differences in lye calcs

[ilovedoxies]

I've ran the same recipe through different soap calcs and I've gotten different liquid amounts. Wha????

Crisco 25
Coconut 5
Castor 2

5% superfat

I've gotten 10.5, 12.1, and an "at least 12 oz"

Rainbowmeadow soap calc said that to use more liquid if using milk because it takes more... ? I didn't know that.

The more I think about it the more I get confused, lol!

 

[Northland Naturals]

I've ran the same recipe through different soap calcs and I've gotten different liquid amounts. Wha????

Crisco 25
Coconut 5
Castor 2

5% superfat

I've gotten 10.5, 12.1, and an "at least 12 oz"

Rainbowmeadow soap calc said that to use more liquid if using milk because it takes more... ? I didn't know that.

The more I think about it the more I get confused, lol!

i wouldn't trust anything that says "at least..." when referencing measurements in soaping, period. i say use soapcalc.net as its pretty widely accepted, trusted, and used by most of the contributors on this board.

 

[ilovedoxies]

Soapcalc is widely recomended but it is a little daunting for me, especially the block with:

water as % of oils (why is it defaulted at 38%?)
lye concentration
water : lye ratio

 

[ChrisShepp]

Soapcalc is widely recomended but it is a little daunting for me, especially the block with:

water as % of oils (why is it defaulted at 38%?)
lye concentration
water : lye ratio

The 'water as % of oils' is a by-weight measurement. Example: If your batch is 100 oz of oil, your water would be 38 oz. 38% is the default because it works for almost all recipes, which is good for beginners or folks who aren't comfortable with water discounts. Unless you are master-batching your lye, the other two options you can pretty much ignore.

 

[craftgirl08]

I use www.summerbeemeadow.com for all my soap calc's.

 

[ewenique]

The water is used to dissolve the lye and will eventually evaporate out of the finished soap. The amount of water used can vary depending on your experience, the fragrance used, additives, etc. The 38% default on soapcalc.net is a good amount for most soap formulas. Less water means faster trace. More water means the soap will take longer to set up.