# Stickblender and scale questions



## Meena (Jan 6, 2019)

I'm wondering about stick blenders (what wattage is minimum needed?) and scales (sounds like weighing [and doing so accurately] is a necessity), too.


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## Alfa_Lazcares (Jan 6, 2019)

Honestly i just went for the cheapest but also the stickblender that had detachable parts and was stainless steel. Have no idea what whattage it is.

Yes you need to be accurate, specially on smaller batches. Mine has grams (two decimals), but also i always use grams cause oz is not my thing.


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## Meena (Jan 6, 2019)

Alfa_Lazcares said:


> Honestly i just went for the cheapest but also the stickblender that had detachable parts and was stainless steel. Have no idea what whattage it is.
> 
> Yes you need to be accurate, specially on smaller batches. Mine has grams (two decimals), but also i always use grams cause oz is not my thing.



Hello, Alfa!  Thanks for your reply.      !Viva Mexico!


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## KiwiMoose (Jan 7, 2019)

I just used an old stick blender I already had at home (we have two, so this is now my dedicated soaping SB).  Don;t think it matters about wattage.

Definitely get some good scales. 1 gram accuracy is best.  Make sure they will weight up to 3 kilos though!


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## jcandleattic (Jan 7, 2019)

A lot of soapmakers use the following stick blender and scale

Cuisinart smart stick
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ARQVKUG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

KD-7000 or KD-8000
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VEKX35Y/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## dixiedragon (Jan 7, 2019)

For a scale you want a food scale, not a shipping scale. A food scale is meant to weigh changing amounts - such as pouring oil or water. A postal scale is meant to weigh an unchanging package.


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## Dennis (Jan 7, 2019)

My old Braun stick blender from the 90s is still going.  All plastic, other than the blade and shaft, I always clean it immediately after using with Dawn in the soap pot.  A few  seconds  blending then rinse and dry.  Immediately cleaning after use to me seems most important.

Agree with the KD scale. My old Escali is still stumbling along and I should opt for another but... yeah, procrstination.
I always weigh in grams as it just makes more sense to me  and the margin for error is less.


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## shunt2011 (Jan 7, 2019)

I have a Cuisinart stickblender I purchased 7-8 years ago at Costco for 20.00.  Still going strong had a removable shaft which makes cleaning easy.

I also have the KD8000 scale and love it.


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## dxw (Jan 7, 2019)

I am relatively new and simply purchased the cheapest items that seemed about right. In my upgrading I'll probably be looking for:

The stick blender blade to be removable. That's the little spinning blade tip thing, not the whole click-on blade assembly. Soap collects underneath the blade and can be fiddly and difficult to remove if you cannot take the blade itself off. 
The weighing scale to run off mains power rather than battery. Batteries are fiddly and mine always seem to go flat at the most inconvenient times.
The scale *not* have an auto-turnoff function that cannot be over-ridden or switched off. Mine has moods and sometimes switches itself off right in the middle of a big tare-weighing effort.
The scale have a positive on-off switch.
The scale have a 0.1g resolution (that may be impracticable in the price range, but I am going to look).


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## Alien (Jan 7, 2019)

I use an ozeri digital scale that I got online I believe for about $12 and it has worked fine for over a year so far...I had a stick blender with just one speed and it seemed too sunamic, so I now use a Hamilton Beach with two speeds and just use the lower one which is still pretty fast, I am a woos!

Question, I see people using battery powered thermometers that eat the temp when aimed at the liquid. Seems like that would just measure the surface temp. Anyone care to comment pros and cos? I am using the old candy maker type thermometers and they are getting to be a bit of a pain. I am thinking about investing in  more upscale thermometer it am clueless as to how to evaluate the eatures.


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## jcandleattic (Jan 7, 2019)

Alien said:


> Question, I see people using battery powered thermometers that eat the temp when aimed at the liquid. Seems like that would just measure the surface temp. Anyone care to comment pros and cos? I am using the old candy maker type thermometers and they are getting to be a bit of a pain. I am thinking about investing in more upscale thermometer it am clueless as to how to evaluate the eatures.


I don't use thermometers because I soap at room temp, and just feel they are not necessary for my applications, but the laser thermometers do only take the temp of the surface, so for the temps to be accurate, you would have to make sure to stir while taking the reading.


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## shunt2011 (Jan 7, 2019)

I don’t use a thermometer either. My lye is room temp and my oils are just warm enough to have my solid oils melted and clear  then I add my liquid oils.  I haven’t taken temps since my 3rd or 4th batch


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## KiwiMoose (Jan 7, 2019)

Don't tell anyone, but I have never taken temps.  I have no idea what my temps are other than the feel of the outside of the jug of lye water, and popping my finger in the warmed oil.


