# How do YOU melt pounds of M&P?



## candice19 (May 27, 2009)

I made my first 4 lb molds of M&P yesterday.  I ended up dividing the soap and melting 10 different small batches to do 4 lbs.  There has got to be an easier way.

How do you all melt 4 lbs (or multiple pounds) of soap at a time?  Not all at once, right?  How can I minimize the number of smaller batches to melt at once?


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## Piedpipurr (May 27, 2009)

I tried all kinds of way when first starting out.  I finally ended up getting a Presto Pot.  I LOVE it.  It did take a little getting used to but once I had it down I will never go back to any other way.

Carole


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## KSL (May 27, 2009)

What's a presto pot?

I cut mine into chunks and melt them all at once.  
My mold holds 4 lbs of MP soap, so I just make 4lb batches at a time.

If I'm using other molds, I just scoop out what I need out of the big pot and mix it in a bowl or other container.

I am wondering about using a slow cooker.... is that the same thing as a presto pot?  

They had one one sale at Canadian Tire last week for $20.


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## Piedpipurr (May 27, 2009)

You can buy a Presto Pot at WalMart.  I have two stores in my area..........one had them, one did not.  They run around $23.00 if I remember correctly.  There is a temperature dial so you can set it around 200 degrees or lower to melt your base.  I do three pounds at a time because that is what my log mold holds.  Do a Google search and you will find a picture.

Carole

Carole


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## KSL (May 27, 2009)

Sounds like a slow cooker to me - only you can control the temperature.
I have a roaster that does the same thing - but I'm not about to make soap in it... Its HUUUUGE.  I can roast a 20lbs turkey in it! LOL

Well, I'm probably going down to the US in a couple of weeks so I'm going to stop in at a Walmart if I can and see if I can find a smaller one =)


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## candice19 (May 27, 2009)

KSL said:
			
		

> I cut mine into chunks and melt them all at once.
> My mold holds 4 lbs of MP soap, so I just make 4lb batches at a time.


But with this, the chunks all melt at different rates - you'll have half liquid half semi-melted chunks in the middle of the process. Does this affect the already melted soap if you keep heating it?  I'm guessing that 4 lbs of soap takes a few minutes to melt, even at 30-45 second intervals.

And the Presto Pot, is clean up really as easy as they say?


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## KSL (May 27, 2009)

and it has a spigot!
Okay.. sold.

I would assume you just use that to melt your base and dispense it to mix in your addatives?  Or do you cook and mix all in there and then dispense into your mold?

Same Q with the cleaning.. =P


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## KSL (May 27, 2009)

candice19 said:
			
		

> KSL said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, I melt a little at a time, as it melts I add more.  It can take up to an hour to melt down completely.  I also find that I have to gently stir it quite a bit because my pot is wide, not tall, and the top layer forms a film.  I mean, it WORKS - but maybe that presto pot thing works better?

I'm willing to try! hehe..


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## carolynp (May 27, 2009)

I can melt up to 10 ils of  cut up base in my soap pot that I bought at MICHELS craft store,made just for larger amounts ,it has two settings MELT and WARM. I love it . I have also used a large crockpot which does a lovely job as well.


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## studioalamode (May 27, 2009)

carolynp said:
			
		

> I can melt up to 10 ils of  cut up base in my soap pot that I bought at MICHELS craft store,made just for larger amounts ,it has two settings MELT and WARM. I love it . I have also used a large crockpot which does a lovely job as well.



What are ils...??


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## Tabitha (May 27, 2009)

> But with this, the chunks all melt at different rates - you'll have half liquid half semi-melted chunks in the middle of the process. Does this affect the already melted soap if you keep heating it?


As long as you stir every onec in a while it's fine. It's just like melting cheese. Cube it up & stir once in a while.


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## carolynp (May 27, 2009)

*ils*

HA HA HA HA , come on now  ils is what you get when you mean to spell LBS and you have spent the last 8 hours cleaning up after 400 students and 40 something faculty and staff. You got a problem with that ????? LOL LOL


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## studioalamode (May 27, 2009)

*Re: ils*



			
				carolynp said:
			
		

> HA HA HA HA , come on now  ils is what you get when you mean to spell LBS and you have spent the last 8 hours cleaning up after 400 students and 40 something faculty and staff. You got a problem with that ????? LOL LOL




Bahahahaha... that was funny!!  I wondered if it was pounds, but then I thought, "I'm new to soaping, maybe ils is soaping terminology."   Too funny!

