When To Add Fragrance

[jcandleattic]

I downloaded the Soapmake.ca and it looks like it will be a handy program to have. A question for those using it... how do you get the specific gravity number required when adding new additives, etc. Do you use the same number for all or do you specifically find it out for each ingredient? Thanks,

There is a specific thread on here for SM3 I believe, could be helpful. Also if you use Facebook, there is a SM3 help group ran by the developer of SM3 that is helpful also. To answer your question though, to keep your inventory as accurate as possible, yes, you want the specific gravity of each ingredient, not just a generic placeholder. Most can be found online.

 

[Bladesmith]

I downloaded the Soapmake.ca and it looks like it will be a handy program to have. A question for those using it... how do you get the specific gravity number required when adding new additives, etc. Do you use the same number for all or do you specifically find it out for each ingredient? Thanks,

It is best to find the correct specific gravity for each ingredient that you add in there. That way if you use SM3 to do some volume calculations, they will be more accurate.

 

[SPowers]

I was reading something somewhere on the web that the calculations on Soapcalc and Soapmaker.ca can be different and shouldn't be used interchangeably. I love the idea of a stand-alone program - it's a one stop place for saving your recipes whereas Soapcalc is limited to a certain number of recipes and you can't show the recipe name.
Soapmaker.ca is more in depth as noted with the required info of 'specific gravity' on FO's and EO's... if anyone uses Soapmaker.ca, I would greatly appreciate knowing how you handle new ingredients as it relates to the SG issue.

 

[Bladesmith]

I was reading something somewhere on the web that the calculations on Soapcalc and Soapmaker.ca can be different and shouldn't be used interchangeably. I love the idea of a stand-alone program - it's a one stop place for saving your recipes whereas Soapcalc is limited to a certain number of recipes and you can't show the recipe name.
Soapmaker.ca is more in depth as noted with the required info of 'specific gravity' on FO's and EO's... if anyone uses Soapmaker.ca, I would greatly appreciate knowing how you handle new ingredients as it relates to the SG issue.

I use Soapmaker 3 (the program that you are referring to). Different calculators use slightly different SAP values for the oils so the numbers will be different but still very similar. It is best to stick with a single calculator.

As I said in my previous post, it is best to find the correct specific gravity for any ingredient you add to the program, if possible. Specific gravity is basically just density relative to water (with water having a value of 1). Most oils are below 1 (they float in water). For EO's, most of them are below 1 but not all. For FO's, many of them are actually above 1.

Specific gravity is used to convert mass to volume or vice versa. So, you measure out your oils and ingredients in grams. Say you have several different sized molds saved in Soapmaker 3. If you want to resize the recipe to a different mold, the program will use the specific gravities of the ingredients to determine the amounts (in grams) for the volume of the mold you're resizing to. The more accurate the specific gravity values you put in, the more accurate the volume calculations will be.

So, the answer is: find the values if you can. If not, put in a dummy value. Most of the time FO's and EO's aren't going to be major factors in volume calculations anyways. I would be more concerned with your major soaping oils. Most of those should already be in the program though.

And depending on the version of the software you have, you can use it to record purchases and keep up with inventories of oils. You can record your oil purchases by gallon or some volume amount (or however you've purchased it). And once you tell the software that you've made a certain recipe, it will reduce the appropriate amount of oil in the inventory. These conversions from grams to volume and back are all done with specific gravity.

 

[SPowers]

Thank you for the detailed explanation. The software I downloaded has a total of 3 FO's shown so it looks like I will be putting in a dummy number... 0.95 is shown for the 3 listed so this is what I'll use.
This forum would be a good spot for people to post SG on items they've researched... just a thought.