Something wrong with my recipe? SEIZE!!

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i feel like it has something to do with water/lye, but my untrained eye can't see it. This is the recipe, I did add 5 tsp SL, soaped at about 120 CP. traced quick, seized when I added the fragrance. It was 5 lbs of oils, should have had enough left over from my 5 lb mold to do my pringles can, nope! I was lucky to get it mashed into the mold, nothing left over, has me VERY suspicious
 
120 degrees? Just a shade on the warm side there, and with a floral fragrance oil too. Looks like it might be a double-whammy. Lots of the reviews on WSP's site regarding this FO says it's seizing soap.
 
This particular one?? Yikes!! I need to look at that list!! I wasn't aware it existed! Thanx!

They're the only ones that I know of that sell all the Crafter's Choice oils and this one does show up on their site. The first few reviews of usage in cold process soap quote seizing.
 
My vote is the FO. Florals are notorious for accelerating trace.
I would also suggest soaping a little cooler, especially if using a new FO.

Thanx, 100 better? My oils had cooled to about 110, and the lye was at about 130.
Recipe looks ok otherwise? I'm still wondering why I didn't have any leftovers!! It didn't feel like enough water to me, but I AM a NEWB!!

This fragrance sure wouldnt have been my first choice. I bought a 'lot' of stuff from a local woman who was going out of business, many random fragrances. I guess I had better check each one before using!

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Aha!! Grrr... lesson learned!! I couldn't get some of the lumps out either, this is going to be one for the "ugly soap" contest, for sure!!!
 
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Thanx, 100 better? My oils had cooled to about 110, and the lye was at about 130.
Recipe looks ok otherwise? I'm still wondering why I didn't have any leftovers!! It didn't feel like enough water to me, but I AM a NEWB!!
Yeah, that looks very similar to a recipe I used a couple of weeks ago. Depending on the level of color/design work I intend to do, I usually soap around 90-95. For more intricate work, reduce the temp, increase the water a bit.
 
Florals, spicy and ocean scents are all know to seize. Always check reviews when using a new FO. When I use fiddly FO, I go for a one color soap and mix it in by hand.

If you get a seize again, get your tools out of the mix and wrap the bowl up. After 5-15 minutes it should go into a full gel so you can somewhat pour it into the mold. At that point, it will be similar to HP.
Don't push your luck trying to do swirls or anything, just get it into the mold while its fluid.
 
Florals, spicy and ocean scents are all know to seize. Always check reviews when using a new FO. When I use fiddly FO, I go for a one color soap and mix it in by hand.

If you get a seize again, get your tools out of the mix and wrap the bowl up. After 5-15 minutes it should go into a full gel so you can somewhat pour it into the mold. At that point, it will be similar to HP.
Don't push your luck trying to do swirls or anything, just get it into the mold while its fluid.
Wow!! God to know!! I stuck it in the oven (then turned off). Was that not even Necessary? Does seize=near gel?

Yeah, that looks very similar to a recipe I used a couple of weeks ago. Depending on the level of color/design work I intend to do, I usually soap around 90-95. For more intricate work, reduce the temp, increase the water a bit.

I had plans!!!! Im just glad that I didnt panic! Every time I have made a batch with a plan, I've kept a contingency plan in the back of my head, in case!! Mushing it into the loaf is a good enough contingency plan, I guess!
 
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Wow!! God to know!! I stuck it in the oven (then turned off). Was that not even Necessary? Does seize=near gel?

Not sure about the oven. I've only had seize a couple times and I either let it gel in the bowl or just smoosh it in the mold and not worry about gel.

I don't think seize=near gel but it seems what ever causes seize, also increases heat which kick starts gel in a hurry.
 
You had 5 lbs of oil there, you should have had about 6.5-7 lbs of soap. You either did not add something, or your mold holds more than 5 lbs of soap.
 
Thanx, 100 better? My oils had cooled to about 110, and the lye was at about 130.
Recipe looks ok otherwise? I'm still wondering why I didn't have any leftovers!! It didn't feel like enough water to me, but I AM a NEWB!!

Other than the FO being the problem:
With that much palm and coconut I wouldn’t soap too cool.
Soap around 105*F with that lye concentration. If you want more time use 30, 31 or 32% lye concentration. A small change makes a big difference.

I’d also be making smaller batches.
 
Have you used that mold before, so that you know exactly how much it holds?
.

There should have been more left over. I've been over it several times and the only thing I see is that it's a little less water than I was using before. That doesn't account for much though. I've only used it for HP.


Other than the FO being the problem:
With that much palm and coconut I wouldn’t soap too cool.
Soap around 105*F with that lye concentration. If you want more time use 30, 31 or 32% lye concentration. A small change makes a big difference.

I’d also be making smaller batches.

I sure did want more time! Lessons learned! I do larger batches because I have precious little time to get a batch in at all! I figure, while I have everything out... I start out every batch knowing that things could go horribly wrong, so far I've been blessed. This turned out fine, thank goodness, just not at all what I had planned!
 
I would follow up on Susie's question about the mold size. It looks like your total batch size should have been 116.48 ounces, or 7.28 pounds.

Second, when using an FO you've never uses before, it's good idea to do a small test batch to see how it performs.
 
Is this the first time you made CP in that mold? My HP always seems to have a bit more volume, I figure from extra air stirred into it.

If you have FO you really like that is known to seize, HP would be a perfect use for it.
 
Well, now Im Paranoid. For good reason. Before making a batch today, I began looking up all of my fragrances, which I guess I should have been doing since the beginning!! Much of what I have (many were bought as a LOT from a GOOB) accelerates trace, ugh!! Soooo... save them for HP, when I'm mashing into a loaf anyway?? Save for body butters and such??

Here's my real irritation, in trying to learn from my batches that I've done thus far is a mute point, considering I DIDNT consider what the fragrance oil might have done. WOW! I've been trying to gauge technique with temperatures, oven vs crock, sugar, yogurt, CP/hp, etc. I feel like I need to start ALL OVER as far as what I think I know, based on what I've done. I understand now, how one batch of the same recipe played completely different than another. I blamed it on other things, when it may have just been the fragrance oil!! Is there a list somewhere of tried and true fragrances that PLAY NICE?
 
Is this the first time you made CP in that mold? My HP always seems to have a bit more volume, I figure from extra air stirred into it.

If you have FO you really like that is known to seize, HP would be a perfect use for it.

AHA!! Yes!! I had only done HP in that mold, makes sense now!! And apparently I have many oils that tend to seize, I see more HP in my future. Let the mashing begin!!
 

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