Bath Bomb Press (Maker)

Lip Balm and Pouring Trays

Soap Making Tools and Accessories

Beginner Soap Makers Suggestions

Liquid Soap

Soap Making Questions

Candle Wax Equipment

Loaf Soap Cutters

Soap Molds & Liners

Custom Single Bar Mold, Shapes, Graphic Designs

Lye Tanks

Soap Shaper

Drying Trays

Oil - Wax Heaters (Melters)

Soap Stampers

Financing

Professional Air Soap Cutter System

Soapmaker Software

Formulation

Professional Manual Soap Cutter System

Start Up Questions

General Information - Cutters & Molds & Mold Liners

Pumps

Warranty

General Questions

Scales

Hot Process Soap

Shipping

Water Jackets - Why?

Question:

Answer:

Here are some of the reasons:

	What does “Direct Heat”, referring to a tank mean? If it doesn’t have a Liquid Jacket….It is a Direct Heat Tank. There is no other way around it. Direct heat is where there is no liquid jacket surrounding the inner tank of a double jacketed melting tank. Basically Direct Heat tanks have two jackets or tanks. One inside the other. Some are square, some are round. Direct Heat tanks have heating coils, band heaters, etc. surrounding the inner tank. These coils or bands are attached to the inner jacket in some manner. They generally have some insulation surrounding the coils. This direct contact of the heating coils can create “Hot Spots” that can burn your oil or product.
	85% of our customers are involved in making some type of body care product. Body care products should not be made in a “Direct Heat”, (No liquid jacket). You are asking for trouble. At some point in the heating and making of the product you will get hot spots along the perimeter of the tank. Any liquid, such as a vegetable oil, lotion, herbal tincture, etc. that may come in contact with direct heat surface can get overheated, scalded, burned. Once this happens there in no going back and your product has now become inferior. There are certain tried and true methods that cannot be cheapened or disposed of in handling, natural, organic, or vegetable based materials. This is why your how-too books and formulas online require you to use a Double Boiler for balms, liquid soaps, lotions, etc. A double boiler is a good start for beginners to make small batches and it helps eliminate the possibility of “Overheating” Direct Heat tanks have a much higher incidence of fire hazard. Coils and band heaters can burnout. This can result in electrical sparks. Direct Heat, is more energy efficient…< not true >. It may heat a little faster (about 27% faster) but requires more energy to stay warm and looses heat much faster (78% faster).
	Where would you use one of these direct heat melters? Candle wax is okay to use with one. Caution must be used if a band or coil burns out and sparks. They cool down quickly so they work well for short runs. Not so well for day after day use because you have to heat the air space around the tank and actually some heat is lost on the outer shell. A liquid jacket tank with an insulation jacket can stay warm for many, many hours, definitely overnight. Petroleum products would do well in one. Heating water, mixing fertilizers, chemicals unaffected by hot spots, etc. would be fine in a direct heat tank. You can, with constant stirring, get by using these tanks for delicate materials. Just make sure you do not stop until the process is complete.

Make no mistake about it….if it does not have a “Liquid Jacket, then it is a “Direct Heat” melter.

And, if you are going to be making any M&P, CP, HP soap, lotion, balm or body care product where you care about the quality of….Do Not use a Direct Heat melter.

Question:

Answer:

Question:

As a time saver, can I premix my oils in the heater and use them up over a period of a week or more? Can the oils be reheated each day or continuously left at 110 degrees without unacceptable degradation of the oils?

Answer:

Yes, you can premix and heat your oils and use them over the course of several days or a week. If you put a moving quilt or blanket over the heater, it will keep warm for a couple days - not at 110 degrees but where it is very easy to reheat. There are several things you can do so you don't have to wait so long for the oils to heat up, which also makes it very cost efficient. You can put an insulation blanket around the heater similar to the kits they sell for water heaters. A reflective space blanket from a sporting goods store does very well over the insulation. You can also put the heater on a timer so that it kicks on before you start in the morning, say a half hour to an hour before. This, of course, saves waiting time.

Question:

Does the Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) maintain a constant temperature at the level required?

Answer:

Yes, but you need to keep notes on the first few batches and mark the dial indicator. The water jacket provides an even heat and helps provide a regulated and constant temperature, but remember, you should try to maintain a fairly constant room temperature. A fluctuating room temperature will make it difficult for your thermostat to control a constant water jacket temperature. An insulation jacket can eliminate these fluctuations.

Question:

In my country, our electricity is based on 220V. Will this be a problem in using your 15-gallon, Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) with the 110 volt heat/thermostat, since they will be coming from the United States?

Answer:

No problem with 220 voltage. For your particular order, I will provide a 220-volt, 3000-watt heat/thermostat unit instead. We do this for many International customers. All of our heater elements and thermostats also work on both, 50 and 60 cycle circuits.

