Hi. I am un the UK and we have very few and limited suppliers over here for larger scale equipment. I am always looking to America for ideas and inspiration! I am now looking for large moulds for my goats milk soap. I currently have 8 slab moulds, with silicone liners and these have worked really well. I can make approx 100lb batch to fill them. The silicone is now starting to stretch and the corners are torn. However the moulds cant be replaced as the company in UK have closed. I have fallen in love with For Crafts Sake 50lb block moulds, but am really concerned with the soap over heating. The slab moulds are great as if I need to insulate I can stack them on top of each other, or keep them open if I need to cool them. Does anyone here make goats milk soap in the block moulds, and do you have any issues? Also with the lining of them. I really need to do my homework, as will be investing in 4 or 5 of them plus cutters etc! Thanks!
Large moulds and goats milk soap
- Thread starter ma larkin
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I can’t speak to the issue of the overheating. However, you might want to watch Arianne Arsenault’s YT video where she demos the use of the big block molds and their grid cutters from FCS. She is a physically strong person, and even with using her body weight, she struggled tremendously to get the cutters through the big blocks of soap. She had to have a second person help her.
Yeah i've seen those! Her soaps are amazing, and she has a lovely way of showing things. But I thought she had back problems, hence having a less capacity mould made for her.
I'd have to look at the videos again, since I didn't catch the part about back problems.
Here is one from another soap company where they show the cutting of their milk and honey soap. It is pretty old (2009), but it doesn't look like they are having any problems. If no one else here has experience with it, perhaps you can contact that soaper via YT.
Here is one from another soap company where they show the cutting of their milk and honey soap. It is pretty old (2009), but it doesn't look like they are having any problems. If no one else here has experience with it, perhaps you can contact that soaper via YT.
I have seen the large block videos from Susan's Soaps, The Soap Gal and Ariane Arsenault (I haven't seen Ariane use large blocks after her initial reviews). I know that Susan's Soap makes GMS, but I don't know if she uses the large block molds or not. She does use powdered GM and her GMS soap is a bit on the brown side.
Making GMS myself and having had a massive failure (gross and disgusting) and much success as I have progressed, I would not recommend using large blocks to make GMS. One common thread in all the videos is that the center of the blocks get really hot and are still hot even after 24 hours (Ariane had to let her center logs cool for some time before she could cut it). You do NOT want your GMS to overheat...as noted above, it's pretty gross and disgusting when it does...it's oily, it's an ugly brown and it smells! FYI - I use fresh Goat Milk.
I've been looking to Workshop Heritage to upscale my GMS production for a potential wholesale client. Two molds I'm looking at are the Pro-Soaper Standard Double and Pro-Soaper Standard Triple. Given how easily even smaller batches of GMS can over heat and I don't gel my GMS, the Triple would be as large as I would go and still fit in my freezer. I currently make between 2 and 3 lbs batches and depending on the time of year, they either go in the frig (spring/summer) or in my garage (fall/winter).
Now I know that some people don't have issues with overheating when they use powdered goat milk...at least on a smaller scale. I don't know if the process of dehydrating the milk changes it on a molecular level and so the natural sugars have less of an effect or if mixing in the powder with the oils or after the lye makes a difference. It probably would hurt to contact Susan and have a chat with her.
Making GMS myself and having had a massive failure (gross and disgusting) and much success as I have progressed, I would not recommend using large blocks to make GMS. One common thread in all the videos is that the center of the blocks get really hot and are still hot even after 24 hours (Ariane had to let her center logs cool for some time before she could cut it). You do NOT want your GMS to overheat...as noted above, it's pretty gross and disgusting when it does...it's oily, it's an ugly brown and it smells! FYI - I use fresh Goat Milk.
I've been looking to Workshop Heritage to upscale my GMS production for a potential wholesale client. Two molds I'm looking at are the Pro-Soaper Standard Double and Pro-Soaper Standard Triple. Given how easily even smaller batches of GMS can over heat and I don't gel my GMS, the Triple would be as large as I would go and still fit in my freezer. I currently make between 2 and 3 lbs batches and depending on the time of year, they either go in the frig (spring/summer) or in my garage (fall/winter).
