Nancy Today: Trying to make lye from ashes (soap 49)

[dirtdiver5050]

What do I think? Are you asking me? WTF!

[NancyToday]

@dirtdiver5050 Well, I guess I was just being polite. What you think really doesn't have any bearing on it, does it.

[urflofit2010]

simmered it for hours- it is supposed to end up strong enough to melt the edge of a feather- then you have lye btw lye does not mean crystals but the actual liquid you would end up with after you mix the crystals with water.

[NancyToday]

@urflofit2010 I didn't boil mine long enough, either!

[urflofit2010]

You've propably got it all figured out by now- but I can add my 2 cents worth- I made some lye with ashes some time ago for the purpose of making soap- but I ended up not boiling it long enough- consequently(sp?) it didn't work out perfectly, but heres what I did- I sifted the ashes through an old window screen the put them in a plastic tub and put water in with it and let it sit for a couple of days- then strained it ( a couple of times) through an old towel into a stainless steel pan and

[konkerlooby]

The whole shebang ha ha your great

[mojavemystic]

How come you're not wearing gloves?

[Tat2urface]

I <3 the way you're making lye like this, I thought you might be interested in trying it another way, that will produce a more pure (not quite as dirty) lye Sodium Nitrate :) pour salt into heated water until no more salt will dissolve, then pour that into a glass container. Provide an electrical charge to two pieces of charcoal suspended in the solution outdoors for a couple hours. When it stops smelling like chlorine gas, what you have left is clean lye, making lighter soap than from ash

[NancyToday]

@Tat2urface Have you done that and used it to make soap?

[NancyToday]

@Tat2urface You'll just get hydrogen and oxygen one on each electrode. If you put electrodes in molten salt, then you get chlorine out of one end and metalic sodium on the other end. If you dissolve the metalic sodium in water you get a violent reaction and lye. However, it's nothing to try at home. You have to take solid salt and melt it in an earthenware or ceramic container that won't melt as quickly. You wouldn't even do it in a lab it's too dangerous.

[Nie4Er3]

@NancyToday

Hi Nancy,

No, Tat2urface is correct - you will get H2 on one electrode and Cl2 on the other. (S)he is also correct that only hydrolyzed NaOH will remain once the Cl2 stops being formed. At that point you will have H2 on one and O2 on the other as water is then consumed.

The problem with the approach is a lot of electrical energy is required - a minimum of 1.14 kWh using 6 Volts applied DC. Not to mention all the deadly Cl2 gas produced...

I enjoy your vids!!!

[TeenageIronman]

Your a pretty lady.

[Flowerpowernluv]

It started out kind of yellow and smelled like rotten eggs but as I boiled it down, it started to smell more like a smoldering fire and the half cup of water that I had left at the end was a brownish color. I have absolutely no idea if this water will have much lye in it at all or if it will be any good but I think it was good practice for me. I think we should learn to make everything we can ourselves.

[Flowerpowernluv]

I am just going on what little I know here from what I read on website, etc. What I did was I took a pail full of white completely burned ashes from my bonfire pit and pured this into another bucket. I mixed this with a gallon of distilled water that I distilled myself with a Brita water filter. I then mixed this around with a wire wisk that you use for mixing muffin batter, etc. I then poured it our just like you did but into a strainer. I used a jelly bag to strain out the lye from the ash.

[JeremyAllenF18]

You're supposed to used palm sizes rocks and straw to filter the ash. You just need one hole and it should be about 2" in diameter. Put your rocks and straw over that hole. Keep doing what you do. I love watching.

[Tabooga65]

Also, I think one has to be sure to use ashes from hardwoods like oak not soft woods like pine. I do not know if ash from a coal stove would work.

[halcyon180]

Oak, apple and cherry are some of the best, this is also what folks would use to cure meats when smoking them, go figure, they could collect the ashes right after. Did you know they used urine and dung from animals to make salt peter which is the main component of gun powder?

[Carmarthan415]

how do you make salt peter from urine and animal dung?

its amazing how innovative ancient ppl are...

[Tabooga65]

Nope, I didn't know they used dung and urine to make salter peter.

[maryjanepotters]

Hey Nancy, you seem like a really cool lady for doing these videos :) What you can do is to lay a piece of cheesecloth or any other straining cloth completely over the jar mouth and secure it tightly with a rubber band or string. Then, gently tip the jar mouth at a 45 degree angle into another container to collect the lye. When the sludge builds up at the opening, stand the jar upright to let the sludge sink to the bottom. Tip the jar again. Repeat until all the lye is collected.

[NancyToday]

That sounds like a good idea. Thanks.

[ThePyroSmurf]

Its a good try NancyToday, hope it works out for you. Cheers

[NancyToday]

Thanks, one day I'll have it figured out.

[Carmarthan415]

its the same idea that you put broken pottery on the very bottom of a planter, then fill it with small pebbles or gravel and then potting soil, so that it acts like a natural filter......

I've never made lye from ashes before and Im very eager to try it!!

[NancyToday]

Did it work?

[halcyon180]

pottery shards or pebbles are even better!!

[vekteius]

wow... this helped me alot

[mcclurem13]

You can sieve the ashes from the ash water with a sieve, because most sieves are made from stainless steel. Lye only burns through metals like aluminium etc. but not through stainless steel. If you want the lye solution to be nice and clean, then its okay to use a coffee filter or some kitchen towel placed in a sieve to strain it.

[gehtomacgyver]

@mcclurem13  and it dissolves glass when heated :P

[halcyon180]

depending on how much you use that sieve, it will end up burning it which would really only end up rusting after long use. wood or cloth is the best

[whatsontv1234]

How do you get the lye from the ash water? Does it just cristalize or something?

[Ariaannis]

Liltinee... you are right that is the way it is done. I made lye years ago and didn't use that exact method...after researching why my lye wasn't as strong as I wanted I found the correct method you described.

[LiLtinee]

From something I read, they used a wooden bucket with a small hole in the bottom. Layer bricks in bottom, then hay, then wood ash, then hay, then wood ash, they hay, then wood ash ... let the rain water filter through all of that, with a container to catch the water beneath the bucket/hole, of course.

Dena

[ashleyandlee]

Use a plastic strainer!

[MDRavensOrioleGal26]

Maybe Use A Strainer Or Something With A Lot Of Holes In It. Just A Suggestion. ~Erin

[tigerwolfwblueyes]

cheese cloth might work