Too much lye - a cadillac problem!

[dixiedragon]

Okay, so I called a local chemical supply place for sodium hydroxide. They have it and I asked about soap making and she sells to other soapers as well. Cool.

Here's the thing - it's a $100 minimum. And $100 buys me 4 50-lb bags. I am about to have 200 lbs of lye. It took me YEARS to use up my last 50 lb bag.

Pretty sure it's not appropriate for me to put lye on craigslist.

 

[HerbalEarthling]

Okay, so I called a local chemical supply place for sodium hydroxide. They have it and I asked about soap making and she sells to other soapers as well. Cool.

Here's the thing - it's a $100 minimum. And $100 buys me 4 50-lb bags. I am about to have 200 lbs of lye. It took me YEARS to use up my last 50 lb bag.

Pretty sure it's not appropriate for me to put lye on craigslist.

Maybe get a hold of other local soapers before you commit to buying it and see if they want to go in on the cost with you. I don't know, are there any regulations of selling it if you're not the initial supplier ie. Ace Hardware, [InsertSoapSuppliesCo.], or anywhere else you can get it? Either that, or just make a ****load of soap! Haha!

 

[dixiedragon]

My local hardware store has it, but it's about $5 a pound there.

 

[AF_SOAP]

Buy it and then get some 5 gallon buckets with air tight lids from the hardware store. Most of the time bucket and lids you can get for $5 for one set (bucket and lid).

5 gallons though would only hold about 10 pounds at a time though from what I remember.

 

[AustinStraight]

00.50$ is a really good price per pound :shock: 200 pounds of lye would make you... what... maybe 800 pounds of soap? And if your bars weigh 4 ounces, that comes out to 3,200 bars of soap!!!! :shock::shock::shock:

 

[Carty812]

I would kill to get lye at this price! I live in an area that has a huge meth problem and I guess people use lye to make it so if I wanna get I local it is like 8 bucks a pound.:roll:

 

[CaraBou]

There's an idea, just distribute to the meth cooks!

Seriously, that's an insane amount of lye that I wouldn't want to deal with (or deal in). Storing it properly, let alone giving up the space it would require (for possibly a decade, lol), would outweigh any cost savings for me. And I wonder, would you need to follow any hazmat regulations? Anyway, it's obviously your decision but I'm here to represent the voice of reason! Good luck dixie dragon!

 

[dixiedragon]

I told them I'm a hobbyist, i don't have a business license or anything. Doesn't seem to be a problem. She sent me some paper work to fill out, but nothing about me needing a permit. My parents have a ginormous basement so no problem storing it there.

Is it weird that I can by 200 lbs of lye with no permit, but I have to show my ID to buy Claritin Z and there's a strict per month limit of how much I can buy?

 

[CaraBou]

Yeah, what a weird world we live in! Well, 50 cents a pound is a heck of a deal, that's for sure. You could always expand your lye repertoire to include a few other things, like pretzel & bagel maker, olive curer, and paper maker! And you're sure to hone your soaping skills for a long time to come, lol!

So I'm curious, how did you repackage and store your first 50 pounds? Sounds like you must already have a clue how to to do this - which is probably half of the battle!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

If it is 4 x 50 lb bags, then the unopened bags are easy to store, or at least easy enough to keep free from moisture - you'll only be working on 1 bag at a time and you are already used to dealing with that.

If space isn't a problem and as you currently work in 50lb bags sizes anyway, I'd say go for it.

 

[Susie]

I vaguely recall a thread here somewhere about not storing lye in buckets on a garage floor. I think the suggestion was to elevate it on something so it does not touch the floor directly. We don't have basements here, so I have no idea if that rule applies to basements, but I thought it might help you save some lye. It's a shame you don't have a local soapers group to do some co-op supply buying and sharing.

 

[shunt2011]

That is a lot of lye. It took me quite awhile to go through my 50lb bag as well. I too can purchase it locally at about 1.00 per pound. I didn't like having to store it in buckets as during the summer it gets quite warm her and moisture would get into the bucket. I recently had the opportunity to purchase 64 lbs from ED as my parents were in Florida and picked it up for me. It's so much easier in 2 lb containers. I don't think you could sell it on craigslist as you will be hearing from meth folks. That's a fantastic price though.

 

[Dennis]

If it took you years to use a 50lb sack and nothing has changed you should reconsider the 200lbs. Too many things can happen to create problems over a long period of time. I would contact local soapers and see if they want to get in on the deal. Even if they are buying locally they may be ready to buy again and go in with you. Perhaps they've found that they would prefer not to have so much on hand. Make inquiries, consider the long term possibilities both from nature and the government. Those nasty meth cookers make life difficult for all.

 

[dixiedragon]

I got a restaurant to save me a bunch of 1 gallon mayonaisse jars. Then I poured the lye into the jars and sealed the jars with duct tape. It worked well.

I'm thinking I may collect a few email addresses from soapers next time I go to the farmer's market and see if they want to buy the lye at cost. That way I don't have to store 200 lbs.

 

[clpsoaps]

OMG where are you located. I pay $60 for 50 lb bags of sodium hydroxide at a chemical plant. $25 per 50 lbs?? I can drive a long way to buy lye for that price.

 

[MzMolly65]

ok .. not to derail the topic but how long can lye last if it's in it's original container? I bought quite a bit of lye from ED and I'm not using it as fast as I thought I would so I'm curious how long it will be ok.

 

[dixiedragon]

CLP - I am in Birmingham, Alabama.
MzMolly - I stored mine in 1 gallon plastic (5 on the bottom) Helman's mayonaisse jars I got a restaurant to save me. I sealed the jars with duct tape. I think the lye was almost 10 years old and I'm using the last of it, and it's fine. There are a few large lumps in the jar, but I just crush them in my (gloved) hand. I stored them in the basement where it was cool and dark.

 

[MzMolly65]

I think the lye was almost 10 years old and I'm using the last of it, and it's fine. There are a few large lumps in the jar, but I just crush them in my (gloved) hand. I stored them in the basement where it was cool and dark.

Thanks for that info .. If yours survived that long after being put into 2nd hand containers I think mine should last a loooong time in the originals!

 

[seven]

wow that is a bloody good deal, almost as cheap as if we buy a 25kg sack over here. i cant believe lye can be so expensive in other parts of the world. here, i still chose to buy by the kg ($1), for easy storage. getting a big sack will save me more $ but where am i gonna put it? on the roof?

 

[godschild]

Too bad the shipping would be expensive, or I would buy a bag from you. I live in MS and am almost out.