Where am I going wrong

[Susie]

I use a heating pad under my molds also. I turn it on high when I set it up, throw a heavy towel over it. Make the soap, then put the mold(s) on top, cover with beach towels folded up, leave the heating pad on for at least 4 hours. Then check the molds. Usually they are fully gelled by then. Sometimes my wood mold needs more time. Then I give it another 1-1 1/2 hours. Be sure you have that heating pad directly on the bottom of the mold, though. No towels or blankets between them.

 

[penelopejane]

I use a heating pad under my molds also. I turn it on high when I set it up, throw a heavy towel over it. Make the soap, then put the mold(s) on top, cover with beach towels folded up, leave the heating pad on for at least 4 hours. Then check the molds. Usually they are fully gelled by then. Sometimes my wood mold needs more time. Then I give it another 1-1 1/2 hours. Be sure you have that heating pad directly on the bottom of the mold, though. No towels or blankets between them.

Thanks Susie.
I have an electric blanket and I can get it to 35*C (95*f) is that hotter than your heatmat gets? I wrapped the mold in it (but has a towel between it and the mold) and ran it on "high" for 2 hrs and it didn't gel.

 

[KristaY]

Do you use a cooler? Or are you just wrapping it in less towels in summer?

I have made another batch and am not using the cooler.
I am now going from one extreme (too hot) to the other (too cold).
I heated an electric blanket to 40*C, turned it off and wrapped the covered wooden mold in a towel then wrapped it in the electric blanket.
Nothing happened 5 hrs later so I turned the blanket on for 1 and 1/2 hrs.
Still nothing happening 9 hrs later. Soap itself is 35*. It could get down to 10*C (50*F) tonight in that r
I will leave it overnight.

I usually cut it at 24 hrs if I CPOP it.

I don't use a cooler or a heating pad. The room I soap in is the same temp as the rest of the house so it doesn't get cold. But in winter our thermostat is set lower so the temps are colder. I just insulate with more towels that I tuck firmly around the molds. In summer I insulate with lighter towels that are loose around the mold. I don't CPOP as it's always an ugly fail for me.

 

[Susie]

Thanks Susie.
I have an electric blanket and I can get it to 35*C (95*f) is that hotter than your heatmat gets? I wrapped the mold in it (but has a towel between it and the mold) and ran it on "high" for 2 hrs and it didn't gel.

It does get hotter. Probably 105 F. I would lose the towel between the electric blanket and the mold at the very least. Is there no possibility of getting a heating pad?

 

[penelopejane]

It does get hotter. Probably 105 F. I would lose the towel between the electric blanket and the mold at the very least. Is there no possibility of getting a heating pad?

No because I am not spending anymore money on a hobby I am about to give up on. To be honest the internet says one type of heat mat can be fixed at 25*C (78* F) I can adjust my elec blanket to do the same as it is thermostatically controlled.

So 18 hrs after I put it in the mold and on an electric blanket at 35*C (95*F) a turned it off AND 24 hrs after I turned the blanket on to 35*C for 1 and 1/2 hrs it is still not right. It is brittle on edges and only just gelled in the centre not right to the edge. Ignore the dark yellow stripe that is just poor lighting or photography!

Is this (see photos below) what curing it too hot looks like?

I am thinking it might still be getting too hot. So I thought I'd warm the mold on the elec blanket, put the soap on the blanket, cover it with 2 towels and leave it turned on for 1 and 1/2 hrs at 25*C and then just wait 24 hours with no further heat input.

Let me know if you think there is a better way to go for my next attempt.
Our minimum temperatures are closest to Susie and Krista's minimum temps but we don't heat the house at all at night after we go to bed and the soaping area isn't ever heated.

 

[Kittish]

Have you considered going for preventing gel entirely? Yes, it will take longer to be able to take the soap out of the mold, but it might give you more acceptable results. I'm leaning towards preventing gel in most of my soaps, and there are things you can do with lye concentration to make soap less likely to gel. DeeAnna talks about that here.

 

[penelopejane]

Have you considered going for preventing gel entirely? Yes, it will take longer to be able to take the soap out of the mold, but it might give you more acceptable results. I'm leaning towards preventing gel in most of my soaps, and there are things you can do with lye concentration to make soap less likely to gel. DeeAnna talks about that here.

No I like gel. I personally thinks it makes a better soap with better colours. I have made good soap before with a plain silicone mold. The texture of this soap is entirely wrong. It's just a matter of working out the process to deal with these new molds.

 

[Kittish]

A thought I just had was maybe warm your soap batter before you pour it in the mold, then just insulate, don't do any further heating. Maybe get it to 49 or 50 degrees or even just a touch warmer, then pour it into a warmed mold, then into the esky with its nice, snug blankies but no further heating. Might even consider leaving the lid cracked just a tiny bit.

