How do you start using water discounts?

[vjbakke]

I have only used the default water amount on soap calc of 38%. I want to try doing some recipes with a water discount. What is a good way to do this? Will it work the same for every recipe or will different amounts of water work better for some soaps than others?

Thanks

 

[carebear]

that 38% is the water as compared to oils. look for the box that shows lye concentration - that will vary by recipe but the default is generally around 27%. to "discount" water, simply raise the lye concentration. try 30%.

raising the concentration can help you get your soap out of the mold sooner, your soaps cure to hardness a bit sooner, inhibit gel, speed trace, and then some - so you have to play with it.

 

[vjbakke]

thanks, I am hoping to cut down on curing time on some recipes.

 

[Soaplady22]

I believe the lowest water ratio you can go to is 50/50 -- let's say 8 oz lye needs 8 oz of water at least.

Start by using the amount of lye X 1.5 = half again more water than lye.

Did that make sense to you?? The ususal is about 3 times the amount of lye.

 

[IrishLass]

I do what Carebear does. I use the lye concentration box as opposed to the "water as % of oils" box. It's a more accurate way of accounting for water anyway.

I pretty much use a 33% lye concentration for most of my soaps, but I go down to about 30% or 31% lye concentration for some of my more finicky FOs. When I make 100% olive oil soap and the FO is well behaved, I go as high as a 40% lye concentration.

Here is a lye concentration chart from my notes:

Lye solution/concentration chart (lye x water):

Lye x 1.0 = 50% (if you go any higher, the lye won't completely dissolve)
Lye x 1.15= 46.5%
Lye x 1.2 = 45.45%
Lye x 1.25= 44.44%
Lye x 1.3 = 43%
Lye x 1.4 = 41.66%
Lye x 1.5 = 40%
Lye x 1.6 = 38%
Lye x 1.7 = 37%
Lye x 1.75= 36%
Lye x 1.8 = 35.7%
Lye x 1.9 = 34.5%
Lye x 2 = 33%
Lye x 2.1 = 32%
Lye x 2.3 = 30%
Lye x 2.7 = 27%
Lye x 3.1 = 25%


IrishLass

 

[Soapy Gurl]

Somehow I settled on 25% and it has worked perfectly. If you want to speed up curing time, CPOP helps it along too. I don't know if you are already using that method.

 

[carebear]

thanks, I am hoping to cut down on curing time on some recipes.

It will help cut down the cure time for soaps like castile, which need many many weeks, but you will still need at least a 4 week cure no matter what.

 

[teesha]

thanks for asking this vjbakke, i've been wondering how to go about it too!

 

[Dragonkaz]

I usually discount liquid, but never with a new FO or one that is known to accelerate.

Good luck!

 

[pure&simple]

that 38% is the water as compared to oils. look for the box that shows lye concentration - that will vary by recipe but the default is generally around 27%. to "discount" water, simply raise the lye concentration. try 30%.

raising the concentration can help you get your soap out of the mold sooner, your soaps cure to hardness a bit sooner, inhibit gel, speed trace, and then some - so you have to play with it.

Me a little confused. How do I know how much lye concentration to use for a batch? I always use the water % of oil discount and it seems to mold and cure to hardness sooner. Where's the difference between lye concentration increase and water reduction?

 

[carebear]

I always use the water % of oil discount and it seems to mold and cure to hardness sooner.

sooner than what?



increasing the lye concentration is done by decreasing the water.
decreasing the water is known as "discounting" it.

the lye concentration is the strength of your lye solution. it's a %. like whole milk is 3.5% fat.

"water discount" is a term which should never ever be used again. it implies that you are decreasing a percentage off a mystery set amount. It is meaningless unless someone knows what the initial amount of water was, and unless they are using the exact same calculator and formula you are they cannot know this.

you can use the Water as a % of Oils - it's just not a meaningful number to me. i find lye concentration more meaningful.

look at the calculator once you've entered your oils. the 38% will be in your water as a % of oil box and the lye concentration will automatically be filled in. if you want to "discount" water (shuddering again at the term), increase the lye concentration number a little bit.

alternatively if you really like the water as a % of oils box, lower that number a little bit. to what number I cannot say as I don't use that term.