RT CP? Help.....

[LaVida]

Ok, who's doing this? I was looking at the new post by Bonne.. beautiful soap by the way. I was just wondering how succesful everyone has been using this method.

So do you make your lye solution pour that in your soap pot them add hard fats, mix until smooth then add your soft oils? After that wait until trace them throw (ok pour) into the mold? Is this guaranteed to gel? I still do my usual cover w/ plastic and blankets right?

Maybe I should try a 1 lb batch to get a slight feel for it....

[CareBear]

nothing is guaranteed to gel - do what you usually do.

smaller batches are much less likely to gel, by the way - not as much heat is generated to propagate the gel...

[doris]

I used cooled down lye, melted down my hard oils, added my liquid oils, and then added my cold lye and proceeded as usual. If I remember, it took longer to trace, but there was a lot less hassle with the temps. And yes, I'd try with a smaller batch first.

[Angel91805]

So do you make your lye solution pour that in your soap pot them add hard fats, mix until smooth then add your soft oils? After that wait until trace them throw (ok pour) into the mold? Is this guaranteed to gel? I still do my usual cover w/ plastic and blankets right?

I watched that slide show too in Bonne's email. And that was the first time I had ever seen (or heard) of anyone adding the lye solution to the hard oils, letting the heat of the lye melt said oils, and then adding the liquid oils and bringing it all to trace.

I mix my lye and water (I use 2/3 ice) in one container. Melt my hard oils in the microwave until just melted and pour into my soap bucket, then add my liquid oils into the soap bucket (bringing the hotter oils down to room temp-ish). Then I add my FO to the oils. Stir in lye solution, stick blend to trace and pour.

I'm sure that there are about as many ways to do this as there are soapers.

Donna

[cindym]

I have done many different methods of making soap depending on what I am into doing the night before.

I have measured my oils and fats in one pan, left them cold, mixed my lye in the am, waited for it to stop steaming and carefully poured it into the cold oils and fats, stir carefully til everything is melted, goggles and gloves a must, this cools down the lye and then I proceed as normal.

Sometimes I masterbatch and mix my lye at night. If I am worried about gel I will just give my mold a little heat while I am making my soap. I'll just put an electric pad on low in the mold.

I do use a slab mold. If you are worried about gel, you can also just put a heating pad on top of the mold and then some blankets but make sure you turn it off in about 10 minutes, set an alarm.

When I have done RT lye and RT oils from a masterbatch I have never had a problem with gel.

Also it is summer, throw you mold out in the sun to heat it up with or without the soap in it.

A lot of times the fo or eo once added to the batch will heat things up as well.

You will get heat from you mix if you do RTCP It is the nature of the process. Can't say I ever poured cold soap into a mold. Oh did I mention goggles and gloves a must.

[Bonne]

LaVida, I put solid deer tallow and coconut oil in my plastic bucket, then added the just mixed very warm lye water. Stick blended/chopped at with a spoon until smooth, then added my corn and soy oils~stick blended to trace. That's when I removed the bit I colored, added my FO to the main portion ~poured that into the mold~plopped the colored part on top and attempted some swirlage. Then tucked it in some towels and proceeded to peek under the covers like oh, every 15 minutes! LOL Still turned out fine! And that's all the advice you get because it's the only batch of RT CP I've done~ROFL!!!

[Hibiscus]

I soap all of my recipes at RT now. I started doing it mainly for GM soap. I melt the hard oils and mix them with the soft and allow to cool to the point where the hard oils are starting to solidify again and then it's soaping time! oh and of course the lye is completely cool.

[LaVida]

see, these methods don't seem to be RT CP.... I will stick w/ the regular CP....

[CareBear]

see, these methods don't seem to be RT CP.... I will stick w/ the regular CP....

It is RTCP, there are just two different definitions floating around and this describes one of them.

The other is to leave all your butters at RT and count on the heat of a fresh lye solution and the mechanical action of the SB to break down and melt the butters. I have not had good results with this (might depend on how hard your butters are).

Either way, nothing guarantees gel, and what YOU have to do to get a complete gel is not something we can really tell you (though we can certainly make suggestions - that's something you need to learn about mostly by trial and error as it differs with recipe, FO, environment, soaping technique... So try it and see how it goes. If you don't get gel, or if it overheats, you need to either insulate better or back off...

I wish I could give you a more clear answer!

[LaVida]

It is RTCP, there are just two different definitions floating around and this describes one of them.

The other is to leave all your butters at RT and count on the heat of a fresh lye solution and the mechanical action of the SB to break down and melt the butters. I have not had good results with this (might depend on how hard your butters are).

Either way, nothing guarantees gel, and what YOU have to do to get a complete gel is not something we can really tell you (though we can certainly make suggestions - that's something you need to learn about mostly by trial and error as it differs with recipe, FO, environment, soaping technique... So try it and see how it goes. If you don't get gel, or if it overheats, you need to either insulate better or back off...

I wish I could give you a more clear answer!

thanks, see I usually get gelling so I guess I better stick w/ the regular CP method... I was just trying to cut time *l*... it seems you still have to wait w/ some of the methods stated above..