Storing Lye Crystals Purchased In Bulk?

[baltochef]

I read in several articles on the net that lye purchased in bulk needs to be stored in an air tight container.. I assume this is because it is hygroscopic??..

Can someone define for me what an air tight container is as far as storing lye purchased in 8 lb. or larger quantities??..I am interested in purchasing a 8 lb. quantity from Camden-Grey in January..

If possible would you please explain what type of container & its lid that you are using to store the lye that you purchase??..

I do not anticipate purchasing lye in a quantity larger than 10 lbs. anytime soon, but I'm curious as to how people making soap for a living store their large quantities of lye..

Does it deteriorate as you work your way through a 30 or 50 lb. bag??..

Thanks in advance for answering these questions!!..

Bruce

 

[Soapmaker Man]

I buy lye in 50 pound bags to use and resell at my TOG Soap Making Tools site. I leave it in the plastic sealed bags until I need to open a 50 pound bag, then I pour it into a 5 gallon HDPE plastic bucket with the snap on sealed lid and dispense out of that. Yup, sodium hydroxide really pulls the moisture out of the air quickly once it is exposed to the open.

Here is 250 pounds of lye I bought;

Down to less than 50 pounds. Time to stock back up again!

Here is my listing for lye;

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?li ... d=16537726

 

[carebear]

you can buy buckets at Lowes or Home Depot, but the problem is tight-fitting lids are often hard to remove. so just be careful with those. but it's a good bet that it'll work.

what kind of container do they send it in? I save all my smaller lye containers (I used to buy it 2# canisters of Roebic brand from Lowes, then from AAA who also send in 2# canisters) and simply repackage into those.

 

[heartsong]

lye

when i purchase bulk lye, i get the HEFTY ZIPPER FREEZER quart size bags. i fill them about 3/4 full, then put them in a larger plastic bucket with lid. it's an easy working size to use at the counter.

i have standardized recipies for most of my soaps so i take a couple hours off and pre-measure my lye for a whole bunch of batches using smaller bags, then label each bag for each purpose: 5# goatsmilk and honey, 7# aloe and coconut milk, 3.5# work soap, etc.

it's a real time saver!