Soapee

[cmzaha]

If anyone here uses Soapee as their calculator or have recipes stored on his site you need to print them off. He is shutting down the site on April 30th.

Makes me sad because I love that site and the ability that we were able to store recipes. Frankly I was always surprised he kept it a free site. I spent hrs yesterday saving all my stored recipes.

 

[ackosel]

If anyone here uses Soapee as their calculator or have recipes stored on his site you need to print them off. He is shutting down the site on April 30th.

Makes me sad because I love that site and the ability that we were able to store recipes. Frankly I was always surprised he kept it a free site. I spent hrs yesterday saving all my stored recipes.

I saw that yesterday. It was the only lye calculator I 've used, and I love it. I'm so disappointed that I have to learn how to use a different one. At least now I know how it's supposed to work, so it shouldn't be too hard to transition to something different. Any recommendations for a user friendly lye calculator?

 

[DeeAnna]

Oh, no!!!! Very disappointed to hear this.

I have steered a lot of newcomers toward Soapee. It's always seemed so clear and straightforward to use.

 

[Relle]

I saw that yesterday. It was the only lye calculator I 've used, and I love it. I'm so disappointed that I have to learn how to use a different one. At least now I know how it's supposed to work, so it shouldn't be too hard to transition to something different. Any recommendations for a user friendly lye calculator?

There is nothing wrong with soapcalc.com

 

[DeeAnna]

While Soapcalc is certainly an established, reputable calc, the interface is really showing its age. I can see why beginners shy away. It's also lacking in some features that Soapee, Soapmaking Friend, and other calcs offer.

Another calc that I've been investigating since the Soapee announcement is Lye Calc, https://www.lyecalc.com/ This URL takes you to the advanced version of the calc.

There's a simpler beginner's version that walks the user step-by-step through the process of creating a recipe, https://www.lyecalc.com/beginner-calculator

The advanced version will calculate the additional alkali needed if you're adding citric acid or other acids, gives recommendations about the amounts of other additives such as sodium lactate, and lets the user enter exact numbers for NaOH and KOH purity.

It looks like you can save recipes if you create an account. I haven't tried it on my phone to know how the interface looks on mobile, but the calc is clean and easy to read on my desktop monitor.

 

[Zuleika]

Another calc that I've been investigating since the Soapee announcement is Lye Calc, https://www.lyecalc.com/ This URL takes you to the advanced version of the calc.

I've been on SoapCalc for most of my soaping history. This looks like a wonderful upgrade to try out. Thanks @DeeAnna

 

[cmzaha]

Thank you Deanna. If I ever get back to shaping I will check it out. Of course I have all my formulas so really do not need a calc just to make my own soap.

 

[Arimara]

This saddens me. I liked using this site.

 

[Gaisy59]

If anyone here uses Soapee as their calculator or have recipes stored on his site you need to print them off. He is shutting down the site on April 30th.

Makes me sad because I love that site and the ability that we were able to store recipes. Frankly I was always surprised he kept it a free site. I spent hrs yesterday saving all my stored recipes.

Nooooo that was my go to.

It was easy to use and saved my recipes. Thanks for the heads up @cmzaha .

While Soapcalc is certainly an established, reputable calc, the interface is really showing its age. I can see why beginners shy away. It's also lacking in some features that Soapee, Soapmaking Friend, and other calcs offer.

Another calc that I've been investigating since the Soapee announcement is Lye Calc, https://www.lyecalc.com/ This URL takes you to the advanced version of the calc.

There's a simpler beginner's version that walks the user step-by-step through the process of creating a recipe, https://www.lyecalc.com/beginner-calculator

The advanced version will calculate the additional alkali needed if you're adding citric acid or other acids, gives recommendations about the amounts of other additives such as sodium lactate, and lets the user enter exact numbers for NaOH and KOH purity.

It looks like you can save recipes if you create an account. I haven't tried it on my phone to know how the interface looks on mobile, but the calc is clean and easy to read on my desktop monitor.

Thanks for the new site @DeeAnna . It looks different but i guess will take some getting used to. The beginner side looks easy enough.

 

[Becky1024]

While Soapcalc is certainly an established, reputable calc, the interface is really showing its age. I can see why beginners shy away. It's also lacking in some features that Soapee, Soapmaking Friend, and other calcs offer.

