Teach Soap

Since volume and weight are not the same (unless the specific gravity is 1--water), how does one determine with accuracy how much weight of soap will fit in a given mold? My molds are all improvised containers, and I calculate a recipe for the specific batch based on the mold size (starting with a base recipe in percentages of oils). It would be nice to know how much weight of soap will fit in whatever mold I am using--shoeboxes, plastic drawer organizers, plastic cups, etc. I have been figuring the volume of these in ounces, and that usually provides a satisfactory, though imperfect, fit with the same weight measurement in ounces (usually the soap doesn't quite fill the mold, no big deal). But I have now determined to weigh everything in grams b/c my scale is not as accurate in ounces, and I usually make small batches. How to go about thinking in grams is a bit daunting--I can do the simple conversions of oz weight to grams, but I am stuck on figuring out how many grams will fit in my containers when I only know their volume in fluid ounces. Any tips from an experienced "gram" soaper?

One way you can approximate the volume of a particular mold is to put the container on the scale and tare it. Then fill it with water to see how many grams it will hold. If it's a square or a rectangular mold, go to Summer Bee meadow Lye calc and input your recipe. Then down at the bottom of the page is a resizer. Input the size of your mold and it will tell you how much the mold will hold.

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

The exact coverstion is 1 ounce is 28.34grams. But having had to do this coversion over the years I have seen 1oz to 29gm and 1oz to 30gm used as the acceptable practice. With that said, soapbuddy's way is so much easier and exactly what I do. I also have a couple of small containers, such as silicone icecube trays, handy for any extras I scrape from the bowl.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

Oh, duh. Yes, that makes perfect sense. I think my problem is that I easily think in ounces and have no frame of reference for grams, so I feel a bit lost. But I see that grams are more accurate in measuring lye for very small batches, which is what I do now since I am new to soap-making and am only making soap for the family (and fun experiements). The lye calc I use (www.thesage.com) will let you work in grams, no problem. Thanks.

When you make a small batch and measure by grams, for more then two numbers past the decimal point, round up on your oils and round down on your lye.

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

So is it more accurate to use grams over ounces?

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