rtcp lye temp

[Emilee]

I've asked this one before but didn't get the reply I wanted.

i've been making whipped soap, and adding the lye around 40 degrees celcius. it traces extremely quickly, but what I really want to know is those of you out there who do rtcp, i gather your lye is room temp, but what actually is that temp?

 

[carebear]

RTCP has two definitions

1. Make your lye solution and let it cool to room temp. Mix and melt your oils and butters and let them cool to room temp. Blend and proceed... My room temp here for both would be between 65F and 95F depending on the day & if there are a lot of hard oils that would solidify cooler.

2. Don't premelt your butters. Simply make up a fresh and thus really hot lye solution and pour it into your oils and butters letting the heat from the lye solution do the melting for you. In this case the lye is what - 170F?

 

[roseangel]

I've asked this one before but didn't get the reply I wanted.

What reply do you want?

I just use my lye when I can press my hand to the container and not feel any noticeable difference.

 

[carebear]

Em, many of us don't use thermometers.

My temps (above) are purely a guess by the way, and actually they can vary batch to batch even on the same day - I know my recipes and know how to handle them.

Room temp in the US varies enormously depending on the time of year, location, and how willing people are to spend money on their utility bills.

 

[Soapmaker Man]

I RTCP by having a master-batch mixed up. I usually keep 3 to 4 gallons in a plastic tub with a sealing top on it. I just dip out "XX" ounces for the mold I'm using at the time and since I know the SAP value of my master-batch, I just weigh out that much lye solution. I keep my soap room about 69 to 73 degrees year round. I keep about a half gallon of 50% lye solution made up with my silk at any one time.

HTH....

Paul: The RTCP GM Soap Maker

 

[Emilee]

ok thanks for all those replies.

i just had a batch awhile ago that didn't seem to heat up or trace very well, and my lye was sitting in the garage in the winter and quite cold when I used it, whereas I usually pour the lye into my whipped oils when the lye is about 40 degrees C.

this seems to work, but lately has been tracing in about 3-4 mins after beating in the lye and gm mixture. I'm going to try stirring instead of beating at this stage to see if I can slow it down, as I'm having a lot of trouble swirling with already set soap!

anyway, thanks again.

 

[heartsong]

lye

perhaps dont whip your soap so long. i add my g/milk (1/2 of the liquids) first, then my lye, and then f/o. i dont whip it until its real thick, but more "loose" like a pourable cake batter. this way i can get a nice smooth top. it may have something to do with how much water in your recipe, maybe?

mine is lye amount divided by .4 = liquid used.

i havent had a batch not turn out yet-knock on wood!

 

[mandolyn]

We may not be giving you the answer you "want", but we're being honest.

I don't bother checking the temps any more. I do back-to-back batches. The first batch is when i can hold my hand on the lye/water container & it's just warm to the touch. The next batches are at room temp. I think average room temp in my house is around 68F-72F.

I mix lye/water when I need it & let it cool down while I measure several batches of oils. I seldom use butters, so there's generally no melting down. If I use butter, it gets zapped in the nuker just long enough to make it about like room temp butter. I never melt it all the way down to liquid, so there's never any waiting for oils/butters to cool down.

One of these days, when I acquire the right container, I'll premeasure my lye/water solution, so I'll never have to wait for it to cool down.