itsmenoodlehead Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Hello all I was wondering if any out there premix your oils in a bulk container. This seems like it would make my soaping days go much smoother. Thanks for reading. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Hi! Many use the term "master batching" for what you describe. I do it. Makes soaping days so much easier and less time consuming. The trick will be figuring out how to keep it all mixed, especially if you will need to let the blend totally cool before using it all up. It will need to be very well blended from start of cool to finish to keep heavier oil fragments from sinking to the bottom of the pail.Depending on how much soap needs to be made for a day, i will either mix up a big 6 gallon / 50 lb pail, or measure ingredients into gallon pails for smaller batches to be made later. If nearly everything will be used in a single soaping session the giant pail is fabulous since my 6 oil formula will in total need 6 measurements. If i make 10 individual pails, i have to make 60 individual measurements (10 pails times 6 oils in each).Master batching of lye solution is another huge time saver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I master batch my oils and my lye (separately of course) My oils I master batch in a 5 gallon bucket. My oils stay relatively slushy in room temp temps, but in this cold they get a little colder, so every soaping day I take my drill with paint stir attachment and stir up the oils to make sure they are all well blended. Then I just measure out total oil weight of the batch size I want come soaping day. It's easy to do - I just tell my soapmaker/soapcalc program to make a 25lb batch of soap, and that gives me the measurements I need for 25lbs of master batch oils. Makes soap day go so much faster. Doing it this way I can easily get 15-20 batches of soap made in a session depending on batch size if I so wanted/needed too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) i master batch too...just not nearly as much at a time as some of you do..i master batch 10lb at a time..and use my gal. size olive oil jugs.if my oils need a little melting, i put it in a sink full of hot water..but it sure makes soaping day a breeze.. i just wish i could get enough nerve to master batch my lye.. Edited January 13, 2015 by 8-GRAN-ONES 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 i just wish i could get enough nerve to master batch my lye..For some reason that was a sticking point for me too. A little extra oil in a batch, no biggie. A smidge too much lye, biggie. I started with about half a gallon at a time. Mixed in a pail in the sink. Covered til it cooled to well below that boiling heat. Poured into a soapers choice gallon jug and capped tightly. I always fear lye spill, so that gallon lived in a soapers choice pail with a lid. Worked very well, especially when making smaller batches, or several in a row. Soooooo nice to not have to weigh and measure and cool individual lye amounts. The problems i tripped over were purely carelessness on my part..... Like forgetting the pail in the sink was cooling lye and running the faucet. Doh! Covering with a lid and marking the pail very well as a neon visual sign solved that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I do my MB lye almost exactly as TT does. I make it at night. I make a 50/50 solution of 4lbs water to 4lbs lye in a bucket that I mix then leave in the sink. I let it sit, covered with the lid overnight to cool and then then the next day, I transfer my solution to my VERY VERY well cleaned out liquid laundry detergent jug. I then reuse the laundry jug every time I need to bottle my solution. I use the same jug for about a year then I start over with a clean jug. I could probably use the jug longer, but I feel after a year, it might start to break down. (Probably not, might be irrational, but it doesn't hurt anything to replace them every year, so I do. ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Thank you TT and JC! I have been pondering how to safely masterbatch lye. So its okay to lid it while its superhot? I'm gonna try it with the plastic gallon pail my oils come in. I have been saving them thinking of using them for masterbatcing my oils. Glad to know I can use it for lye masterbatching too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I let mine cool just a bit before putting the lid on, but only about 10-15 minutes or so. The lid is to help with evaporation, and to make sure no dust or anything gets in it overnight or sometimes I've had to wait a few days, before re-bottling. Look at the bottom of your pail if it has the triangle with a 5 or 2 in it (HDPE) then it will be fine for your lye master batch. Also, make sure you clean it out really well, or any residual oils will get saponofied and make your lye more murky. A 50/50 solution if you are not familiar with it, will be much thicker in consistency and look almost opalescent when using it. If you are familiar, then you know. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 If you are masterbatching lye, be sure to weigh it after - you need to replace any water lost to evaporation (and since it get so hot, a significant of water can easily be lost letting it sit uncovered for any amount of time. Ask me how I know... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 ok...if i do a 50 - 50...and say my ratio is 35% ...how do i know how much more water to add..that is another concern for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Do you have Soapmaker 3? If so there is a setting to set your ratio to 35% but put your lye water as a pre-mix of 1:1, and it will tell you how much extra water for the size batch you are making. If not, there is a simple way to figure it out So let's say SoapCalc says to use 2.06oz lye and 5.60oz water you would weigh out 4.12oz lye solution and you would need 3.54oz more water. (4.12oz = 2.06 water and 2.06 lye - which is your 50/50 solution) then you need your extra water which would be 5.60 - the 2.06 you have in your solution which is the 3.54oz.Make sense? I know there is actual formula to figure it out, but the writing of that formula escapes me at the moment, so I wrote out how to actually figure it out. BTW I got these numbers off soapcalc using 1lb 100% Olive Oil, at a 35% water with a 5% SF. If you are confused, someone will come along that can explain it a bit better than I can - like TallTayl maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 no..i don't have soap 3...figuring numbers...has always seemed to evade me...lol..i can do normal math fine...but this figuring out..not so fine.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 no..i don't have soap 3...figuring numbers...has always seemed to evade me...lol..i can do normal math fine...but this figuring out..not so fine..I know what you mean. I'm so glad I figured out that my SM3 program did all the math for me. Just follow along with my explanation (if you understand it) and you should be fine. Just double the lye amount the calc gives you with the 50/50 solution, then subtract the lye amount the calc gives you from the water amount for your extra water, and you should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vernie1 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Lately, I have been thinking about masterbatching also because, it seems like I spend hours prepping my oils. You all provided some very helpful info. Thanks for sharing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 A little pricey, but the pail heaters at Soapequipment are super handy for masterbatching. No worries about oil components separating because you can re-melt in the bucket to any temp you want. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Will the pail heaters heat a 25lb pail of oil like coconut, PKO, or palm? or even reheating a masterbatch of oils that may have re-solidified to some extent? Hope that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 The belt style pail heater i bought from Duda Diesel heats 6 gallon plastic pails no problemo. The $100 was well worth the investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Will the pail heaters heat a 25lb pail of oil like coconut, PKO, or palm? or even reheating a masterbatch of oils that may have re-solidified to some extent? Hope that makes sense. They have them in different sizes, including a drum heater. You can start from cold. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I really need to start buying my oils in the 50 lb pails and start masterbatching. I have been reluctant because it seemed like a herculean effort to heat 50 gallons of oil at a time. Thanks for the tips on the heaters. Now all I need is money right? But I assume the investment will pay off as these heaters should last for a few years right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmommaya Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I should do it. But... There really isn't a reason I don't. Right now I make about 80-100 pounds of soap on soap making day. I think it would make soap making day easily and shorter. I realllllly should just do it. I wonder if a heating pad would heat up the oils like a bucket wrap does? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I have heard some people use electric blankets. A heating pad, the right one, may get things melted after a while. My fear is using the wrong tool for the job. If you live in a warm area, pails on the patio on a hot afternoon get things really flowy really fast. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmommaya Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I like in an exceptionally cold area most of the year with super high humidity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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