What do you melt your oils in?

[melstan775]

I looked and searched but I didn't find the answer, so sorry if I am asking a duplicate question. Just wondering what you melt your oils in if you don't have a crock pot. A pot on the stove, in the microwave? What do you do? And, is it okay to use a candy thermometer to measure lye and oil temp? I can't be bothered or currently afford to drop 100 bucks on an infrared thermometer.

 

[CaliChan]

you can get a cheap thermometer at the store for like 3 bucks (try wally world)
And i use metal bowls for my soap making. I can put them on the stove (i guess i could put them in the oven to) and i can use them for my lye without having to worry about glass shattering or plastic possibly melting. i got them for about 5$ each.

 

[melstan775]

you just set your stainless stell bowls on the stove? This is a good idea. They don't get too hot? Do you add the lye in them?

 

[CaliChan]

i thought so, I lay a blanket down on the table so when the oils have melted the hot bowl doesnt burn my table. The oils dont get really hot just the bowl so i use oven mitts. and i have another metal bowel for the lye mixture. Theyre really nifty. best 10 bucks ive ever spent

 

[hlee]

I have been melting them in a small thick plastic bucket on the radiator. I get my other stuff ready while they melt and if I'm ready before they are melted I nuke them for a minute or a two.
I have also put my full mold on the radiator for an hour or so too with a couple of batches.

 

[andoy]

you don't even need to melt hard oils if doing CP soaps. Cut the hard soap into small pieces and stick in a sturdy clean bucket. mix lye in separate container, then add to the oils. The heat from lye solution quickly melts the hard oils. I don't use thermometers either

 

[Ruthie]

Andoy, I just saw a soapmaking video his past weekend of a lady who uses this method. I can't recall details, but it seems she said there were some hard oils that would not melt fully this way. Any idea what they might be? It seems one might be cocoa butter, but I'm not sure.

 

[Soapsugoii]

I use cocoa butter in my recipe and can't imagine it melting with just my lye solution I wish it were so easy! I have plastic mixing bowls I bought on Amazon. They're absolutely wonderful. I can fit two five pound loafs in each of the large bowls (I have two sets), and the smallest ones are perfect for the lye solution. I microwave my oils to melt them, and the bowls have held up perfectly for the better part of a year.

Here's a link to a picture of my soaping setup. This is two batches (about 20lbs of soap total) ready to be mixed:

http://instagram.com/p/U40PjzQxzP/

And here are the bowls on Amazon if you want them:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002BFQR3G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Soapsugoii]

I also use an infrared thermometer from Amazon. It works very well. I use it every batch and have no complaints. Here you go:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00837ZGRY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Happy soaping!

 

[andoy]

I only use coconut and palm with this method of melting. I tend to save more expensive butters for HP soap making. I only add more expensive oils after all the other oils have fully saponified, that way get maximum benefit from them being in super fat element rather than soap

 

[2lilboots]

I only melt my hard oils in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave. I leave my olive and castor oil at room temp. when I am ready to soap I just dump my microwaved oils into my room temp oils and I am good to go.

 

[DWinMadison]

I plop all my oils in a plastic bowl/pitcher..."blitcher" from the $ store and zap them for about 1 min 40 seconds. Perfect every time.

 

[sweethavenarts]

I melt and mix in a crock pot. The crock comes out to pour into a mold or you can leave it there and HP it.

 

[Soapsense]

I've been using a $3mix and pour bowl from Wally world and the microwave, bought an infared gun at the local autoparts store for cheap.

 

[lsg]

For cp I usually melt my solid oils and butters in the microwave and then add them to the liquid oils to cool them down. If I am doing hp, I melt them in the crockpot.

 

[Marilyna]

I also melt my solid oils in the microwave in a plastic container (varies), then add liquid oils at room temp. Pour in the lye solution as soon as it clears. I don't use thermometers at all, either.

With huge batches 15#, I would melt my solid oils in a large SS stockpot.

 

[Gryfonmoon]

1.) Put stainless steel stockpot on burner
2.) turn on burner until oils are melted
3.) turn off burner
4.) add cooled lye water

 

[MaitriBB]

I use a small crock pot. I used to just use the lye water to melt the oils, but now that I use goat's milk as my liquid I add the lye to it when frozen/slushy and it doesn't get hot enough any more to melt the oils. So the crock pot it is. You can also use a double boiler.

 

[melstan775]

I like the idea of melting in the microwave. Any issues with it - like boiling, bubbling, sepeation of fat from solids I should be aware of?

 

[Marilyna]

No, just turn on the microwave for short periods of time, then stir, heat again, etc. Kind of like you do chocolate.