BTW, with a day like that, I can see why you are into soaping!!!  Sounds like you also could use a nice hot bath!


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## studioalamode (May 27, 2009)

Now that we've settled was ils is (that sounds weird.... ils is)... do you guys who do large batches use the soap batch all the same way, or portion it out to color it or add to it... ie, using it as a "ready pot" for lack of a better term.


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## Tabitha (May 27, 2009)

LOL! I thought it was some Euro measurment but was too ashamed to ask  .


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## carillon (May 29, 2009)

I have a Soap Kettle too, that I bought from Joann's fabric store.  I can only fit 5lbs in my pot, which is similar to a crock pot and has a removable pot that allows you to easily remove it for pouring and clean up.

The first pot I bought was teflon coated.  That didn't last long though because the teflon somehow got scratched and then little black specks started showing up in my soap.  I bought more kettles, only this time they were aluminum and not teflon coated, so I don't have to worry about scratching them.

The pot normally costs about $24, but with coupons you can usually get them for 40% - 50% off.


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## candice19 (May 29, 2009)

When using the pot to melt down the 4-5 pounds, how long does that take to completely melt?


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## carillon (May 29, 2009)

Gosh, I don't know--maybe 10-15 minutes???  Next time I use it I'll notice how long it takes.  But, the thing is, once it gets melted, you better keep an eye on it, because it will seriously bubble up and overflow!

Once it melts all you have to do is turn it down to warm and it will be fine.  You can even turn it off and let it solidify.  Turn it back on to melt and you're back in business, no harm done.


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## candice19 (May 29, 2009)

10-15 mins?!  :shock: 

I'm torn between the Presto Pot and the Soap Kettle.  I hear the SK is hard to clean, but at the same time, the spout is hard to clean on the Presto Pot.

Anyone know exactly how tall the Presto Pot spigot is off the ground?  I want to see if it can pour directly into my mold without me picking the thing up.  thanks!


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## candice19 (May 30, 2009)

Is this thing a Presto Pot?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... _id=888144

I don't see a spigot on this, but I see spigots on others like this one, priced more:

http://www.prestopotwaxmelter.com/Prest ... -25-07.jpg


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## KSL (Jun 1, 2009)

I would think that spigot would be hard to clean too.
I would think that you would melt the soap in there, and use another container to mix color and frag.

Does the spigot ever get clogged?


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## studioalamode (Jun 1, 2009)

> Is this thing a Presto Pot?
> 
> http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... _id=888144




After seeing this thread, I went to Wal-mart and bought the one listed above.  I really like it.  No spigot, but it is light and I just pour it into measuring cups for mixing with color, oils and inclusions.  I have found that you can keep it on "warm" and it will stay melted while you use what you need.  

I found an easy way to clean it.... just fill it about 3/4 full with water when you have removed the soap.  There is always that soap scum, but heating the water to about 300 or 400 degrees, lets all the soap melt into the water, and then you simply just pour it out and wipe it clean.  Easy peasy.  Now, this does have the no-stick coating, but I am  using rubber spatulas and whisks and there aren't any marks on it.  

In a nutshell, I'm gladl I saw this thread, because this makes it so much easier!


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## studioalamode (Jun 1, 2009)

One more thing I did with this... in one batch there was just a little bit of soap left.  It was just enough to fill the bottom about 1/8" - 1/4".  So, before the cleaning, I cooled the pot down.  This let the soap on the bottom harden a bit.  I pulled it up (came up very easily) and used cookie cutters to cut shapes from it.  This worked really well because it was a fairly large surface.  I'm sure I could have also made some curly Q's if I had thought about it.  Once I peeled it up, I did the cleaning with the water.


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## KSL (Jun 1, 2009)

Going to keep my eye open for something like these.

Genius with the cookie cutters!~


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## carillon (Jun 1, 2009)

I find the soap kettle perfectly easy to clean.  You can often just grab an edge of remaining soap and pull it up in sheets.  Any remaining soap, just add hot water to the pot swoosh around with a scrubber/dish cloth and it's clean.  There's no need for hard scrubbing or anything.


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