Teach Soap

I'm confused? I used the Soap Cal Lye Calculator and then I used the Lye Calculator from Teach Soap (Soap Queen) and came up with two different amounts. Soap Cals Lye & Water amounts were much larger than the calculator on Teach Soap. What's up?? Joanne

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Islandgirl

Welcome!
Try The Sage lye calc and see if that one matches either of the two. http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Thank you! I did look at the MMS Calculator and saw that they used to go by 6fl. oz H20 by lb. of Oils, which is just about what the Soap Cal does. But, MMS says they now will calculate H20 by using anywhere from 4 - 6 fl. oz. of H20/lb. of oils. I used 17lbs. of oil (fats). So, 17 X 6 = 102 ounces of H20. Soap Cal gave me 103.36 oz.'s of H20 & 39.96 oz.'s of Lye. When I've used this recipe before, I did the CPOP Method with no problem, but this time I just did it the old way; i.e., filled the pine log molds, covered with saran wrap, put on wooden lid, covered with 3-4 towels for insulation & let sit overnight. Next day, remove wooden lid, remove saran wrap and soap is firm, but wet around the edges. It will dry eventually, but I'm not happy with that. Should I use MMS Cal. and calculate with less oz.'s of water per lb. of oils?? Thanks, Joanne - Cliff Island Soapworks

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Islandgirl

The Sage gives you a range of water. I like the fact that I can use the minimum water required to dissolve the lye and add the rest as other liquid (ie carrot juice, pureed cucumbers or milk).

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Yes, I think that's definitely worth a try. The 6oz.'s of water per lb. of oils just seems like way too much water!!
Thanks for your help! It's always good to talk these things out. I could spend hours spinning my wheels about all these little details and it's great to have this forum to talk with other soapers and get lots of great information!! Joanne - Cliff Island SoapWorks

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Islandgirl

i read thet you use carrot juice and pureed cucumbers .may i ask wat it do to the soap?is it have afaect on the coloer? or on the smell ?

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Thank you everyone for your tips & comments. I really like the Soap Cal, over the other lye calculators. I don't feel comfortable enough yet to work with "ranges", that would mean I would have to make a decision I love Soap Cal because it gives you everything, lbs., oz.s, grams, quality of your soap recipe, etc. I've looked at & tried a lot of Lye Calculators, but find that soapcalc.com works best. I've changed my recipe around a bit and I also think part of my problem was that I wasn't bringing the soap to "full trace". I've made several batches since, and they've all come out perfect! I even did my 1st "Swirl Soap" last night, with my Lilac Soap (Lilac F.O. which is already hard to work with), using the Pop Oxide Purple for the swirl, and it came out perfect!! Again, thanks to everyone for all your help~! Joanne - Cliff Island Soap Works

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Islandgirl