty sure that the temp limits for PVC is 140-ish so CPOPing this might be problematic.
I am thinking that I can set up a hot air room heater in a room and set the temp to about 80 and leave the mold sitting in front of it for a few hours in order to force gel. Does anyone see any issues with this? I just want to ensure this goes through gel.

Keep in mind that the pvc pipe can withstand som heat, like when you dump a big pot of pooling water in the sink, also when raw lye as drain cleaned gets dumped down, it's just making soap in your pipes that's then washed away over time. All the heat from the lye sits in the pipe. While I'd be more concerned about it leaching something out of the plastic than I would be it melting. A good way to test this is to put a small cut off of it in a pot of boiling water and see what happens. While heat may make it playable it's incredibly durable.

What about getting a rubber clamp on cap and putting a wire rack in the bottom of a stock pot to prevent the cap from hitting the bottom and water bath it for the heat. Just make the tube 6 or do inches above the Rim of the pot and cap it. You can than use an instant read thermometer to keep the water at the right temp. If it gets to hot ladle some out replace with some cold and agust the burner. I think you could very quickly get it down and get the consistency you are looking for....

If you try it take pics and let me know how it works, and remember if you do it this way a clamp on is key, the plastic cap will let water in, but you can use the plastic cap on the top to keep the steam out!!!!

 

[wearytraveler]

I can certainly wrap it with a bunch of towels but a heating pad is not available to me. However, another idea popped into mind. What if I submerge the pipe (not completely, of course) in hot water? I have a container that I can stand the pipe in and fill it with hot water to near the top of the pipe. I can control the temp of the water and replace with fresh, hot water as the night goes on. Sounds plausible, no?

 

[wearytraveler]

Ha! You beat me to the idea! I think that's a thought and something I'd look into for sure. Really looking forward to trying this out this weekend!

Keep in mind that the pvc pipe can withstand som heat, like when you dump a big pot of pooling water in the sink, also when raw lye as drain cleaned gets dumped down, it's just making soap in your pipes that's then washed away over time. All the heat from the lye sits in the pipe. While I'd be more concerned about it leaching something out of the plastic than I would be it melting. A good way to test this is to put a small cut off of it in a pot of boiling water and see what happens. While heat may make it playable it's incredibly durable.

What about getting a rubber clamp on cap and putting a wire rack in the bottom of a stock pot to prevent the cap from hitting the bottom and water bath it for the heat. Just make the tube 6 or do inches above the Rim of the pot and cap it. You can than use an instant read thermometer to keep the water at the right temp. If it gets to hot ladle some out replace with some cold and agust the burner. I think you could very quickly get it down and get the consistency you are looking for....

If you try it take pics and let me know how it works, and remember if you do it this way a clamp on is key, the plastic cap will let water in, but you can use the plastic cap on the top to keep the steam out!!!!

 

[RalphTheMastiff]

I can certainly wrap it with a bunch of towels but a heating pad is not available to me. However, another idea popped into mind. What if I submerge the pipe (not completely, of course) in hot water? I have a container that I can stand the pipe in and fill it with hot water to near the top of the pipe. I can control the temp of the water and replace with fresh, hot water as the night goes on. Sounds plausible, no?

I beat you to it by 3 min!! Lol

 

[RalphTheMastiff]

Why do you want it to gel?

 

[wearytraveler]

Personal preference. I've tried both and prefer the feel of gelled vs un-gelled. It feels slicker on my skin and seems to last a bit longer in the shower.

Why do you want it to gel?

 

[cherrycoke216]

In a recent thread someone shared this link. Maybe try preheat oven 120 F and turn it off once the pipe is in?

www.auntieclaras.com/2015/03/oh-oval-oval-soap-mould-tutorial/

There's some pretty soap pictures in this blog post. Though I don't understand why she wanted to stamp "pancreas" in Chinese on her soap. Mmm... Maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

You might not need to do as much as you think to get a gel. The soap is going to be cooling differently than it would in a different mould and so you might just have to insulate so that the heat from the saponification can stay in rather than adding more heat. Add too much heat and the soap in the middle of the pipe could well overheat

 

[SaltedFig]

In a recent thread someone shared this link. Maybe try preheat oven 120 F and turn it off once the pipe is in?

www.auntieclaras.com/2015/03/oh-oval-oval-soap-mould-tutorial/

There's some pretty soap pictures in this blog post. Though I don't understand why she wanted to stamp "pancreas" in Chinese on her soap. Mmm... Maybe someone can enlighten me.