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## dibbles (Jan 7, 2019)

I'll add my 2 cents. My stick blender is an older, inexpensive Braun that I have had for probably 15 years. It didn't get a lot of heavy use in the kitchen, but after 4 years of soaping it is still working perfectly. It is plastic and has the removable shaft, and I don't think I'd buy one that doesn't. I was lucky enough to be given an identical stick blender by a friend who wasn't using hers. Those are my first choice to use because they don't tend to add air bubbles to the batter. Before I was gifted my second Braun, I bought a Kitchen-Aid (I paid under $15 with discounts and coupons) to have a second one available. Admittedly so I could make more soap without doing soap dishes 
I hated that one for soap - tons of air bubbles. So that became my kitchen blender and I moved my Cuisinart to the soap room. I like the Cuisinart just fine, but mine doesn't have the button that needs to be held on the top to keep it running. I'm not sure which brand has that feature. It has a stainless steel removable shaft. 

@dxw I just keep a toothbrush (it was new) in my tote that all my soaping stuff that needs to be washed gets tossed in. I wipe the stick blender down reasonably well first. I put the stick blender in the sink to soak for a bit while I'm washing up other things, then wash the stick blenders and run the toothbrush around and under the blade. Works great!

I have the KD7000 scale. It only weighs to 1 gram, but tenths and hundredths of a gram is such a tiny, tiny amount I don't think it matters much in soapmaking.


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## dxw (Jan 7, 2019)

dibbles said:


> ... but tenths and hundredths of a gram is such a tiny, tiny amount I don't think it matters much in soapmaking.



I expect that you are right there. For these sorts of recipes whole-grams are not a cumbersome unit.


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## Dahila (Jan 7, 2019)

for soaping ;  KA stainless stick blender scale KD7000 but for lye I use 0.1 g small scale, Which is important to me,  KD7000 for oils but 8.8 g it will show as 9 or 8 so not good for other products, just soaps.
For lotions KA 6 quart mixer,  Cusinart stickblender,  I also own the scale which is 0.01 g I use each of them all the time,


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## Zany_in_CO (Jan 7, 2019)

1)





jcandleattic said:


> A lot of soapmakers use the following stick blender and scale
> Cuisinart smart stick
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ARQVKUG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
> KD-7000 or KD-8000
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VEKX35Y/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


2)





shunt2011 said:


> I have a Cuisinart stickblender I purchased 7-8 years ago at Costco for 20.00.  Still going strong had a removable shaft which makes cleaning easy.I also have the KD8000 scale and love it.


Me three. But I also pick up SBs at thrift stores and garage sales for $5 to have as back ups.


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## melinda48 (Jan 7, 2019)

Alien said:


> I use an ozeri digital scale that I got online I believe for about $12 and it has worked fine for over a year so far...I had a stick blender with just one speed and it seemed too sunamic, so I now use a Hamilton Beach with two speeds and just use the lower one which is still pretty fast, I am a woos!
> 
> Question, I see people using battery powered thermometers that eat the temp when aimed at the liquid. Seems like that would just measure the surface temp. Anyone care to comment pros and cos? I am using the old candy maker type thermometers and they are getting to be a bit of a pain. I am thinking about investing in  more upscale thermometer it am clueless as to how to evaluate the eatures.


I use a digital thermometer to measure the temperature of both my oils and lye water. It is battery powered and I can point and shoot to get the temperature. I love it!


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## Alfa_Lazcares (Jan 7, 2019)

I am another one who doesn't own a thermometer, also soap at room temperature.


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## Meena (Jan 11, 2019)

dibbles said:


> Before I was gifted my second Braun, I bought a Kitchen-Aid (I paid under $15 with discounts and coupons) to have a second one available. Admittedly so I could make more soap without doing soap dishes
> I hated that one for soap - tons of air bubbles. So that became my kitchen blender



Oh no, I forgot you said that (reading so much lately, which tends to make a lot fall out of my ears)!!  
I bought a KitchenAid 2 speed yesterday!!!    Maybe if I sage it and then pray over it, my new SB will behave!


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## dibbles (Jan 11, 2019)

Meena said:


> Oh no, I forgot you said that (reading so much lately, which tends to make a lot fall out of my ears)!!
> I bought a KitchenAid 2 speed yesterday!!!    Maybe if I sage it and then pray over it, my new SB will behave!


You might like it just fine. Others use KitchenAid


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## Meena (Jan 16, 2019)

dibbles said:


> You might like it just fine. Others use KitchenAid



Well, it did make some bubbles, off and on, but I seemed to be able to break them with stirring.  Noticed a few larger bubbles rise to the surface when I tap-banged the mold on the counter.  The next day, saw a few very tiny bubble holes, almost like pinholes, on my finished soap, but plugged them with soap scraps off the freezer paper (for whatever reason I felt the need to bother with that!).


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