canongirl Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 Hi all,I've been wanting to try CP soap for sometime now. I've been doing a lot of reading/research. I'm not ready to start just yet. Lye still intimidates me, and I have a lot more reading to do. I don't mean to sound dumb, but I don't get the lye calculator form soapcalc.net. I've read where a lot of people use it. I like that it lists just about evey oil out there, but I can't seem to figure how much lye and water I am supposed to use. I punch in a recipe and it tells me how much of the oils to use, but I don't see the lye part of it. What am I doing wrong? Wow, if I can't figure out a calculator, I'd better hang up the notion of making CP. Any direction here would be great.Thanks,Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scent Cellar Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 Are you clicking the box that says COMPUTE and then looking farther down on the page? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 I can't tell you how to use the calculator but I'd almost promise that whatever you're doing wrong will be really simple and you'll feel really silly. None of this is rocket science. You can do it. I've done a lot of craft stuff. It all looks harder than it really is, when you first start. None of it is ever as hard as it looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canongirl Posted November 7, 2009 Author Share Posted November 7, 2009 (edited) Yeah, I kept clicking "calculate" and it would show me how much oil to use, but nothing about the lye/water. I just figured out that I have to hit the "view/print recipe" button, and there it is. Boy do I feel dumb now. I think this is going to be a great calculator now that I know how to use it. Thanks for your help.Lisa Edited November 7, 2009 by canongirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 i will try to help..i remember when i first started making soap..the soap calc was like a foreign land..if you will follow the #..i would stay with the average lye water ratio untill you learn a bit more..look at #1 type of lye used..for cp soap..naoh is used#2...is the amount you would need for your size of mold...i use a 2 lb mold mostly..so I would put in 2lb..#3 water as % of oils...use the 38 untill you have soaped a while and feel comfortable..useing less water will cause your soap normally to come to trace faster..so you would need to be familar with you Fo or eo's..and recipe before I would do a water discount.. when you leave it at 38 when you push the calculate button it will automatically give you the water and lye amounts...#4 is the superfat..i would leave it at the amount it is at..that is also until you get more familiar with making soap..then when you get a recipe that you like you can play with the lye/water amounts and the fat amount..so now you put in the oils you are wanting to use in your recipe...when that is done click the button at the bottom of the page and calculate your recipe..if it does not have the hardness..conditioning...bubbles..ect..just play with your oil # until you get it like you would like..and when you get it all done..click the view and print your recipe button..and it will take you to the page where it will show you how much water and lye goes with your recipe..and if you are still not happy with your recipe..just click the red x button in the top right hand corner..and you can redo your recipe again..it is really a forgiving tool..it will let you play to your hearts content..Hope I have not left anything out..and hope i have helped you some..Happy soaping... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 I don't like some of the changes to this program, that being one .... print to see ... just show me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canongirl Posted November 7, 2009 Author Share Posted November 7, 2009 Yes, thank you. It is a lot of fun. I'm messing with it trying to create a well balanced soap that isn't too exotic to start out with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canongirl Posted November 7, 2009 Author Share Posted November 7, 2009 I don't like some of the changes to this program, that being one .... print to see ... just show me!I agree, just show me. They should state somewhere for new soapers that you have to click... print to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 i feel the same way..but you don't have to print, if you want to change something.just click on the red x at the top right..and it will go back to the original screen, and everything that you put in is still there...so you can change it around again.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scent Cellar Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 I use the new calculator only occasionally. I have the old one saved to my computer as a file so I can use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 I use the new calculator only occasionally. I have the old one saved to my computer as a file so I can use it.i didn't know you could do that...i wish i had the old one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 I posted this program in another thread.It's a free down loadable calculator.If I read it right, there's something about saving a recipe to a file.Sounded great when I found it. I'm not a soaper, though, so YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miadrianel Candles Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 I use the new calculator only occasionally. I have the old one saved to my computer as a file so I can use it.How do you make it work on your pc while offline? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scent Cellar Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 I have it saved under my documents and just click on the file to open it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miadrianel Candles Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I did that but it doesn't give me the option to print/view the recipe... 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.