Stick blender vs whisk/spoon/spatula

[GemstonePony]

No way!!!! If you go past the rim, past Heber, to the little town of Snowflake, that’s where I was born and raised! Small world I tell ya! I love it up the rim, but there’s just no work up there, that’s why I went to the valley. I did enjoy Queen Creek, but it’s blown up since them days. I like Apache Junction, minus the trailer trash and meth heads hiking Superstition Mountains was my favorite past time, I recommend you go if you haven’t. Sorry to get off subject, my bad! I’ve read that mixing by hand can take upwards of 30+ minutes to get to trace, I have never tried it before. I would like to one of these batches just for the experience.

Fastest I've gotten to emulsion with a whisk only is within 2 minutes. Yes it was emulsion, no I hadn't added the FO, and my batter continued to accelerate like someone left the barn door open. It remained pourable, but I really had to scramble through my design.
Much depends on your oils and additives, but I would really take that 30 minutes with a grain of salt.

 

[AliOop]

...Much depends on your oils and additives...

...and the heat of said oils and additives. Heat definitely accelerates trace.

 

[Arimara]

Indeed, I do have a precision scale for lye which wheighs the hundreth of grams, so I never thought of the loss of precision related to very small batches.
I know that lemon juice can be quite variable in its citric acid content, but the average amount is quite low so I thought that even if I couldn't had a really precise measurement of the total citric acid, it wouldn't have been a big issue. I mean, it should only change a tiny bit the superfat percentage

Averages are just estimates and are sometimes wrong but I'm also less apt to using lemon in a soap. I prefer not having variables that are not consistent. Going back to your first post, A stick blender's blade moves a lot faster than you can with a whisk. You would need to mix with a whisk for at least five straight minutes, especially if you are working on the cooler side of CP. Not many people have that arm strength to whisk anything for that long (unless you're a chef and even then). Given your recipe, you would have benefited from a stick blender BUT you would need to make a 300g batch to avoid making a caustic mess all over the place.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

As a person who has used lemon juice as 30% of the liquid to make the NaOH solution, in a 100% Olive Oil Castile recipe, I posted this thread for you in the Photo Gallery.

Comment: Since it takes OO longer to trace than other formulas, I generally SB for 2-3 minutes, then rest, then repeat with short blasts until the batch traces. During the 5-minute or so rest periods, I watch for separation and hit it again if needed.

I honestly can't say why this batch separated without seeing the complete formula. The only thing I can add to what others mentioned is that the temperature may not have been kept warm enough -- especially with a small 200 gram batch.

 

[Kathymzr]

Love the rim. Tucson is indeed hot. Yesterday made another batch. Soaped at patio temp 93F. This time I hand whisked the oils first to blend well, then added the lye. Worked great! Not much long stirring needed at all! Soap is fine!