Lye for months to come!

[John Harris]

I just dug out a 50 pound heavy-plastic bag of lye from storage. It is 24 years old but seems to be intact. I will be doing DeeAnna's purity test so as to make allowances for any deterioration. (It's kind of a fun exercise. Makes me feel like a chemist.) You can see the test description at:

https://classicbells.com/soap/NaOH_KOH_Purity_Check.pdf
The lye looks good though. Very white and any clumps break apart easily. I am in the process of moving it to sturdier, air-tight storage containers.

According to my calculations, based on my recipe, I can make 32 batches with this. That means I can make a batch every 11 days for a year! I shudder to think what all the other ingredients will cost. And where am I going to put it all?

(Sorry to bore you with these meanderings. I promised my soap partner I wouldn't talk about soap for a week after making a batch 2 nights ago. Guess I'll go play in my soap program, SoapMaker 3.0, for a while. Thank you for your patience.)

 

[dibbles]

I promised my soap partner I wouldn't talk about soap for a week

We all get this. Go ahead and meander all you want

 

[shylanair]

oh it isn't boring at all....i didn't even know there was a way to test the purity of the lye, so I learnt something from you, thank you.so much, I'm off to test all the lye I have stocked.

 

[John Harris]

Hi Shy! Your lye is probably just fine. I'm going to guess 95% pure. I just test mine cuz it's so old. Some of mine tested at 78% pure and some other at 85%. You just make up the difference as specified on DeeAnna's webpage. All of my soap has come out perfectly when it comes to lye-related issues.
There's also a video on the matter featuring a scientist who wrote a book about soap. Very easy to understand. I can't remember his name, but I am sure someone among us could tell you and direct you to the video.

 

[Rsapienza]

And where am I going to put it all?

I buy 50# bags and store in a 5 gallon bucket with a screw top lid. Pretty sure I got them at Home Depot. I fill a couple of old 2# lye containers to keep me stocked for immediate use so I’m not in and out of the bucket so much.

 

[shylanair]

I got mine a year ago hoping to make lots of soap but it didn't quiet work out as planned. It's great to know i can check the purity of the lye I have. Will also try to look up the video you mentioned, thank you for the info.

 

[John Harris]

@shylanair The chemist's name is Kevin Dunn and here is the link to the video! (Don't be put off by the name "chemist". He is lots of fun.)



DeeAnna also has a video of it which is very clear.

 

[TheGecko]

According to my calculations, based on my recipe, I can make 32 batches with this.

How big are your batches?

 

[John Harris]

5129 grams of oils. I make 40 hefty sized bars at a time.

 

[PepperJack]

I just dug out a 50 pound heavy-plastic bag of lye from storage. It is 24 years old but seems to be intact. I will be doing DeeAnna's purity test so as to make allowances for any deterioration. (It's kind of a fun exercise. Makes me feel like a chemist.) You can see the test description at:

https://classicbells.com/soap/NaOH_KOH_Purity_Check.pdf
The lye looks good though. Very white and any clumps break apart easily. I am in the process of moving it to sturdier, air-tight storage containers.

According to my calculations, based on my recipe, I can make 32 batches with this. That means I can make a batch every 11 days for a year! I shudder to think what all the other ingredients will cost. And where am I going to put it all?

(Sorry to bore you with these meanderings. I promised my soap partner I wouldn't talk about soap for a week after making a batch 2 nights ago. Guess I'll go play in my soap program, SoapMaker 3.0, for a while. Thank you for your patience.)

I’m intrigued at finding 50 lbs of lye.. was this your own supplies or someone’s de-stash?

 

[John Harris]

I knew I had it somewhere in the basement. It was just a matter of moving some stuff around. Fortunately, the storage container (a heavy-plastic bag) was intact. I will have to examine the lye more closely and test it for purity.

 

[PepperJack]

I knew I had it somewhere in the basement. It was just a matter of moving some stuff around. Fortunately, the storage container (a heavy-plastic bag) was intact. I will have to examine the lye more closely and test it for purity.

I love when I find something I forgot I had. Like a fun surprise.

 

[TheGecko]

I’m intrigued at finding 50 lbs of lye.. was this your own supplies or someone’s de-stash?

https://shayandcompany.com/caustic-soda-lye-sodium-hydroxide.html

 

[shylanair]

@John Harris, thank you so very much for saving me the search, I was setting aside a day for this and you saved me that, much gratitude. Looks fairly straight forward doesn't it, and yes he's verrry funny! no the science is not intimidating either. Now to actually get this done....Thanks again.

 

[John Harris]

Some good news

I did the lye purity test from DeeAnna's Classic Bells page on the 50 pound bag of 24 year old lye I have. I did three trials and averaged them, as she recommends. The stuff came out 99% pure! I am amazed!

I'm going to store it in a 5 gallon air-tight bucket I got on Amazon. It was only $50, the pirates!