help, what happend?

[hozhed]

I made a few batches of cp soap and all was well. My last try looked good as well, but when I uncovered it a day later, there was a nasty looking raised part in the middle of the loaf the whole length of the mold and stuck up about 1/2 to 3/4 inch......??Any guesses? The recipes was as follows:
32 oz. coconut oil......4.9 oz NaOh, 12 OZ water and 1 oz. ess. oil. Thanks Steve

 

[shunt2011]

It just overheated. When you unmold if you haven't already do it over a bowl or something as it's possible you will have a mess inside and may need to be rebatched. However, it all looks well, just zap test it and it's fine. May just be a cosmetic issue. 100% CO with full water has a tendency to get really hot during gel. Doesn't usually need to be insulated.

 

[hozhed]

It just overheated. When you unmold if you haven't already do it over a bowl or something as it's possible you will have a mess inside and may need to be rebatched. However, it all looks well, just zap test it and it's fine. May just be a cosmetic issue. 100% CO with full water has a tendency to get really hot during gel. Doesn't usually need to be insulated.

Ahhhh,ok. I used one of those flimsy molds and to keep it from bowing I made a wooden box out of 3/4 inch pine to keep it straight. This probably worked as an insulator? This was my first coconut oil soap. BTW..what is a "zap test"??

 

[shunt2011]

Yes, that's probably what did it. I do all my soaps in a silicone lined mold but with 100% CO I generally just lightly cover them and keep an eye out for overheating.

Tongue Test/Zap Test - A time-honored test to discern if there is any un-reacted lye left in one's unmolded soap. In CP, the ideal time to tongue-test is when the unmolded soap is at least 3 days to 1 week old. In HP, the time to tongue-test is after the gel-stage is complete. In liquid soap-making, the time to tongue-test is after the paste-stage is complete. To conduct the test with CP soap, wet your finger in water and rub it on the soap's surface to create a small bit of lather. Then, gingerly touch the lathered finger to only the very tip of your tongue. If you feel an immediate 'zap' or stinging sensation, it means that the saponification reaction is not quite complete and the soap is not safe to use yet. Rinse and spit with water if you feel you need to. Conduct the test again in a few more day's time, repeating in the same manner as needed until no zap can be detected. To test in HP, stir the hot, gelled batter well, remove a small bit of batter with a spoon, let it cool a bit, and then test in the same manner as you would CP soap. To test with liquid soap paste, remove a small bit of paste, let cool if you need to, then finish in the same manner as with CP. Once 'zap' is no longer detected, the soap is safe to use. Please don't confuse 'safe-to-use' with 'cured'. Once the soap is safe to use, it will still need to be cured for at least 4 weeks (please see 'Cure' for further info regarding the benefits of cure).

For other information with abbreviations/terms see this post:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=51841

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Let us know how it goes cutting it, too - 100% CO can get hard fast, I had to cut mine at about 3 hours while it was still roasting hot

 

[hozhed]

Let us know how it goes cutting it, too - 100% CO can get hard fast, I had to cut mine at about 3 hours while it was still roasting hot

I will let you know how it came out. Hopefully. I will get this CP down in good time. Have been doing M+P for a while. I raise bees so would like to use some of my bee products in my soap as well.

 

[IrishLass]

Ditto with all of the above^^^^. My 100% CO batches get very hot just sitting out on the counter. And if I leave it to itself, it will do the same thing as yours. Mine will also usually develop a crack running along the length of the peak of the mound.

I found a nice remedy to deter the mounding and cracking with this type of soap, though- I lay bubble-wrap onto the surface of my soap and press it in slightly so that the 'bubbles' are indented into the surface of the soap. When I do this, even though my soap gets hot, I no longer get the mounding and cracking. I'm sure the 'bubbles' act to displace the hot, rising batter and work to even-out the pressure enough in order to prevent that from happening. In the end, my soap has no cracks or mounds- just a nice 'honeycomb' design on top:

Below: one of my 100% CO batches:

IrishLass

 

[hozhed]

Ditto with all of the above^^^^. My 100% CO batches get very hot just sitting out on the counter. And if I leave it to itself, it will do the same thing as yours. Mine will also usually develop a crack running along the length of the peak of the mound.

I found a nice remedy to deter the mounding and cracking with this type of soap, though- I lay bubble-wrap onto the surface of my soap and press it in slightly so that the 'bubbles' are indented into the surface of the soap. When I do this, even though my soap gets hot, I no longer get the mounding and cracking. I'm sure the 'bubbles' act to displace the hot, rising batter and work to even-out the pressure enough in order to prevent that from happening. In the end, my soap has no cracks or mounds- just a nice 'honeycomb' design on top:

Below: one of my 100% CO batches:

IrishLass

What is it that makes all that heat? Is it the sugars in the coconut oil??

 

[Dahila]

ohhhhhh I am at work and can not see the pic. I had overheated CO cp soap that I had garbaged it all. I added sweet orange 5 fold and I believe it was the reason for such overheating, I do not cover CO soap, and cut in like 3 hours.

 

[hozhed]

Let us know how it goes cutting it, too - 100% CO can get hard fast, I had to cut mine at about 3 hours while it was still roasting hot

TEG..........I cut my coconut oil soap last night and it looked fine except for the bulge in the middle. I have a question : I did not know coconut oil soaps were aggressive as far as cleaning power, and am wondering if I should use these two batches I made as regular hand soap, and or, would it make good laundry soap? I have been making my own laundry soap for years now and have been using Fels Naptha bars and wonder if this coconut oil soap would be a good substitution??? Thanks.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

What was your lye discount?

 

[hozhed]

What was your lye discount?

I am not certain of the recipe off the top of my head......I am not at home where my notes are. I think I used like 4.8 oz of lye for the 3 lb mold?? 100% coconut oil....so zero discount I believe

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Then do not use it for anything other than laundry. That will not be good for use on the skin

 

[hozhed]

Then do not use it for anything other than laundry. That will not be good for use on the skin

Ok, thanks.............I am due to make a few batches of laundry soap and will use it for that.

 

[biarine]

Ditto with all of the above^^^^. My 100% CO batches get very hot just sitting out on the counter. And if I leave it to itself, it will do the same thing as yours. Mine will also usually develop a crack running along the length of the peak of the mound.

I found a nice remedy to deter the mounding and cracking with this type of soap, though- I lay bubble-wrap onto the surface of my soap and press it in slightly so that the 'bubbles' are indented into the surface of the soap. When I do this, even though my soap gets hot, I no longer get the mounding and cracking. I'm sure the 'bubbles' act to displace the hot, rising batter and work to even-out the pressure enough in order to prevent that from happening. In the end, my soap has no cracks or mounds- just a nice 'honeycomb' design on top:

Below: one of my 100% CO batches:

IrishLass

I love the colour design