I had to look :mrgreen: ... it also means soap, according to here: http://www.chinesetools.eu/chinese-dictionary/index.php?q=pancreas

 

[wearytraveler]

I saw that a few weeks back and it's what prompted me to try a round soap. My plan/goal is to try the round to see what soap in PVC will look like and how I'll handle the unmolding. Once I've done a batch or two of the round I plan to alter the pipe to an oval and use that.

In a recent thread someone shared this link. Maybe try preheat oven 120 F and turn it off once the pipe is in?

www.auntieclaras.com/2015/03/oh-oval-oval-soap-mould-tutorial/

There's some pretty soap pictures in this blog post. Though I don't understand why she wanted to stamp "pancreas" in Chinese on her soap. Mmm... Maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

[Millie]

There's some pretty soap pictures in this blog post. Though I don't understand why she wanted to stamp "pancreas" in Chinese on her soap. Mmm... Maybe someone can enlighten me.

Lol! I often wonder what people have unknowingly tattood on their arms too

I get a gel with plain old CP, insulated, at room temp. If you post your preferred lye concentration and soaping temps maybe others can chime in and tell you if they have gotten gel success with similar conditions. I think as long as you don't have a super steep water discount it should work.

 

[penelopejane]

You don't need to heat it. Just wrap it in blankets and leave for 2 days. I use 30% lye concentration making Castile in pvc tube. I kept it upright the whole time.

 

[wearytraveler]

I'll be using a lye concentration of 40% as was recommended to me here a couple of weeks back. I'm using a recipe with 50%+ soft oils and the last batch I made I used that concentration and I was very happy with the results. My only color will come from the clay I use and I definitely plan to keep the mold upright till I know it's fully set. My only real concern is my inexperience with not CPOPing and the possibility of partial gel. It's easy to force gel in an oven and I've never not CPOP'ed so it's new territory for me.

 

[pametan]

My best success at avoiding gel rings has been when I waited for both the oils and lye cooled completely to room temperature. It can take a while. Now that I don't have a cat anymore I actually pour and melt the oils and mix the lye and water and leave and go grocery shopping. Then I don't get impatient and tell myself it will be fine only to be disappointed when I cut it and find there's a ring. I hate gel rings!

 

[wearytraveler]

Well there it is. All seems fine... thus far. I just finished pouring into the pipe and placing the pipe in the laundry basket I previously used for tie dyeing (that's why there are colors all over the inside) placing it in my bath tub and filling with 145 degree water. I wrapped some joint tape around the PVC where the cap fit on and tested it earlier today with water (letting it stand for a couple of hours) and there were no leaks. I did the same now for the soap and used some tape and a plastic bag to completely cover the bottom. If there's a leak now I won't worry much since it's in the container.
I'll check the water temp for a few ours and refresh with hot water when needed. Hoping this makes it completely through gel. I'll find out soon enough when I battle it to come out of the pipe.

 

[cherrycoke216]

I had to look :mrgreen: ... it also means soap, according to here: http://www.chinesetools.eu/chinese-dictionary/index.php?q=pancreas

Well, I didn't know that. Might be an ancient literal usage. I'll have to dig up my dictionary after this market thing is finished.
On a second thought,her name is Auntie Clara, so auntie in Chinese form is either 姑( paternal auntie ) or 姨 (maternal aunt); so maybe she meant to say maternal aunt but the stamp maker didn't know Chinese that well.

Lol! I often wonder what people have unknowingly tattood on their arms too .

Here is an Japanese brand exhaust hood commercial which aired in Taiwan.It's exactly what you have described, haha! The Chinese tattoo means " buy Sakura brand, get grease filter free. "


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjDOjwbgtDk[/ame]

 

[cherrycoke216]

I saw that a few weeks back and it's what prompted me to try a round soap. My plan/goal is to try the round to see what soap in PVC will look like and how I'll handle the unmolding. Once I've done a batch or two of the round I plan to alter the pipe to an oval and use that.

Please let us know how you pushed it out of the mold! I didn't see you lining the PVC pipe or maybe I ignored it. I'm intrigued to try PVC pipe mold,too!

 

[cmzaha]

Steep water discounts, ie high lye concentration actually slows the gelling process. Higher water such as the default water in soap calc will cause a hotter faster gel. Although if this is a 100% olive oil castile it will take longer for it to harden enough to remove from the pipe. I would wonder if water could seep into the pipe standing it in a tub of water.