Zap test?

[Relax]

Hi,

When is a zap test suppose to be done on CP? I've seen/read many soapers do it just before or after pouring in the mold, immediately after unmolding and/or after the complete curing process. I was wondering why one would be done before the cure when using the CP method. Also, if a batch has too much lye, how can I tell without waiting a whole 6-8 weeks for it to cure before finding out?

 

[kchaystack]

Hi,

When is a zap test suppose to be done on CP? I've seen/read many soapers do it just before or after pouring in the mold, immediately after unmolding and/or after the complete curing process. I was wondering why one would be done before the cure when using the CP method. Also, if a batch has too much lye, how can I tell without waiting a whole 6-8 weeks for it to cure before finding out?

You are pretty much guaranteed a zap if you test after pouring into your mold. I usually test the day after my soap is cut. If it saps then I test it again in a day, then after about a week if it was zappy on the 2nd test. If it is still zappy a week later you had way too much lye in your batter and you need to consider rebatching. I have heard you can also let it cure for a really long time (not sure but about a year keeps coming to mind). There was a lye heavy castile experiment on this forum that you can search for.

 

[Obsidian]

I agree, 1-2 days is when I first test. I've never had a soap zap then but if I did I would test again in another week. I used to test when I cut but I got zapped too much so I started to wait a bit longer.

 

[IrishLass]

Never, ever, ever zap test a soap just before or after pouring in the mold (unless you want a severe lye burn on your tongue, that is). I wonder who those soapers are?? That's just insane! Yikes! :crazy:

You can zap test at any time after the soap has been unmolded and cut into bars. Whatever you do, though, don't ever zap test a soap that has not fully set up/hardened yet.

Back when I first started soaping, I used to zap test as soon as I cut my soap into bars, but nowadays I like to zap test my CP about 1 to 2 weeks after unmolding, especially if my soap did not gel. With un-gelled soap, saponification progresses at a slower pace than with gelled soap, which means that an un-gelled soap can be zappy for several days after unmolding, even if properly made (i.e., not lye-heavy). I had one batch of un-gelled soap zap for about 7 days or so before it finally mellowed out. For what it's worth, none of my week to 2-week old batches of soap ever zap.


IrishLass

 

[KristaY]

Saponification usually takes 24-48 hours but can take longer. If you zap test in the first couple of days you should expect to get zapped. I usually wait about 4 days to do the zap test if I'm worried about possibly mis-measuring something. Normally I don't do it for a couple of weeks just to verify things are good.

 

[Relax]

Thanks everyone. I'll wait until a little over a week before I do it.

 

[DeeAnna]

I'm one of the soapers who made a couple of batches of the super lye-heavy soaps. It took a good 8 weeks for the soap to be skin safe through to the center of the bars. In that time, I got zapped regularly ... but I did it purely in the interests of science, of course. :crazy: I don't recommend intentionally checking zappy soap unless you are a curious soaper geek like me.

For my normal soaps, I check a few days after cutting. If I am at all concerned about the appearance or the possible zappity-ness of the soap, I learned (see the previous paragraph!) to be very, very cautious with the zap test -- touch fingertip lightly to soap, touch fingertip lightly to tongue.

 

[SoapingSara]

Never, ever, ever zap test a soap just before or after pouring in the mold (unless you want a severe lye burn on your tongue, that is). I wonder who those soapers are?? That's just insane! Yikes! :crazy:

You can zap test at any time after the soap has been unmolded and cut into bars. Whatever you do, though, don't ever zap test a soap that has not fully set up/hardened yet.

Back when I first started soaping, I used to zap test as soon as I cut my soap into bars, but nowadays I like to zap test my CP about 1 to 2 weeks after unmolding, especially if my soap did not gel. With un-gelled soap, saponification progresses at a slower pace than with gelled soap, which means that an un-gelled soap can be zappy for several days after unmolding, even if properly made (i.e., not lye-heavy). I had one batch of un-gelled soap zap for about 7 days or so before it finally mellowed out. For what it's worth, none of my week to 2-week old batches of soap ever zap.


IrishLass

Maybe I am the only one that does this, hold onto a question thinking it will get answered soon, but someday never happens.
So, when soapers talk about how the soap gelled, or how it did not gell, I am left standing with my hand over my eyes and shaking my head back and forth. I feel stupid since I feel after making batches and batches of soap I should know what it means for soap to gell. I just figured it ment that it went from a liquid state to a solid state. Am I wrong? This is one of those cases where I have decided to stop shaking my head everytime I see somebody talk about how the soap gelled, or did not gell. Its time I get this answered. Yes, I am feeling a bit sheepish for even asking.:roll:

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

No, a soap will go solid whether or not it gels.

There are some images in the sticky in this section about images of various soaping topics and it now includes gelled vs ungelled and partial gels, thanks to Newbie for the picture posting!

 

[SoapingSara]

No, a soap will go solid whether or not it gels.

There are some images in the sticky in this section about images of various soaping topics and it now includes gelled vs ungelled and partial gels, thanks to Newbie for the picture posting!

I appreceate this, thank you

 

[Relax]

Am I suppose to test each bar or just one bar from each batch? Possibly the middle of each batch?

 

[shunt2011]

I generally zap test mine about a week out. I test a couple, one from the middle and one from the end of the batch just to be sure it's all good.

 

[IrishLass]

I feel stupid since I feel after making batches and batches of soap I should know what it means for soap to gell. I just figured it ment that it went from a liquid state to a solid state. Am I wrong?

Don't feel too bad Sara. I've been soaping for almost 10 years now and I'm still learning new things. I blame DeeAnna. ;-) (Actually, I'm very thankful to her.)

When a soap goes through the gel stage, the temperature of the soap increases to the point that it actually melts and turns into a liquid gel. Some refer to this stage as the 'neat phase' or the 'liquid-crystalline phase'.

If you are looking at your soap during this stage, you will see it start darkening up at the center and then gradually darkening all the way out toward the edges. This is the soap turning into a gel.

At the chemical level during the gel-stage, the soap is on the fast-track to becoming soap. The lye is working really hard to convert the oils and fat into soap, and it's giving off a lot of heat in the process.

Once the fats/oils and lye have been converted into soap (saponified), things cool back down, the soap lightens back up, and it becomes hard enough to unmold and cut.

If soap batter does not go through the gel-stage, it will still saponify (become soap), but at a much slower pace.

IrishLass