Another calc that I've been investigating since the Soapee announcement is Lye Calc, https://www.lyecalc.com/ This URL takes you to the advanced version of the calc.

There's a simpler beginner's version that walks the user step-by-step through the process of creating a recipe, https://www.lyecalc.com/beginner-calculator

The advanced version will calculate the additional alkali needed if you're adding citric acid or other acids, gives recommendations about the amounts of other additives such as sodium lactate, and lets the user enter exact numbers for NaOH and KOH purity.

It looks like you can save recipes if you create an account. I haven't tried it on my phone to know how the interface looks on mobile, but the calc is clean and easy to read on my desktop monitor.

I'm disappointed Soapee is going away too. It was so easy to use when the recipe required a dual lye or additives. It even recalculated lye when using citric acid as a chelator. I will try out lyecalc.com.

 

[artemis]

Thanks for the new site @DeeAnna . It looks different but i guess will take some getting used to. The beginner side looks easy enough.

If it's any encouragement, the advanced side wasn't too difficult, either. It just took a little poking around.

 

[DeeAnna]

If it's any encouragement, the advanced side wasn't too difficult, either. It just took a little poking around.

It's always a bit stressful to learn a new calc, even if the basic steps are pretty much the same as any another calc. But after playing with LyeCalc a few times, it has become more familiar and comfortable. I practiced with an old recipe I know well, so I'm not adding more stress by trying to create something different as well as learn a new system.

In the advanced version of LyeCalc, there are two frames that can be scrolled independently of each other.

The narrower frame on the left is where you enter the basic info needed to create the recipe. This frame contains four numbered sections.

I found it easier to start a recipe by first entering info into Sections 2 and 3. These sections are where you define the units you're using (grams, ounces, or percent), the superfat, lye concentration, and other stuff like this. I then went back to Section 1 to choose fats I wanted in the recipe. It made more sense to me to enter info this way, but that's just me.

The wider frame on the right is the recipe itself. As you add fats using Section 1 in the left-hand frame, the recipe creates iteself in this wider frame as you watch, something like Soapee.

 

[artemis]

In the advanced version of LyeCalc, there are two frames that can be scrolled independently of each other....

I see-- I am using it on my phone. It does not have multiple panels, just tabs along the top. I'll have to check it out in my computer and see what I think of that layout.

 

[DeeAnna]

I see-- I am using it on my phone. It does not have multiple panels, just tabs along the top. I'll have to check it out in my computer and see what I think of that layout.

I haven't viewed it on my phone to see how a small-screen version looks and works. It's pretty nice to work with when on a larger screen, however.

 

[Gaisy59]

If it's any encouragement, the advanced side wasn't too difficult, either. It just took a little poking around.

Awesome thanks @artemis . Will put on my patience hat.

 

[Quilter99755]

Soapee was my go to site, too. I have always printed off my recipes as I go and saved them in a notebook. Obviously I am not as prolific as others here so don't have to print them off...and today is too late anyway. I'm not much of a fan of SoapCalc but thanks for the other site as an alternative. I haven't used a new recipe in a couple years. Thanks for the suggestion of using an old recipe to make sure I'm doing things right. I'd hate to try out a new recipe on the new site or even on SoapCalc as I haven't used it for years.

 

[Bill]

Out of all the soap calcs out there my favorite was Soapee. When they posted they were shutting down I downloaded all the oil data with the specs and made myself a personal Soapee site in excel. Another calculator I like is the free download of SoapMaker. You can save your recipes in it also.

 

[artemis]

For the tech savvy (or people with a techie in their home)

It looks like the Soapee tool has been made open source and is available for individuals to use on their own local server:

https://github.com/nazar/soapee.open

It is just the tool itself. None of your recipes will be there. But, if it's your favorite tool, you can always re-enter your recipes.

 

[Becky1024]

For the tech savvy (or people with a techie in their home)

It looks like the Soapee tool has been made open source and is available for individuals to use on their own local server:

https://github.com/nazar/soapee.open

It is just the tool itself. None of your recipes will be there. But, if it's your favorite tool, you can always re-enter your recipes.

I’m going to try it. Soapee was my favorite calculator.

 

[artemis]

I’m going to try it. Soapee was my favorite calculator.

So.....
How'd it go?