# Liquid Lye??



## vance71975 (May 9, 2012)

I was at the Town and country store a few days ago and i noticed that they Have Liquid Lye, Its the same brand as i am using now, Rooto, it also says 100% Lye just like the rooto Crystals i am using now. 

So my question's are these, since it is 100% Lye just in liquid form, is it usable in soap making? How would i plug it into SoapCalc? Has anyone used it or a similar liquid lye? If so what were your results? 

My main reason for asking is that the liquid bottle has more in it and the cost is only 80 cents more than the crystals, and of course liquid has more weight than dry so it works out to a better value! But the only ingredient listed is Sodium Hydroxide just like the crystals.


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## Genny (May 9, 2012)

It is actually lye mixed with water.  It should say water somewhere on the bottle in small print.  I've seen the stuff.  I wouldn't use it to make soap, because it doesn't say what percent is sodium hydroxide and what percent is water.
So since a large percentage of the bottle is water, it's not really a better deal.


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## vance71975 (May 9, 2012)

Genny said:
			
		

> It is actually lye mixed with water.  It should say water somewhere on the bottle in small print.  I've seen the stuff.  I wouldn't use it to make soap, because it doesn't say what percent is sodium hydroxide and what percent is water.
> So since a large percentage of the bottle is water, it's not really a better deal.



Well i would assume it would have some water in it, but then again if you extract Lye from wood ash like they used to in the old days, that also had water in it, and they used that to make soap, I am wondering if the company wouldn't give me the % of water in it, because if i know the percentage of water, i can skip adding water.


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## Fragola (May 9, 2012)

Some people make this "liquid lye" at home, for soapmaking purposes. But you need to know the percentage of water so that you can enter it in the soapcalc.


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## IrishLass (May 9, 2012)

I'm one of those that makes my own pre-mixed lye solution to use at home, but since I'm the one making it, I'm always in-the-know of how much water is in it.

It's absolutely critical to know how much water is in it so that you can know how much of the solution to weigh out for your batch. Not knowing can mean the difference between having an unusable lye heavy soap on one end of the spectrum, to having a soggy over-fatted soap prone to rancidity at the other end.

If there is a way to find out the actual ratio of lye to water, by all means, do so. As long as it is just lye and water, it should be good to use. If you can't find out, though, then I wouldn't buy it. When you ask, also inquire about out what kind of lye is in it, i.e. NaOH (sodium hydroxide) or KOH (potassium hydroxide). NaOH is for making hard (bar) soap and KOH is for making liquid soap.


IrishLass


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## new12soap (May 10, 2012)

IrishLass said:
			
		

> I'm one of those that makes my own pre-mixed lye solution to use at home, but since I'm the one making it, I'm always in-the-know of how much water is in it.
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IrishLass, I would like to use a premix when possible. How much do you mix at a time? In what and where do you store it? Will any old HDPE plastic jug with a lid work? For how long will it keep? And how do you calculate how much to use? I know there is a place on soap calc for solution, but the recipe still lists both water and lye, do you add those numbers together and use that much solution? TIA


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## IrishLass (May 10, 2012)

new12soap said:
			
		

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I make a masterbatch/pre-mix of 50% lye solution (50% water/50% lye). A 50% solution works perfectly for me because the math is very simple to calculate when it comes to figuring out how much solution to weigh out for my batches, no matter if I want to soap a pure Castile with a 40% lye concentration or an HP batch with a 28% lye concentration, or 33% for the rest of my batches. Working from a 50% solution makes that very easy for me with a simple, 2-part equation (which I'll give you in a moment's time). 

I mix enough 50% solution for making 7 or 8 batches in a large Rubbermaid container made of PP #5, and when it has cooled I then pour it through an SS strainer into a reclaimed laundry detergent bottle made from HDPE #2 (the kind with one of those no-mess pouring spouts that catches drips and forces them back inside the bottle), with a tight-fitting cover. 

The solution lasts for months. I've done experiments with my pre-mix by using it as far as 8 months down the road and all my batches came out perfectly fine with nothing weird or unusual going on.



> And how do you calculate how much to use? I know there is a place on soap calc for solution, but the recipe still lists both water and lye, do you add those numbers together and use that much solution? TIA



If you are working from a pre-mixed 50% lye solution and you want to soap your batch at a 33% concentration/solution, or a 28%, or whatever % you want to soap at, go ahead and type your particular % of choice into the Lye Concentration box on SoapCalc (totally ignore the 'Water as % of Oils' button-for that button is irrelevent when soaping from the Lye Concentration box), and then enter your recipe as you'd normally do. When you click on 'View or Print' and see the lye and water amounts, conduct the following simple 2-part equation in order to know how much of the 50% solution to weight out (this same equation will work for every batch no matter what solution % you want to soap with- just as long as your pre-mix is a 50% solution):

Lye x 2 = how much of the premixed 50% solution to weigh out.
Water - lye amount = how much extra water to add.

