Here's an interesting method of soap, saves energy!

[thecandlespastore]

I was researching online today and found a suggestion from another soaper. She said that she puts pours her CP soap in the mold and then sits in in a styrofoam cooler or a regular cooler and just sits it outside (perfect for those who live in climates that are hot all year round, or just to save energy over the summer.) She says the soap is read to use within a day or 2. Another soaper says that she just pops the soap in the backseat of her car during the hotter times and leaves it there for a day or two.

I am going to try these methods, can't let this Florida heat go to waste:wink2:

[eugenia]

That's the kind of misinformation that can get you into trouble. The heat can help the saponification process, but that soap is still not ready to sell for six weeks. You can use CP within days, but it gets much milder over time. The lye still needs to dissipate.

[Glenda]

I make oven processed soap, which is very similiar to the method you are describing. I hate waiting. The heat speeds up the gel phase.

The soap does get better with time, but the lye isn't a problem. The lye mixes with your oils and they chemically change to soap! I have been making it for several years now.

Water is the only thing that will dissipate out of your soap. I discount my water in my recipes so my soap is firmer, quicker. Only discount the water with oven method of making soap!

[Meridith]

It sounds like another way to force gel, no different than using the oven or putting your mold in a gel box or whatever you do to force your mixture to heat up and gel. It might be a method that some of those bunny lover tree hugger types might be interested in trying. I would still give my soap time to cure and finish its natural process and get better.

[SoyKandles]

I've read that when you force gel with the oven (or backseat of a car) the soap will be ready in 2 or 3 weeks. So this does speed up the process, but I would still let it cure for 2 or 3 weeks. Technically the soap is ready after being placed in the oven for an hour (or car??), just not hard enough. (Just passing on information from creditable sources.)

[thecandlespastore]

None of them sell their soap, they simply used this method for their own personal use. I suppose if you sell the soap, of course you would still give it its full curing time, but for personal use I think a lot of people just cant wait to try their soaps within a few days and I think that is what they meant by "ready to use" within a few days. The whole point was that you can save energy instead of using your oven, etc;) And with the costs of energy going up year after year after year, maybe its time we gave these energy companies something to think about by not using our electricity so much.

I am in no way a bear or tree hugging fanatic,lol, and I dont know about you, but my electric company down here has raised our prices 18%! They say that its not because of the hurricanes, or anything, but because "fuel prices are getting too high." In fact, if you call their customer service number, that is the bullcrap they actually regurgitate into your ear "You are probably wondering why your electric bill is so high, well its because the fuel we use is so expensive." Whatever! My electric bill went from $86 average a month to over $200 and we did not use anything differently, in fact I keep the air off and the windows open half the time. That does not factor to an 18% increase no matter how many times you divide and multiply:/

So as for me, any way that I can keep from using their stinking "expensive fuel" I will do so.

[Glenda]

It sounds like it should work great!

I gave a soaping demo at the Chicago Conference last year, and I handed out soap samples that I had made a few days earlier. I had a lot of nice comments on the quality of my soaps. They had not cured for weeks. :highfive:

Just check your soap and make sure it gels, might use a thermometer in there to make sure it doesn't get too hot. You can scorch your soap.

[Meridith]

None of them sell their soap, they simply used this method for their own personal use. I suppose if you sell the soap, of course you would still give it its full curing time, but for personal use I think a lot of people just cant wait to try their soaps within a few days and I think that is what they meant by "ready to use" within a few days. The whole point was that you can save energy instead of using your oven, etc;) And with the costs of energy going up year after year after year, maybe its time we gave these energy companies something to think about by not using our electricity so much.

I am in no way a bear or tree hugging fanatic,lol, and I dont know about you, but my electric company down here has raised our prices 18%! They say that its not because of the hurricanes, or anything, but because "fuel prices are getting too high." In fact, if you call their customer service number, that is the bullcrap they actually regurgitate into your ear "You are probably wondering why your electric bill is so high, well its because the fuel we use is so expensive." Whatever! My electric bill went from $86 average a month to over $200 and we did not use anything differently, in fact I keep the air off and the windows open half the time. That does not factor to an 18% increase no matter how many times you divide and multiply:/

So as for me, any way that I can keep from using their stinking "expensive fuel" I will do so.

That was "bunny lover tree hugger". LOL I know that you aren't the only one who has had an increase in their utility bills. It's happening across the nation to everyone. I wasn't dogging you either or the bunny lover tree hugger types. Just simply pointing out that certain types (bunny lover tree huggers) would really like this idea. When I was a kid, my Dad made us cook on a solar cooker he made. We looked like complete idiots out in our front yard, with my hippy dad cooking eggs on a solar cooker. Now I wouldn't drive around with raw soap in my mold in my car. Can you imagine the PITA it would be if the baby got dumped in your car??

[thecandlespastore]

Trust me, I did not take it personally at all:cheesy2: I actually tried to think of a way to solar power my stick blender and other appliances that I use every day all day:laugh2: But I need to watch Revenge of the Nerds a few more times and take notes:laugh2:

"When I was a kid, my Dad made us cook on a solar cooker he made. We looked like complete idiots out in our front yard, with my hippy dad cooking eggs on a solar cooker."

OMG, I would have been peeking out of my window from across the street laughing my butt off probably at a younger age:cheesy2: But it sounds like he had something going there. Does he still have his notes I can borrow on how he set it up:laugh2:

edited because I cant type today.

[Crafty1_AJ]

People are always looking for shortcuts, IMO. There's just no hurrying CP soap. It takes its own sweet time to cure, gel or no gel. Trust me -- soap is just less drying and lathers better after a good solid cure time.

Now if you want to COOK your soap (HP), that's another matter. The lye is spent and the soap is ready to use right away. It's just going to be a fairly soft, "dentable" bar for a while.

My advice to would-be soapers is that this is a project that requires PATIENCE, Young Grasshopper!

[cindym]

i use the heat of summer to gel soap and have used the oven as well as insulation and done hp. IMO curing is as important as the rest of the process. I also discount water for some fo's and eo's but would not sell a bar of soap for at least 4 weeks, even hp soap I let sit for 2 to 3 weeks, in my experience it is just better.

[Carol M]

OMG, I would have been peeking out of my window from across the street laughing my butt off probably at a younger age:cheesy2: But it sounds like he had something going there. Does he still have his notes I can borrow on how he set it up:laugh2:

PM Donita; she had a post about a solar cooker she had rigged up a year or so ago

Edited to say I was mistaken; I found the post I was looking for in the archives, but it wasn't a solar cooker. It was a 'buddy burner' where you use left over wax chips for fuel. She did say, though, that she had made a solar cooker in the past.