Fire and Ice Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Okay, thus far I haven't done a water discount. I know at the soap calc it's always set at 38% What would be a good gradual discount? 33% or 35%? I'm wanting my soap to cure faster. But I wouldn't take a water discount with Goat's Milk. I only do 2# and 4# batches.ThanksFire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Well nothing wrong with 33, but I go down to 30 for the majority of my batches. I don't really think it makes the cure go faster though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LovelyLathers Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 All the water discount does is makes it harder faster. You will still need a 4 or more weeks cure to have the soap lather better and be milder. I do a 33% discount on most of my soaps and as much as 40% on castile. Watch out for FO's that accelerate as they don't do well with discounting. I always check the review board before or test a small batch or lol pray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 A water discount will not lessen the cure time, this is a myth.I'd suggest holding off on it until you've made at least a dozen batches of soap. This way, you know how your recipes behave with FO/temp, and the variances that can occur from different ingredients and methods. It all depends on the soaper/recipe/skill level with WD soaping.I've never done more than 40% myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire and Ice Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 Do I manually change it at the soap calc?Yes I know not to do any discounts on floral or spicy scents. I also do not plan to discount my GM recipes either. The WD will harden up the bars faster. I've never made castile. I used one that was over a year old and the third time I used it~ Slime city! YUCK. I would never give anything away before 6 weeks for testing but I'm using bars that are four weeks cured and they're fine on my skin. Still, I would never give them out. Thanks for all advice. Fire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire and Ice Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 A water discount will not lessen the cure time, this is a myth.I'd suggest holding off on it until you've made at least a dozen batches of soap. This way, you know how your recipes behave with FO/temp, and the variances that can occur from different ingredients and methods. It all depends on the soaper/recipe/skill level with WD soaping.I've never done more than 40% myself. I agree with you but I've already soaped a dozen batch and several of those were 4# batches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugenia Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 You are confusing water as percent of oils with lye concentration. The first is a default of 38%. That is not a 38% lye concentration.The suggested percentage of lye solution will vary with soapcalc depending on the chosen oils; ie, 100% coconut will default to 31.42% while 100% olive will return a vlue of 25.3%If you choose to set the lye concentration, the value is entered under lye concentration on soapcalc.I totally agree with Mystical, if you are asking this question, you need to get a better handle on what you are doing before attempting stronger solutions (water discounting).e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I guess I'm of the school that she should try it out and see what it does ... have that experience. Heck when I started playing with it I figured it was just really only saving me some water. Course I also learned my lesson soaping a small batch and an unknown FO too ... colored cement blocks are possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbren Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 This is my favorite site that explains water discounting. I printed it out and kept it close at hand at all times. Lots of good information here!http://www.aquasapone.com.au/soapmaking/discountedcp.htmlhttp://www.aquasapone.com.au/soapmaking/discountedcp1.htmlhttp://www.aquasapone.com.au/soapmaking/discountedcpw.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I've added that to my favorites, thanks jbren.I've been soaping for almost 3 years now and still I get a little confused about water discount and lye concentration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasBrat Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I guess I'm of the school that she should try it out and see what it does ... have that experience. Heck when I started playing with it I figured it was just really only saving me some water. Course I also learned my lesson soaping a small batch and an unknown FO too ... colored cement blocks are possible.Scented you always crack me up. Colored cement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire and Ice Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 This is my favorite site that explains water discounting. I printed it out and kept it close at hand at all times. Lots of good information here!http://www.aquasapone.com.au/soapmaking/discountedcp.htmlhttp://www.aquasapone.com.au/soapmaking/discountedcp1.htmlhttp://www.aquasapone.com.au/soapmaking/discountedcpw.html Thank you for the links! The discount is not something I plan to jump into immediately. I research, research, research. Then, when the oppertunity presents itself, I will know when and how to do it small stages. Thank you again, Fire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxanne Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I don't think that being confused by SoapCalc's "water as % of oils" versus lye concentration means you aren't ready to try less water/stronger lye solutions. I was using a 33% solution by my third batch of soap, although I didn't know it at the time. I just read on the old Latherings board about some soapers who used water at 25% of their oils instead of MMS "full water," and I tried it and liked it. It wasn't until years later that I came across the concept of lye solution strength.I did a presentation a few years ago on calculating water and lye solutions. The PDF file from that presentation, plus a solution strength calculator, are available at http://rivercitysoaps.com/dwcp/ , in case you might find them helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharyl55 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Thanks for the links. They are great additions to my soaping notebook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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