Question:

Is it possible to mix the base oils, water and lye for tracing in the Oil-Wax Heater (Melter)?

Answer:

Yes, you can mix your oils and lye to trace in our Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) s. There is a chance that it can thicken to the point you can’t pour it out though. Be careful and watch your trace. This is not the most efficient way to mix your oils and lye but for moderate to light production, it works.

Question:

When making CP soap, can we add the essential or fragrance oils into your 15 gallon Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) s?

Answer:

We do not recommend this but it can be done. If the batch seizes up or comes to, too thick of a trace, you will have to dip it out. If you must mix in the Oil-Wax Heater (Melter), it would be best to bring the base oils and lye to a light trace. Then, transfer it to 5 gallon buckets and mix your FO’s, etc. in there. Also very important….Always test your scents before making a large batch, some can seize very quickly.

1.5 inch Ball Valve

Question:

Will I need a pump connected to the Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) for direct pouring into my molds?

Answer:

You will not need a pump. You can gravity feed the material fairly easily if you use our 1.5” Three Way Ball Valve. This allows a full flow at a 90 degrees turn of the handle.

Question:

What is a Ball Valve?

Answer:

It is a means to turn on and off the flow of the liquid. It is basically a large faucet with a fast shut off. To see a picture of this, go to http://www.soapequipment.com/heaters/

Question:

I am interested in your 35-gallon stainless steel container for pasteurizing milk. Is the jacket all the way round it? Can I run 165-degree water around the inside tank to heat up milk to 160 degrees and how much pressure, can the jacket handle?

Answer:

Yes, the jacket goes all the way around, bottom and sides. I am not sure how much pressure you would want to apply but I imagine you could run a pretty good stream around it. There is an inlet and outlet so I assume that it would be easy to run water in to it. The tank is designed to go beyond boiling point. 160 to 180 degree temperatures are commonly used for making liquid soap, so I see no problem with milk.

Question:

We need a tank for heating cutting oil. Do you know what grade of stainless steel is used and the gauge thickness? Is there a drainpipe that can empty the contents from the inside tank?

Answer:

They are made of 304 stainless, 24 gauge. There is a 1.5" diameter, 6" long, outlet nipple that is also stainless. This drains the inside tank.

Question:

Could you please tell me if your Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) s have the capacity to heat beeswax as well? This would be used in cosmetic items, not soap making. Also, it is hard to tell if there are spigot valves for pouring into small containers.

Answer:

Yes, our Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) s will melt beeswax, candle waxes, and M&P. The tanks come with Ball Valves. These control large volume flows. If pouring into bottles or small cavities such as for M&P molds, etc. then it is best to have a reduction to a smaller valve such as a ½” (1.3cm) ball valve. The ball valve gives you a couple of ways to come out of the tank without reduction of flow and this works as a quick safety shutoff. You could at that time header off. By this, I mean come out with a horizontal pipe with a T fitting, and then go to two valves and
fill two containers at once. A little tricky on control but this can be done. We can provide anything you want as far as valves, piping, etc.

Question:

Does your Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) Thermostat read in both Celsius and Fahrenheit?

Answer:

The Thermostat for our Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) are registered from 0 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.  Most people who need Celsius do not find this a problem in that after a few uses, they just put a mark at a point or points on the thermostat knob and then just turn the knob to that point.  The thermostat is an analog thermostat (a mechanical dial type).  You can even put a sticker over the numbers and note increments in Celsius.

Question:

I notice that your Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) are double jacketed and that I must keep water in the outer jacket. What happens if I don’t always pay attention to this?

Answer:

Your heating element will burn out. You should check your water levels before every use. By doing this one simple thing, your Oil/Wax Heater should give you many years of service.

Question:

Do you have and will you install timers on your Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) for automatic turn on?

Answer:

We can put timers on the units. They are 220v, 30amp, digital timers, with 4 possible cycles in a 24 hour period. Weekends can be on or off.  You can have battery back-up. The timers are hard wired and left loose and mountable to the stand or wall where the Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) will set.

Question:

How much oil/water is left at the bottom of the tank when it is drained?

Answer:

If you tilt the tank 1/4" from back to front, it will drain completely.

Question:

At what flow rate does the Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) drain without a transfer pump?

Answer:

We put a 1.5" outlet on the tank. The Ball Valve opens fully. We have never timed it, but I think it empties in about 30 seconds or less.

Candle Wax

Question:

Can I use your Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) for Candle wax?

Answer:

Yes, the Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) s work very well for melting candle-wax. They are great for other uses too, such as lotions, liquid soap, M&P, etc. Our 15-Gallon (57 liter) Oil-Wax Heater (Melter) is a very handy countertop unit that is very easy to work with.

Question:

Can you set an Oil Heater or Lye Tank at a particular set point and will it maintain that temperature?

Answer: