Jcandleattic Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 My biggest masterbatch to date... only took me about 2 hours to weigh it all out, but then I went 1 step farther than I usually do. I usually just put my 25-30lbs in a 5 gallon bucket and then just weigh out my batch sizes as I go, but this time, I weighed out in additional increments. After my 100lbs was weighed out, I then weighed out smaller batches from that in 2, 3, & 5lb batches. (Those are the typical sizes I soap in) I now have 25 batches of soap to soap all ready to go whenever I can get to them. Probably going to do 5 tomorrow, then more next weekend and so on. I think I have enough oils to do another 25lb masterbatch, but at this point nowhere to store them, and just don't want to do it. LOL Maybe tomorrow and I'll just keep it my 5 gallon bucket. Now, I just have to figure out scents... LOL 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debratant Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 (edited) You should do a tutorial on masterbatching in the tip topic of the month. I can't for the life of me figure out how to do this. I would LOVE to have a master batch of oils ready to go...not nearly that amount....I'd be happy with 20 pounds...but I have no clue how to do this at all. Way to go on having that much ready to go....I'm jealous. The thing that turns me off the most with making soap is dividing out and measuring the oils and butters. It's such a chore sometimes. Edited June 26, 2016 by debratant 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonstar Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 I second that request lol ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 OMG, I'm tired just thinking about 100 lbs of anything! Seriously though, it has to make life much easier when you do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 I could probably do a tutorial. Not sure about the tip of the month, but I could figure something out. 1 hour ago, kandlekrazy said: OMG, I'm tired just thinking about 100 lbs of anything! Seriously though, it has to make life much easier when you do that. The weighing out the oils really didn't take that much longer than if I would have done only 10-20-30 lbs, it's just a bigger volume. What took the time was then weighing the masterbatch out in the individual batch sizes. But yes now all I have to do to soap is weigh out my masterbatch lye and fragrance and I'm good to go. Takes no time at all to make a batch of soap. I love it and will only weigh out individual batches now if it's a special or test recipe. I have 3 different recipes I masterbatch. And rarely switch it up... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Master batching is such a huge reason to standardize formulas! It saves so much time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmommaya Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 You rock! I still do not masterbatch. I should start.... sometime.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 23 minutes ago, iansmommaya said: You rock! I still do not masterbatch. I should start.... sometime.... You should!! Especially if you typically use the same recipe. Like TT said, once it's done it is such a time saver. I've been soaping an hour this morning and I have 3 batches done and set to bed already! (no pics, just restocks of things you've already seen half a dozen times!! LOL) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 You can save time and mistakes too. With 6 oils in my master formula, I have loads of opportunities to make measuring mistakes, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 38 minutes ago, TallTayl said: You can save time and mistakes too. With 6 oils in my master formula, I have loads of opportunities to make measuring mistakes, lol. yes. But I almost made a big booboo yesterday. Instead of 80 ounces of oils for one of mine, I only weighed out 60.. TG I hadn't taken it off the scale yet, and double checked my recipe like I normally do, so I was able to not ruin anything. WHEW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 1 hour ago, Jcandleattic said: yes. But I almost made a big booboo yesterday. Instead of 80 ounces of oils for one of mine, I only weighed out 60.. TG I hadn't taken it off the scale yet, and double checked my recipe like I normally do, so I was able to not ruin anything. WHEW Hahaha I have done the SAME thing! It can either save a tone of time, or make one huge mistake in one fell swoop. However, at that amount in the MB, the net effect should not change the SAP value all that much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Okay that is a LOT of oil to masterbatch! Wow! I have just started masterbatching and found I really, really need to simplify my recipes and use a standard recipe for my masterbatch. I have been working on that this year and slowly changing over to one recipe for the majority of my bath soaps. But first I am using up the oils for the old recipes before I start using the one standard recipe. It's gonna make my life a whole lot easier... and hopefully save me some money too. I don't think I have enough room to do a 100 lb masterbatch. Sheesh... where do you put it?!! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 53 minutes ago, Candybee said: I don't think I have enough room to do a 100 lb masterbatch. Sheesh... where do you put it?!! LOL I have a table in my basement that it all fits on. Well, most of it and I have counter space too, but I alleviated a lot of space today by making 10 batches of soap. If I wouldn't have separated it all out into batch sizes, 25lbs fits nicely in a 5 gallon bucket, so I would have used 4 of those and stacked them. Doing it like that (and not batching it out) doesn't take up much space at all. Less space than all the gallons, buckets, etc., of the individual oils do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 1 hour ago, TallTayl said: Hahaha I have done the SAME thing! It can either save a tone of time, or make one huge mistake in one fell swoop. However, at that amount in the MB, the net effect should not change the SAP value all that much. I was just thankful I caught it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Well now that you mention it, I do have room for about 4-6 5 gallon pails in my soap curing room. I have a bottom shelf on my metal shelving unit for 5 gallon pails. Its pretty empty right now as I just started buying the 50 lb oils at Soapers Choice. I think I would much rather do the 5 gallon pails as the master batch and do several at a time to save time. What a great idea!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmommaya Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 i DID IT! I masterbatched a bunch and I do believe this is the way forward. THANK YOU! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 2 hours ago, iansmommaya said: i DID IT! I masterbatched a bunch and I do believe this is the way forward. THANK YOU! I knew you could do it!! I don't know how people who sell a ton and don't masterbatch do it. Do you masterbatch your lye? If not, that's next!! I had to do my lye today. I do a 50:50 ratio, lye:water and do 6lbs:6lbs each time. It is such a time saver once it's done! I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmommaya Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 I should do that, I've gotten really fast at measuring oils but the lye takes FOREVER to cool. If I don't masterbatch, on a long but fairly average day I make 100 pounds of soap. Now with masterbatching... watch out world! Thanks for the encouragement! <3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 55 minutes ago, iansmommaya said: I should do that, I've gotten really fast at measuring oils but the lye takes FOREVER to cool. If I don't masterbatch, on a long but fairly average day I make 100 pounds of soap. Now with masterbatching... watch out world! Thanks for the encouragement! <3 Sweet! 100lbs a day is fab! colling the lye solution is challenging. A slop sink filled with ice water helps, but it still takes what seems like forever. Have thought about freezing distilled water to use in the solution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 9 hours ago, iansmommaya said: I should do that, I've gotten really fast at measuring oils but the lye takes FOREVER to cool. If I don't masterbatch, on a long but fairly average day I make 100 pounds of soap. Now with masterbatching... watch out world! Thanks for the encouragement! <3 I ended up doing 12lbs lye to 12lbs water yesterday, and I let it sit overnight with a lid slightly placed on top of it. I weighed it out the next morning and ended up only losing about 3.5 oz of water due to evaporation, so I replaced it and then bottled it up. I'm lucky, because I have a sink in my "lab" in my basement, and everyone knows if I'm not down there, you DO NOT GO DOWN THERE! So it sat undisturbed and was no danger to anyone. I usually only do half that much, but as much soap as I've been making lately the usual amount got used up fairly quickly... 100 lbs a DAY? dayum girl!! I think on a GREAT day for me I may do 15-20 lbs of soap! HAHA and that's only on weekends!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 (edited) I do the same-- about 15-20 lbs a day. I'm waiting on another mold to arrive this week so I can do 25 lbs a day. Hopefully I can get at least one more mold for Christmas then I can start doing 30 lbs a day. So I have gotten to that point I really need to start doing larger oil & lye master batches. It would be nice if I could do the masterbatches one day a week and use it for soapmaking all week long. Edited August 8, 2016 by Candybee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 10 hours ago, Candybee said: I do the same-- about 15-20 lbs a day. I'm waiting on another mold to arrive this week so I can do 25 lbs a day. Hopefully I can get at least one more mold for Christmas then I can start doing 30 lbs a day. LOL I guess I should have phrased that differently. I have only ever done about 15-20lbs in a WEEK - not a day, because I've only done it a couple of times, and only on a weekend. I typically normally make 6-10lbs when I make "a lot" of soap. LOL But I don't rely on my soapmaking for income, so that makes a huge difference. If I did, I'm sure I would be making 20lbs a day every day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Last night I kept dreaming about making master batches of oil. And whenever I would wake up and go back to sleep I would start dreaming about big barrels of soaping oils! LOL Sometimes I think so much about soaping it creeps into my dreams. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 My crafts creep into my dreams all the time. It's already time for me to make some more masterbatched oils. I'm down to my last 5 lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmommaya Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 On 7/18/2016 at 8:13 PM, Jcandleattic said: I ended up doing 12lbs lye to 12lbs water yesterday, and I let it sit overnight with a lid slightly placed on top of it. I weighed it out the next morning and ended up only losing about 3.5 oz of water due to evaporation, so I replaced it and then bottled it up. I'm lucky, because I have a sink in my "lab" in my basement, and everyone knows if I'm not down there, you DO NOT GO DOWN THERE! So it sat undisturbed and was no danger to anyone. I usually only do half that much, but as much soap as I've been making lately the usual amount got used up fairly quickly... 100 lbs a DAY? dayum girl!! I think on a GREAT day for me I may do 15-20 lbs of soap! HAHA and that's only on weekends!! But you do candles! lI do not. I make tinctures (herbal medicines) and salves and such. But candles, bot since I was at camp and made those dip candles and those sand mold candles (ya know the ones, where you poured sand into a bowl set a wick and then poured wax in? Where your mom had to figure out where to put the candle to show it off but not get sand all over?) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.