For example, let's say you want to soap your batch with a 33% lye solution and SoapCalc shows the lye amount for such a batch comes to 6.7 oz, and the water amount comes to 11.8 ounces. 

6.7 (lye) x 2 = 13.4 oz of your premixed 50% solution to weigh out.

11.8 (water) - 6.7 (lye) = 5.1 extra water to add in order to turn the 50% solution into a 33% solution.

Now, when preparing the pre-mixed 50% solution, some things need to be taken into consideration when making it, such as evaporation. Please see this thread which explains how I go about making my pre-mix:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... asterbatch


HTH!
IrishLass


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## vance71975 (May 10, 2012)

IrishLass said:
			
		

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Would you be able to plug 50% lye solution into soap calc, Add the water an lye amounts together, and just use that much of your pre mixed solution?


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## new12soap (May 10, 2012)

IrishLass you are a DOLL! Thank you SOOOO much that makes perfect sense to me.



> when it has cooled I then pour it through an SS strainer



why? what is the purpose of the strainer?



> Now, when preparing the pre-mixed 50% solution, some things need to be taken into consideration when making it, such as evaporation.



A-HA! You anticipated my next question! I was thinking of starting with a 40% solution for that very reason, fear of too little water to carry the lye, then I got to thinking about loss through evaporation (steam) when mixing... But I can see how a 50-50 solution is so much easier to work with, and total weight solves that issue.

Do you shake it or stir it up before you pour it out? or just uncap pour measure?

btw, I say "cool beans" and "rigamarole" too, must be an irish thing...


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## IrishLass (May 10, 2012)

new12soap said:
			
		

> IrishLass you are a DOLL! Thank you SOOOO much that makes perfect sense to me.
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Glad to be of help.   

I use the strainer because I mix tussa noil silk fibers into my solution, which sometimes leaves bits of excess silk dross behind. The strainer is just to filter out the dross so that my solution is clear. 



> Do you shake it or stir it up before you pour it out? or just uncap pour measure?



I don't know if it really needs it or not, but I always give my jug a shake or two before pouring it out.



> btw, I say "cool beans" and "rigamarole" too, must be an irish thing...



Yeah, I guess I'm guilty of saying 'cool beans' a lot.    I'm also guilty of calling my son (who now towers over me at 5'11") my "wee lad" and sometimes my "wee bairn".  :wink:


IrishLass


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## IrishLass (May 10, 2012)

vance71975 said:
			
		

> Would you be able to plug 50% lye solution into soap calc, Add the water an lye amounts together, and just use that much of your pre mixed solution?



Yes, that's correct, although most soapers don't use such a highly concentrated solution 'as is' when soaping. I've heard of some of the more experienced soapers among us having done so, but most of us soap with a lower concentration. That's because the higher the concentration, the quicker things come to trace and the faster you'll need to be on your feet. With a 50% concentration, you'll especially want to make sure to plan ahead accordingly by choosing your base oils wisely and avoiding the use any FO's that are known to accelerate trace. Also, don't plan on doing any fancy swirls and/or other multi-coloring tricks either with a 50% concentration. There's just not enough time to execute them properly unless you are a super hero of some sort.    The only kind of soap I'd personally ever try with a 50% lye concentration would be an unscented, uncolored 100% OO or 100% lard soap.  

The highest I've ever gone is a 40% concentration- in my 80% -100% OO soaps with a well-behaved FO. From the time I mix my lye into the oil(s) to the time I pour is all of 5 minutes (compared to forever and a day when using a full water amount).   


By the way, if you are not working from a pre-mixed solution of any kind, but you know the exact lye concentration % that you want to use for your batch- be it 50%, 40%, 33%, or whatever concentration % it might be- just ignore the 'Water as % of Oils'  box on SoapCalc and go straight to the 'Lye Concentration' box instead and type in whatever lye concentration % that you want to soap at. The lye and water amounts that SoapCalc gives you as a result will be the proper amounts of each to use for your batch in regards to the particular lye concentration % you typed into the box.

IrishLass


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## vance71975 (May 10, 2012)

IrishLass said:
			
		

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Awesome, i did a batch today that was 16oz Beef Tallow and 26oz Canola Oil. I used a 45% Lye solution and still had time to play, i wouldn't think 50% would be a whole lot different but i could be wrong. It took about 10 mins to medium trace. I like the faster trace time i wont lye(  ) im just not a patient person lol.


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## MindyLou78 (Aug 26, 2019)

I’m so glad this question was asked, bc my usual local supplier was out of flames so I had to get liquid lye. This will come in handy!!


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## shunt2011 (Aug 26, 2019)

MindyLou78 said:


> I’m so glad this question was asked, bc my usual local supplier was out of flames so I had to get liquid lye. This will come in handy!!


 This post is over 6 years old.  Please try not to pull up old threads. Most of the posters are no longer here. You are welcome to start a new thread and link to an old one.  Thank you and welcome!


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