How NOT to measure your molds

[TeresaT]

Well I have developed an excel file that converts the grams that soapcalc shows for a recipe (oils-water-NaOH), to total ml.

I've used an average value of 1.09 for the specific weight of oils (values range from 1.09 to 1.1 among various oils) and calculate the liquid form of NaOH that has a volume a little more than its half weight when being in anhydrous form.

It also calculates the total metric capacity of a rectangular and cylindrical mold (ml), while it also shows the vertical height that the soap loaf will have in these molds with the specific recipe.

It seems to be working for me quite well.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ckxe5fte791ufd/CalculateMold-cm2ml_en.xls?dl=0

ETA:
If I'm calculating something wrong please correct me

Uh, what?

 

[songwind]

Well I have developed an excel file that converts the grams that soapcalc shows for a recipe (oils-water-NaOH), to total ml.

I've used an average value of 1.09 for the specific weight of oils (values range from 1.09 to 1.1 among various oils) and calculate the liquid form of NaOH that has a volume a little more than its half weight when being in anhydrous form.

It also calculates the total metric capacity of a rectangular and cylindrical mold (ml), while it also shows the vertical height that the soap loaf will have in these molds with the specific recipe.

It seems to be working for me quite well.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ckxe5fte791ufd/CalculateMold-cm2ml_en.xls?dl=0

ETA:
If I'm calculating something wrong please correct me

That seems really small for specific weight - water is 9.807 kN/m3, for example.

Unless you mean specific gravity, in which case it's too high - most (if not all) soaping oils have a specific gravity < 1.

 

[ngian]

That seems really small for specific weight - water is 9.807 kN/m3, for example.

Unless you mean specific gravity, in which case it's too high - most (if not all) soaping oils have a specific gravity < 1.

Well what I actually wanted to say was that I convert the oils weight(gr) to ml with the value of 1.09 based on oil's specific weight(?) . The excel file just have the correct title.

Just wanted to say "based on oil's specific weight" or gravity or whatever... I'm not that good at this.

 

[ngian]

Uh, what?

What you did not understand Teresa?

 

[TeresaT]

What you did not understand Teresa?

Any of it. It was all geek to me. I don't speak geek. DeeAnna or Susie or one of the other resident geeks will have to translate into ***** for me.

 

[ngian]

Any of it. It was all geek to me. I don't speak geek. DeeAnna or Susie or one of the other resident geeks will have to translate into ***** for me.

Well you don't have to know any math you just have to know how to read numbers on a measuring tape, and numbers on a scale. This excel file is using the metric system (centimeters, grams, milliliters) instead of the imperial system that you may use.

Nevertheless I'll try to explain how the file works.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ckxe5fte791ufd/CalculateMold-cm2ml_en.xls?dl=0

There are 3 main areas in the excel file:

(A) There you input the values you get for a specific recipe from soapcalc (Oils-water-NaOH) in grams and the file calculates for you the Total volume the "soap butter" will be in ml prior molding it.

(B) In this area you can calculate how much liquid volume can a mold have. There are 2 major types of molds. "Rectangle" (wooden horizontal mold or vertical paper mold from a milk package), and "Cylindrical" (the famous pringles or the PVC plumbing type).
In the Rectangle you input the dimensions of your mold (length-width-height) and in the Cylindrical you input the diameter and height that you get from the measuring tape. So you have the total volume in ml these mold can handle.

(C) In this last area you get a visual representation of what "vertical height" (1,2,3) is for each type of mold and below that image you can see how much will the vertical height of the soap butter be in the specific mold sizes you have on the (B) area with the specific recipe in the (A) area.

Hope I made things a bit clear now.

 

[TeresaT]

WOW! Well done! Now I understand. (You translate geek to ***** as well as the others.) Thanks!!

 

[cinnamaldehyde]

The spreadsheet makes a lot more sense to me now too

I do find using the 0.4 factor (for Imperial ONLY, haha!) and now 0.7 for metric works pretty accurately. I have a tendency to fiddle around with recipes often, so I'm always measuring my cartons and molds and re-calculating. You'd think I'd learn and save myself a step

 

[ngian]

Well the factor of 0,4 / 0,7 will not be the same and accurate if there is 40% lye concentration in a recipe and 30% at another...

 

[cinnamaldehyde]

That's true. I keep my percentage the same. Lately I have too many other variables I'm playing with to mess with my percentage.

Hey does your spreadsheet work backwards - if you enter the size of mold and how high you'd like the soap to be, do you get how many oz of oils you need?

 

[ngian]

Hey does your spreadsheet work backwards - if you enter the size of mold and how high you'd like the soap to be, do you get how many oz of oils you need?

No as it is not a soap calculator. It is trial and error at (A) section based on soapcalc values of the three ingredients until you get the amount of soap volume that meets the desired vertical height at section (C).