PVC plastic sleeve tubing for round soap

[TWF Mystic]

Hello,

I've seen where clear plastic tubing has been used to line 3-inch PVC pipe with good results. Can anyone point me to a source of these sleeves, and would you use a 4 " sleeve for a 3 " pipe? Thanks.

 

[DeeAnna]

You can buy polyethylene tubing at places like PaperMart.

Do the math to know -- Circumference = 3.14 X Diameter.

A pipe that has an inner diameter of 3 inches has an inner circumference of 3.14 X 3 = 9.42 inches

A plastic tube that's 4 inches across when flattened has an opened circumference of twice its flattened measurement. So 2 X 4 = 8 inches circumference.

There used to be (maybe still is) a soap maker who cuts polyethylene tubing to length and pours soap batter directly into the plastic tube. No pipe used. You'd have to securely seal the bottom of the tubing and fasten the top to some kind of support.

 

[TWF Mystic]

Thank you. And thanks for the geometry primer.

 

[Ford]

Hi, I started with freezer paper. Like many others. Found these at $tore. Ones I tried previously were to thick. These are thin enough to work. Trimmed to about 1 inch overlap. I use a flat ^test cap^. With a piece of freezer paper to seal bottom. The pvc is 12 inches long.

 

[Maple_Street_Bath]

I no longer line my PVC pipes. I had more issues with misshapen loafs due to the freezer paper crinkling than it was worth. Soapmaking has taught me a lot of patience, so now I pour my soaps in the PVC mold, let it do its thing for 24 hours, put it in the freezer for 24 hours, and let it come to room temp for an hour or so. I pop the end cap off and the soap slides right out. Let thaw completely before cutting. The first batch did not go this smoothly, the first one took a week before it would slide out of the PVC, but the batches after the first or second worked fine with this method.