I am finding this extremely interesting -

[Roxann]

I am making my first batch and I never thought it would take this long for the lye misture to cool off! It's been about 30 minutes and it's still around 180º. :shock:

What happens (not that I am going to) but if you use it too hot/too cold?

My recipe shoots for 100º for both oil and lye and I have ready an orange/clove eo mixture ready to go in final trace!

Not so much nervous as I am filled with questions, as if I am in the first stages of cooking a Thanksgiving Dinner. Does the pototoes need to go in the oven at 12:00 or the green beans?
:roll:

 

[soapbuddy]

Your lye and oils do not need to be exact but close. If you add less water up front, you can cool off the lye water with some ice.
For my size batch it takes at least 45 minutes for the lye water to cool off. I sometimes use water that's been in the fridge, at least overnight.

Be aware that clove can accelerate trace considerably or even make it turn into a "soap on a stick".

Irena

 

[naturemama]

Start giving the lye a cold bath, that brings the temp down. Just fill up a basin or wash tub with ice cold water, even drop in ice cubes if you need to and set the lye in there and it will cool down. I'm so impatient when I make soap (I have kids that need tending) so I always use hot and cold baths to either raise or lower temps. :wink:

 

[motherhues]

I often use mostly or all ice cubes when I blend my lye

though, to be honest, I don't temp my lye anymore... I use a stick blender and just do the lye first, with ice, then melt the oils and then blend them fast

I, too have kids and need to maximize my soaping time without interuptions from the little feet.

 

[carebear]

If you lye is hot you can have rapido trace - especially if the oils are still hot too. Not necessarily a bad thing if you are doing a well behaved recipe and using a cooperative FO - but it can throw a monkey wrench into swirl attempts, and you are more likely to get seized soap or ricing.

But some have great success with adding piping hot lye solution to unmelted butters mixed with oils and using the heat of the lye to melt the butter and the temp of the whole mix then kinda evens out. Now I get terrible results with this - way to unpredictable for me, plus I find if I use really hard butters they don't melt completely from the heat of the lye - but others swear by the method (and call it RTCP)

Too hot lye can speed things up, but too COLD lye mixed with warm oils can confuse you into thinking you have reached trace when you haven't - since the chill of the lye solidifies the butters and thickens the mix. Now you can get used to any process and deal with it, but why confuse yourself?!?

I soap with both the lye solution and pre-melted & mixed oils and butters at room temp (or close to it0. Usually I melt the butters and add the room temp oils to bring down the temp. I often do this the night before cause I don't have any fear of leaving oils around. The lye solution, though, I don't like to have around so I make that up with icy water just a bit before I want to soap and let it cool. Then I combine both parts at about room temp and go to town.

 

[Lane]

If you lye is hot you can have rapido trace - especially if the oils are still hot too. Not necessarily a bad thing if you are doing a well behaved recipe and using a cooperative FO - but it can throw a monkey wrench into swirl attempts, and you are more likely to get seized soap or ricing.

But some have great success with adding piping hot lye solution to unmelted butters mixed with oils and using the heat of the lye to melt the butter and the temp of the whole mix then kinda evens out. Now I get terrible results with this - way to unpredictable for me, plus I find if I use really hard butters they don't melt completely from the heat of the lye - but others swear by the method (and call it RTCP)

Too hot lye can speed things up, but too COLD lye mixed with warm oils can confuse you into thinking you have reached trace when you haven't - since the chill of the lye solidifies the butters and thickens the mix. Now you can get used to any process and deal with it, but why confuse yourself?!?

I soap with both the lye solution and pre-melted & mixed oils and butters at room temp (or close to it0. Usually I melt the butters and add the room temp oils to bring down the temp. I often do this the night before cause I don't have any fear of leaving oils around. The lye solution, though, I don't like to have around so I make that up with icy water just a bit before I want to soap and let it cool. Then I combine both parts at about room temp and go to town.

Two questions... Ricing? and RTCP?

I mix my oils and lye at about 108-115

 

[edco76]

If you lye is hot you can have rapido trace - especially if the oils are still hot too. Not necessarily a bad thing if you are doing a well behaved recipe and using a cooperative FO - but it can throw a monkey wrench into swirl attempts, and you are more likely to get seized soap or ricing.

But some have great success with adding piping hot lye solution to unmelted butters mixed with oils and using the heat of the lye to melt the butter and the temp of the whole mix then kinda evens out. Now I get terrible results with this - way to unpredictable for me, plus I find if I use really hard butters they don't melt completely from the heat of the lye - but others swear by the method (and call it RTCP)

Too hot lye can speed things up, but too COLD lye mixed with warm oils can confuse you into thinking you have reached trace when you haven't - since the chill of the lye solidifies the butters and thickens the mix. Now you can get used to any process and deal with it, but why confuse yourself?!?

I soap with both the lye solution and pre-melted & mixed oils and butters at room temp (or close to it0. Usually I melt the butters and add the room temp oils to bring down the temp. I often do this the night before cause I don't have any fear of leaving oils around. The lye solution, though, I don't like to have around so I make that up with icy water just a bit before I want to soap and let it cool. Then I combine both parts at about room temp and go to town.

Thats the ticket for me. Thats how I do it as well.

 

[Soapmaker Man]

I do my own successful RTCP process. This stands for Room Temperature Cold Process. I also soap with Room Temperature premixed lye solution which has silk in it and is a 50% solution. I bring that down using soured goat milk to between a 29 to 33% solution. I have lots of plat time to pour and do multiple coloured swirls. I can explain more if you are interested.

Paul.... :wink:

 

[CiCi]

What would happen if you measured out the amount of water that you needed and nearly froze it and then added the lye to it? Would that be better? Can you tell me more about RTCP and why you find it easier or better?

 

[Lane]

What would happen if you measured out the amount of water that you needed and nearly froze it and then added the lye to it? Would that be better? Can you tell me more about RTCP and why you find it easier or better?

You should do a search in the forum for the threads that mention RTCP, there is some really good info posted