Posted: 1/8/2011 10:06:45 PM EDT
|
Made some lye today from wood ash.
I would like to know the approximate concentration so I can calibrate soap making, hominy recipes, and body disposal. What is a cheap, accurate way to so this? How did great-great-gramma make lye from ash and make soap with the proper proportions? I checked it by tongue, and the stuff is impressively painful. I would like something more accurate and less painful. Second question: Does anyone know the likely proportion of sodium hydroxide vs. potassium hydroxide in wood-ash sourced lye? |
|
Quoted:
U can get more accurate pH strips. Here's one example: shows in .25 increments. http://www.drugscreensolutions.com/images/phstix/PhStixcolorchart.jpg Making soap can't be that precise. They did it long before electronic pH meters. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Right, that's what I am trying to figure. It seems they estimated specific gravity using a float test. |
| get the test paper for the cheapest way, ph meters suck they can be very accurate but expect to spend 1000$ + for a good one the second best option (probably the most accurate but most time consuming) is to do a titration. I wont go into specifics but if done correctly can be very accurate. |
|
Quoted:
U can get more accurate pH strips. Here's one example: shows in .25 increments. http://www.drugscreensolutions.com/images/phstix/PhStixcolorchart.jpg Making soap can't be that precise. They did it long before electronic pH meters. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile There are also smaller range papers that are more accurate then the huge range of general type indicator papers. Like herehttp://www.indigo.com/test-strips/ph-test-strips.html |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Do it the fun way. Titrate that shit. Hey, I'm no chemist; just a DIYer gone crazy. It's really not that hard. If you can get the measurements you can offload the math to us. If you have an accurate burette (or similar container), a graduated cylinder (a pipette is preferred but I doubt anyone who isn't a chemist has one lying around), a strong acid of known concentration (such as hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, or sulfuric acid), and phenolphthalein (a pH indicator) you can do it. |