Now I know that some people don't have issues with overheating when they use powdered goat milk...at least on a smaller scale. I don't know if the process of dehydrating the milk changes it on a molecular level and so the natural sugars have less of an effect or if mixing in the powder with the oils or after the lye makes a difference. It probably would hurt to contact Susan and have a chat with her.
Thanks for the info... Will check out Susan's Soaps. We only use fresh milk ( frozen) too from our own goats. Have had many an over heating issue ands its not good! Thing is we really need to upscale and just cant get hold of the slab moulds over here anymore. They also take up so much space which we dont have. I think Workshop Heritage do a 20lb slab mould though which may work.... My ones hold approx 15lb each at the moment. I dont put in fridge or freezer, but sometimes have cold fans blowing over them depending... I am in UK and so dont often have high temperatures even in the summer! If it is going to be a really hot day i either dont make, or do it really early in the morning while its still cool enough.
I've just re watched the videos of her making and cutting. The moulds and cutters she is having issues with are from Soap equipment. The FCS moulds are much easier and the cutters glide through the soap on the fcs ones too. She had the fcs moulds made to 20lb each as her back stops her lifting much more.
Have you considered making your own? Check out Missouri River Soap...Holly's husband makes her molds and then she lines them with freezer paper (aka grease proof paper). He even puts handles on the sides to make them easier to carry. I had my husband make be a couple of open boxes (no bottoms) for my 10" Silicone Loaf Molds because they were starting to bulge out a bit on the sides
I'm in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon, US. We might get a couple of months of cold (30sF and 40sF) and a couple of months of hot (80sF and 90sF), but lows are generally in the 50sF and highs in the 70sF. We also get a lot of rain. Not too much of an issue when the weather is warm, but when the temps drop below 65F, it get "damp" and I was having to increase the length of time I was curing my soap...I cure in my garage (only insulted on two sides). I have mitigated some of the time by increasing my Lye Concentration from 33% to 35% (reduces my water), but it still takes an extra couple of weeks before I'm ready to let my soap go out the door.
We were supposed to clean out the garage this summer and turn half of it into a 'studio' for me, but the garbage company decided that it would only deliver 'construction' bins...four times the prices and size...and that would have used up most of my entire budget for the project. We were going to put up a temporary insulated wall with door between the spaces. The garage side would have shelves and stuff would be in tubs. The studio side would have shelves on one side and a set of cabinets and counter top on the other. I wouldn't have running water, but I could have a hot plate for melting oils. Maybe next year.
We make our wooden moulds, its the silicone liners we cant get. My absolute no no is lining moulds again!! Silicone is so easy! I know the 50lb for crafts sake moulds would require liner, but it looks a lot easier doing 2 or 3 big moulds than lots of smaller slab moulds!.
There is always something to make our soap making lives a little easier isn't there.... and always something that equally ruins our dreams and visions of it! Hopefully your studio will happen this year.
Hi! I made goat's milk soap when I first started soaping and I made mine in large boxes that I lined with parchment paper. I put my batches in the freezer after making them and then I got them out after 48 hours and let them sit on the counter top as they thawed. Then I would cut them. They turned out great!!
I totally respect that. I've lined a couple of molds and didn't enjoy it. But with that said...did you know you can make your own silicone liners? Check out Lisa, with "I Dream In Soap"'s How To Make A Silicon Mold video. She's in the UK and I know would be happy to answer any questions you may have. There is also Keely with "Soy and Shea" in Australia...she makes a lot of her embed molds.
I'd just settle for more shelves at this point. LOL Prior to Covid, hubby bought me a set of shelves for the garage for curing and storage of finish soaps et all. He was tired of having to move trays of soap off of the washer and dryer. They are now being used as pantry storage. I did pick up a set of shelves that were supposed to hang over the door, but it was make for interior, not exterior doors. But we found a place to hang it and it contains packed soaps as well as large bottles of FOs.
What would be really great...is if I could find a used camping/travel trailer (aka caravan) between 20-25 feet. Wouldn't have to worry about plumbing or electrical...it would come with stove, sink, bathroom, heater or A/C. Would prefer an older model as I don't need a tub or kitchen slide out. In fact, an older "park" model would be perfect.
Have you thought about ordering the silicone mold kits and making your own liners? I've seen some people online using them to make their own liners for their customer soap molds.
