I have a question about water/oil amount

[Rocky_Mountain_Girl]

Ok I figured out how much my little mold will hold, it calculated to 42 ounces. When I do the soap calculator the oils I want to put in plus the liquid (goat milk in my case) needs to total 42 correct? I'm getting myself all confused, I know i'm making it harder than I need to, lol :?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Jaaret]

Liquid to Oil ratio

Here's what I do: I first figure out what oils I want to use and the amount of each. This will drive the amount of Sodium Hydroxide I need to use to saponify the batch. After I know how much Sodium Hydroxide I need I apply a discount, usually 8%, to ensure there is some unsaponified oil left in my soap bars. After I know how much Sodium Hydroxide I need I calculate the amount of liquid I need to create a 40% solution.

It will take trial and error to figure out how much oil you start out with to achieve enough soap to fill your mold but, for me, it all stems from the amount of oil I use.

I hope that helps a little,
Jaaret

 

[rubyslippers]

I use the formula someone so generously posted somewhere in this forum of length x width x height x 40. When I'm calculating my mold size I base it only on the total amount of oils in any given recipe. Do not include the additional liquid amount used for dissolving the lye.

 

[Rocky_Mountain_Girl]

I use the formula someone so generously posted somewhere in this forum of length x width x height x 40. When I'm calculating my mold size I base it only on the total amount of oils in any given recipe. Do not include the additional liquid amount used for dissolving the lye.

I used that LengthXWitdthX heightX40 to come up with my 42, very helpful. Ok, so I used the sage calculator. My mold can hold 42 ounces, your telling me I should choose oils to amount to the 42? this might sound like a silly question, but my brain is not calculating where the extra liquid goes, I guess i'm thinking it will overflow. During the chemical reaction (saponofication) does it absorb the extra liquid? When I input the oils I want up to 42ounces it tells me to ad an additional 10 to 16 ounces of liquid. Sorry I'm just confused :?

 

[rubyslippers]

Rocky, I remember being very confused about this also when I first began this hobby so you are not alone. But yes, in using the above formula, if your computation says 42 oz that would be the amount of oil. The length x width x height formula represents the amount of cubic inches in the mold and the 40% represents the amount of that total that would be your oil percentage. There is a very informative Sticky on this forum that is titled "How to figure how much oil for mold". It will explain it a lot better than my ramblings

Oh, depending on which method you use to make your soap you may loose some of the water. Some of the water will cook off if you crock pot or oven process. If you are strickly CP most of the water will remain when poured into the mold but will evaporate as the soap cures.

 

[Rocky_Mountain_Girl]

thank you so much for all of your replies. I guess i'm just worried that I will have to much stuff for in my mold and it will run over. Does that make sense?