What is the liquid required?

[warrengshoneybees]

I am making recipes on here and trying to figure out what liquid required means, sometimes it’s a positive number and other times it’s a negative number. If it’s a negative number does this mean that I need to adjust it to get closer to zero or more positive. This is confusing me slightly as to what I should do. Please help

 

[Yooper]

If it’s a negative number, it means you have enough liquid in the recipe to make the soap. But unless you’re inputting the liquid without looking at the settings, it might be an issue/ Do you have a recipe I can look at to see the problem you’re having? Thank you.

 

[warrengshoneybees]

So if it’s a positive number I need to add more liquid to the recipe and if negative I should be fine?

 

[Yooper]

Not necessarily- it shouldn’t really ever be a negative number so we’d need to look at the recipe to figure out WHY it’s negative.

 

[warrengshoneybees]

I was just putting in ingredients and don’t have a specific example.

 

[warrengshoneybees]

For example, I have in my recipe 10 ounces of goats milk but the results with all my oils says that liquid needed is 9.56 ounces, do I ignore the 10 ounces that I input and go with the amount that it says to put or still stick with the 10 ounces? It won’t let me post pictures or I would show a screenshot.

 

[warrengshoneybees]

Or is the liquid required in addition to the milk, like 10oz milk 9 oz water and then lye of 4.5oz. Is that what it means?

 

[Yooper]

For example, I have in my recipe 10 ounces of goats milk but the results with all my oils says that liquid needed is 9.56 ounces, do I ignore the 10 ounces that I input and go with the amount that it says to put or still stick with the 10 ounces? It won’t let me post pictures or I would show a screenshot.

Please screenshot the recipe so I can show where the issue may be? I can't guess at your entries, your amounts, and the actual amount of liquid you need.

 

[Yooper]

In any case, when you have enough liquid to dissolve the lye and to use in the recipe, the additional liquid you need to add will be 0. I hope that answers the question in general.

 

[Davali]

Are you listing the goat milk in the custom additive box? If so, you need to check the box below it that says "Liquid Discount." Then the calculator knows that you are using goat milk instead of some or all of the water needed.

 

[Davali]

You shouldn't have a negative number for the liquid.

To avoid this, fill in the entire recipe except the GM. Look over at the Liquid Required box; it will give you the entire amount of liquid needed for that recipe.

Assuming you want to use 100% GM as your liquid, go down to the Selected Custom Additives box.

Select Goat Milk, and fill in the exact number from the Liquid Required box.

Below Goat Milk, check "Liquid Discount."

Now the Liquid Required should say zero.

Underneath that it will say "(Excluding goat milk)."

 

[Sudsy]

I usually like to keep mine set at 2:1 the most important thing to remember is when making your lye solution you have to have at least equal amount of liquid as lye in order to dissolve the lye. So if you're making a recipe the calculator will tell you how much lye you need to saponify your oils, you need to have at least the same amount of liquid to dissolve your lye. The rest is extra liquid. This is how I think of it anyway, so say you need 3 ounces( I use grams) but anyway, say you have 3 ounces of lye needed for your recipe, then you have to have at least 3 ounces of liquid to dissolve your lye. This could be water, milk, beer, whatever. But you have to have at least 3 ounces the same as or more than the lye amount. Then on top of that you can add more liquid to your recipe this is usually the additive like milk, cream, aloe beer, whatever. I will usually not go over the same say 3 ounces. So say I need 3 ounces of lye. I would use 3 ounces of lye and dissolve it with 3 ounces of water and then add 3 ounces of milk to my oils. That equals the 2:1 ratio. This seems like a very long explanation LOL hope it helped