# Help! Not enough lye.



## *Cakes (Aug 9, 2004)

I misread my scale and did not add enough lye to my water. My soap wasn't tracing and I just poured it into the mold. Went to put my lye crystals away and the jar felt way too heavy when I realized my mistake. Is there any way to heat it up and add more lye? How can I when I need to have it in water? Is this a throw away batch?


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Cakes,
what was your recipe? Do you know how much lye you added? I have a lye calculator on the yahoo group tallow_soapers that can correct this IF you know the weights of your oils and lye.

Lye can be dissolved in equal part liquid. You would have to hot process this to make it come out okay. 

PM me if more information is needed.


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## *Cakes (Aug 9, 2004)

I'm not 100% sure, but i thought I saw 12.5oz on my scale but the lye container is still very full so i must've only added 2.5oz!
Recipe:
32.7 oz Lard
24.7 oz coconut oil
7 oz olive oil
24.7 oz canola oil
12.5oz lye 
25oz water
I hope it can be saved it was supposed to be my Christmas present soaps!
Thanks for any suggestions.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Dissolve the other 10 oz of lye into 10 oz of liquid. Combine with your original soap and throw the whole thing in a crockpot (if you have one large enough) or in a stainless steel or enamel roating pan.

If crockpot, put it on low. Mix gently (no need to add extra bubbles) until it goes through the champayne stages and gel stages of hot processing.

If in roaster, put in 250*F oven and follow same rules.

Be careful and watch it though. Hot processing has the tendancy to want to climb out of the pot!


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