Yay for stick blenders!

[Bmbyx]

I have got my 2-speed stick blender at Walgreens. I paid a whopping $18.00 for a $40.00 blender. Up until that time, Costco Business Center was my go-to-for-everything place until I found a sale at Walgreens :wink:

 

[sudbubblez]

the key to longevity of stick blenders is to pulse them, rather than run it continuously. Run it for 30s-1minute, then turn it off and manually stir with it as if it was a spoon for 30s-1 minute and repeat. It will last longer this way. My suggestion of time incriments is not the exact way to do it but you get the idea of pulsing then stirring.

 

[Lady Scrubbins]

Regarding the Squirrel cage mixer:

Do NOT use galvanized metal in the presence of strong acids or bases (i.e. NaOH). The coating may dissolve, and the zinc is toxic. This is more of a concern with food, but don't take chances. Your skin will readily absorb chemicals.

Stainless steel (food grade), and HDPE are the only materials that should come into contact with your soap. There are lower grades of stainless that are not safe for use in soapmaking. Be sure you are using stainless intended for food preparation. Regular ferrous steel should not be used.

There are many grades of plastic that are not safe, although HDPE is not the only one that is safe, it is certainly the most reliable. Buna is OK, and of course there are other plastics intended for food production. Do the research first.

Aluminum is really not safe.

Wood is OK, but may leech tannins. Tannins are not really a concern for anything other than discoloration, though. It's fine for molds if you line them. Make sure the wood is not finished, though.

And on and on... Just stick with quality stainless and HDPE and you should be fine. If you are not sure, don't use it.

The point is that if you're going to use a mixer intended for paint, you should be sure it is made of food-grade stainless.

 

[sudbubblez]

I did not have problems with reactions on the metal until I left the mixer in the sink with other stuff that had the raw soap batter on it. Before, I had used it and then promptly cleaned it off and during mixing the batter really doesn't contact them metal that much b/c of the vortex. I had used it many times like this, immediately cleaning after use and didn't have any problems until this morning. I got lazy and left all my stuff in the sink to clean lalter. Checked it this morning, It did visibly react when left in the sink all night covered with soap batter. I really like this thingy though, I am solving it by encasing the metal in acrylic epoxy and am going to write a letter to Homax about this reaction, because on their site it says its appropriate for soap making.