 

[MySoapyHeart]

I use a heating pad under my molds also. I turn it on high when I set it up, throw a heavy towel over it. Make the soap, then put the mold(s) on top, cover with beach towels folded up, leave the heating pad on for at least 4 hours. Then check the molds. Usually they are fully gelled by then. Sometimes my wood mold needs more time. Then I give it another 1-1 1/2 hours. Be sure you have that heating pad directly on the bottom of the mold, though. No towels or blankets between them.

I have a recipe I want to try and gel, but don`t want to use the oven as I use it very often. I do however have a heatingpad, and your post reminded me that I could dig that up. Also, I wasn`t too sure how long I should use it for, and your post gave me a great guideline, thank you for sharing that!! : D

 

[MySoapyHeart]

No I like gel. I personally thinks it makes a better soap with better colours. I have made good soap before with a plain silicone mold. The texture of this soap is entirely wrong. It's just a matter of working out the process to deal with these new molds.

Sorry you are having issues, hope you get it sorted out soon!

I know when something happens that I can`t figure out right away, the soaping fun gets a bit dented, at least it does for me. When I figure out what the issue is it gets better and I learn from it and move on. So far nothing happened that I couldn`t figure out, but before I do it is a constant nagging of what the issue is *.*

 

[cmzaha]

Since I have to force gel with most of my soaps I can fit to 5lb molds in a low flat crate. Cover layer 1 is a heavy Cotton Mexican blanket, layer 2 is a lap heating blanket, layer 3 is another Mexican Blanket. Doing this I can add another crate on top and add blankets to the top layer. The heating blanket layer heats one on top and one of the bottom of the crate. This will usually talk it it into gelling. Or if I am doing just 1 batch I put it in a preheated oven 190º F oven turn off heat and let the mold stay in the oven for a few hrs. Forgot to mention I do not use silicone molds, mine are hdpe, so my method may be of no use

 

[penelopejane]

I've made a few more batches now so I thought I should follow up on this issue.

So I used to CPOP by putting my self supporting BB silicone mold in an enclosed cardboard box wrapped in a blanket in the oven at 40*C (measured with a laser thermometer) and turn the oven off as soon as I put my soap in and not open the oven for 24 hrs. Gelled perfectly every time winter and summer.

It is winter here now and my soaping room is unheated and can get to 10*C (50*F) overnight.

So now (after much trial and error) with the same silicone mold as above I enclose it in a cardboard box wrapped in a towel and put on a prewarmed electric blanket (heat mat) on high, wrap it in the electric blanket and cover it with a doona for 1 hr. This gets to almost 40*C and holds it there for 1 hr. (If you fiddle with it ie:unwrap it it drops to 28*C (65*F) so it is pretty sensitive.)
Then I unwrap the electric blanket, turn it down to low and put the doona back over the top again. This keeps it at about 20*C (maybe a bit less overnight). 24 hrs later perfect gel.

For my new silicone molds with a timber surround and timber lid I do the same as above and 24 hrs later perfect gel. I preheated the molds once but forgot another time and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

I am also soaping hotter at 40*C (104* F) and not using masterbatched Lye. I might go back to the masterbatch lye but if I do I will heat it to 45*C before using it. I did this once and it worked ok but I just wanted to rule out variables. This may change a bit in summer.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and advice.
I hope this helps others.

 

[Millie]

I'm glad you were able to solve the problem!
Happy soaping

 

[Susie]

I've made a few more batches now so I thought I should follow up on this issue.

So I used to CPOP by putting my self supporting BB silicone mold in an enclosed cardboard box wrapped in a blanket in the oven at 40*C (measured with a laser thermometer) and turn the oven off as soon as I put my soap in and not open the oven for 24 hrs. Gelled perfectly every time winter and summer.

It is winter here now and my soaping room is unheated and can get to 10*C (50*F) overnight.

So now (after much trial and error) with the same silicone mold as above I enclose it in a cardboard box wrapped in a towel and put on a prewarmed electric blanket (heat mat) on high, wrap it in the electric blanket and cover it with a doona for 1 hr. This gets to almost 40*C and holds it there for 1 hr. (If you fiddle with it ie:unwrap it it drops to 28*C (65*F) so it is pretty sensitive.)
Then I unwrap the electric blanket, turn it down to low and put the doona back over the top again. This keeps it at about 20*C (maybe a bit less overnight). 24 hrs later perfect gel.

For my new silicone molds with a timber surround and timber lid I do the same as above and 24 hrs later perfect gel. I preheated the molds once but forgot another time and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

I am also soaping hotter at 40*C (104* F) and not using masterbatched Lye. I might go back to the masterbatch lye but if I do I will heat it to 45*C before using it. I did this once and it worked ok but I just wanted to rule out variables. This may change a bit in summer.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and advice.
I hope this helps others.

I don't heat my lye solution, I just get my melted oils a bit warmer if I am in a hurry for some reason.