How to prevent gel?

[Dennis]

What I did.
Put the mold in the freezer before mixing lye and oils.
Poured lye into oil when both were at 100 degrees F.
Poured into mold at trace, not lumpy, not thin. Trace was not too slow, definitely not fast.
Placed mold in freezer over night, then transferred to refrigerator for another 24 hours.

What I got.

How to correct?
The smaller gelled areas were at the end of the log mold, larger gelled areas closer to the center. It was a 55oz batch. Mold was 16 inches long.
Will I have better luck waiting for lye and oil to cool to room temp?
Do the different oils used affect speed of gel?
Oils used were:
Coconut 20%
Castor 5%
Olive 40%
Babassu 15%
Lard 20%
Coffee grounds

I like the texture of ungelled and have been successful before but lack of consistency is frustrating. Looking back I don't see any difference in what I'm doing other than the recipe. :?

 

[HutCar92]

I personally mix my oils together, stick blend them as much as possible and then make my lye water. I mix my lye water into my oils when the water has gone clearish. I guess that's basically room temp soaping but I nearly never get gel. I'd give it a try

Edit: this is the method I've been using the last 8 months for 90% of my batches

 

[IrishLass]

In addition to how warm or cool you soap, your water amount and even your chosen fats can play a part in whether your soap gels or not.

According to the experiments that Dr. Kevin Dunn did in his book, Scientific Soapmaking, low water soaps gel only at high temps, and high water soaps gel at moderate temps. He also said that saturated fats saponify more quickly and can increase the peak temp of your soap. Here's a link to his findings (you'll have to scroll down a ways to get the the pertinent info):

http://cavemanchemistry.com/HsmgTemperature2009.pdf

I myself use low water and I like to gel, so I soap hotter. It gives me gel every time.


IrishLass

 

[dubnica]

I know it is frustrating to get partial gel. It hapens to me too and I hate it.

 

[Maythorn]

The bigger that batch the harder to prevent gell. I never use the freezer and the refrigerator because they either don't work or they make the soap too cold and it gets ashy.

In winter if a batch seems like it's getting a little warm I set it out on the porch. That will ward off gell usually. But soap getting hot seems determined to gell and so I just let it. Some fragrance oils will not stay cool, no matter what.

 

[ToniD]

Argh, partial gel. Sometimes impossible to stop gel. Another thing that helps is using individual molds.

 

[Dennis]

Thanks all. I must try, try again.

 

[dcornett]

I hate to get partial gel also!!! I don't have a problem with it too much any more though because I know there are certain batches that are going to heat up, so I don't try to stop it when I know it's pretty much inevitable. Your recipe doesn't look like one that would heat up too bad though, no milks or sugars.

I was suprised by the information in the link Irishlass shared. He said, " If you want to prevent a gelling soap from doing so, decrease the water portion and/or the starting temperature." I sure would have guessed that decreasing the water would have lead to increased temps...very interesting! Thanks for sharing that.

 

[zolveria]

Try a thinner mold. I do not cover mine and i set it out on the foyer steps which is cold in the winter. i also have place in fridge or CPOP at 165 degree for 3 hours. and then shut the oven off left the loaf there all night and no gel. It is tricky.

 

[MorpheusPA]

On the up side, that color differential should become a lot less apparent during cure.

We should point out I actually like the way that partially gelled. The elliptical intrusion in the square soap is really rather cool looking.

You can discount the water to discourage gel, plus putting your soap into the refrigerator for the first 24 hours or so. But be careful, if the saponification hasn't gone far enough, gel can still happen when you take it out of the fridge (although it's not terribly likely unless you used a lot of milk, honey, or sugar in the recipe).

 

[Seawolfe]

I like the look of it too.

If you really don't want gel, use individual cavity molds, or perhaps a flat slab mold.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Try a thinner mold. I do not cover mine and i set it out on the foyer steps which is cold in the winter. i also have place in fridge or CPOP at 165 degree for 3 hours. and then shut the oven off left the loaf there all night and no gel. It is tricky.

I do wonder how people find these threads from antiquity in order to reply as if the OP is still having this issue

 

[Relle]

I agree EG, this thread is 3 yrs old and Dennis hasn't been in, in ages.

 

[Cactuslily]

hutcar92, you mentioned adding your lye to your oils when you lye goes clear. Mine goes clear relatively quickly. What is your temp? Are you gelling or avoiding gel?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

hutcar92, you mentioned adding your lye to your oils when you lye goes clear. Mine goes clear relatively quickly. What is your temp? Are you gelling or avoiding gel?

They mentioned it over 3 years ago. I have never seen this member post in my time on the forum.........