Ok now I'm mad...lol

[Stinkydancer]

I keep burning my glycerin and the lye won't dissolve. I added it in little by little and it seemed like it would all dissolve. But toward the end of the lye cup, a foam started to form that would not incorporate. It almost looked like foamy lint or something.

How do you get the lye to incorporate without burning the glycerin? My lye is from Essential Depot and is fresh so not sure what the problem could be.

Help!!! Pretty please and thanks!
I have a pic of it:

 

[savonierre]

This might be a really stupid question but here goes~ why are you adding lye to glycerin?

 

[lsg]

I heat my glycerin and then add the lye. This is a stupid question I know, but you are using potassium hydroxide? Here is the tutorial that helped me:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6brP--yQpU[/ame]

 

[Stinkydancer]

This might be a really stupid question but here goes~ why are you adding lye to glycerin?

I'm making liquid soap using the glycerin method.

I watched that same video a hundred times and read the thread twice- lol!!
I am using KOH- I double and triple checked and it's not a stupid question at all.

I'm using kind of deep pot instead of a shallow one like on the video. I heat the glycerin first too. It's so weird and when I googled this happening, it appears it has not happened to anyone else. LOL
This is my third try I strained the weirdness out so maybe it will work. I'm just not getting why it won't dissolve.

I had really badly burned liquid soap yesterday- it was literally dark brown and stunk.

 

[lsg]

Maybe you have a bad batch of KOH. I do not use vegetable glycerin for this recipe.

 

[Stinkydancer]

Maybe you have a bad batch of KOH. I do not use vegetable glycerin for this recipe.

What do you use?

 

[FGOriold]

Are you using a stainless steel pot?

 

[DeeAnna]

And how much KOH are you trying to dissolve in how much glycerin?

From what I can tell, you can't dissolve a lot of KOH in glycerin. The ratio appears to be 1 part KOH to 2.5 parts glycerin (a 28% solution of KOH). If you are trying to dissolve more KOH than the glycerin can take, you can boil away all day and the KOH will not dissolve.

Just a thought....

 

[Stinkydancer]

...And how much KOH in how much glycerin?

Oops sorry-
I used the Summer Bee Calc
4.2 oz KOH
12.7 Glycerin

I super fatted at 3% just to see what would happen and that's what I read on the super long thread on another site.
Recipe was:
Coconut 25%
Castor 10%
Olive 65%
The recipe is not mine in the interest of full disclosure.

 

[lsg]

I use glycerin from WSP. I am pretty sure it is not vegetable in origin.

 

[Yooper]

I use glycerin from WSP. I am pretty sure it is not vegetable in origin.

I use 100% vegetable glycerin for my liquid soap (and other things). I've never had it not work for me.

I'm at a loss. If you heat the glycerin to nearly boiling, the KOH has to dissolve. It has to- as far as I know.

Where did the KOH come from? could it be questionable?

 

[Stinkydancer]

I use 100% vegetable glycerin for my liquid soap (and other things). I've never had it not work for me.

I'm at a loss. If you heat the glycerin to nearly boiling, the KOH has to dissolve. It has to- as far as I know.

Where did the KOH come from? could it be questionable?

@Faith- Yep I used a stainless pot- it's the same one I hp in.

@Yooper- It came from Essential Depot, I have been using their lye for years and it has been good quality. Anything's possible though. I'm going to try again with a fresh bottle and see what happens. I would think it has to dissolve.
It reminds me of Naoh lye lint which I only had once years ago. But that's what it looks like. This is weird. The KOH always dissolved in water fine.
Does your glycerin burn?

 

[savonierre]

I'm making liquid soap using the glycerin method.

I watched that same video a hundred times and read the thread twice- lol!!
I am using KOH- I double and triple checked and it's not a stupid question at all.

I'm using kind of deep pot instead of a shallow one like on the video. I heat the glycerin first too. It's so weird and when I googled this happening, it appears it has not happened to anyone else. LOL
This is my third try I strained the weirdness out so maybe it will work. I'm just not getting why it won't dissolve.

I had really badly burned liquid soap yesterday- it was literally dark brown and stunk.

Thank you, I was having a brain fart:grin: big time..

 

[Stinkydancer]

Thank you, I was having a brain fart:grin: big time..

LOL- that's the story of my life. I'm usually the one with the brain fart and apparently Glycerin and KOH challenged. I ordered new KOH so I"m ready when I get it tomorrow for round 4 of this liquid soap try!

 

[juliet]

It may be that your glycerine is not pure. I bought some cheap glycerine once (I should have known) and it turned a caramel brown and bubbled up all over, big mess in the kitchen. It stank like burnt sugar. I think it was probably thinned out with sugar water. Just a thought.

 

[Stinkydancer]

It may be that your glycerine is not pure. I bought some cheap glycerine once (I should have known) and it turned a caramel brown and bubbled up all over, big mess in the kitchen. It stank like burnt sugar. I think it was probably thinned out with sugar water. Just a thought.

I never thought of that. I got Glycerine from Soapers Choice, they are usually pretty reliable but anything's possible at this point.

 

[lsg]

Looking back over other threads concerning the glycerin method, it was mentioned that it takes about 3 times as much glycerin as potassium hydroxide. I know I added more glycerin than the original recipe called for. I went by the Summer Bee Meadow Liquid Soap lye calculator. That would make a big difference in dissolving the lye. It makes the time shorter to the no zap period too.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=35630

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=39026