Lye from charcoal

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Yes it is possible. You need to use the white ash left after a fire and combine with water.
 
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Q

I have a pile of the white ash from my charcoal grill that I have collecting for years. The pile is slightly sheltered from the rain. Just charcoal briquettes. No self respecting weed will grow there.

Is that a source to make lye?

Curious

Ben
 
Q

I have a pile of the white ash from my charcoal grill that I have collecting for years. The pile is slightly sheltered from the rain. Just charcoal briquettes. No self respecting weed will grow there.

Is that a source to make lye?

Curious

Ben


As in k in gs fud? Such briquettes are made from soft coal, petrolium products and some wood shavings. Very little of it is actually wood.

I'd say no but could be wrong.

Edit...

There is a good description in the Foxfire 1 book.

I remember seeing it done when I was a very small child... so small about all I remember is ash from hickory trees. I don't remember the process.
 
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..ayeup..

:cool:

.02
jd

Keyword: Hard wood. Soft woods might work, but would take much more ash and boiling down.
As everyone said, yep.

I've made it from saved bacon drippings and ash before. Turns out great.

But its not from the charcoal, its from the white ash. The charcoal doesn't contribute.
Sorry, but this cracked me up ~ every fella's dream, bacon scented soap 😂
As in k in gs fud? Such briquettes are made from soft coal, petrolium products and some wood shavings. Very little of it is actually wood.

I'd say no but could be wrong.

Edit...

There is a good description in the Foxfire 1 book.

I remember seeing it done when I was a very small child... so small about all I remember is ash from hickory trees. I don't remember the process.
You read my mind. I knew it was in a Foxfire book, but didn't know which one.
 
this is how times have changed. when i was in elementary school we made lye out in school parking lot. we burnt up a bunch of wood and then used it to get the lye. thats been many decades ago and dont remember a thing other than we made it. i used homemade lye soap until i was 10 or 11 and then we stopped making it.it was pretty harsh on skin from what i remember...or what we made was...lol..not sure if it took dirt off or first layer of skin or both...roflmao

can you imagine doing lye in today school setting? no way...!! we had school tractor and our own chainsaws as well.
 
You read my mind. I knew it was in a Foxfire book, but didn't know which one.

I know its in FoxFire #1 cause I checked my copy. If I'm not mistaken its covered again in one of the later books in the series much more in depth. I have another unrelated book that covers it but I can't remember which one. It's not in the two books shelves in my livingrm so it has to be in one of my storage totes.
 
.it was pretty harsh on skin from what i remember...or what we made was...lol..not sure if it took dirt off or first layer of skin or both...roflmao

It doesn't have to be. It just depends on what your trying to make.
 
this is how times have changed. when i was in elementary school we made lye out in school parking lot. we burnt up a bunch of wood and then used it to get the lye. thats been many decades ago and dont remember a thing other than we made it. i used homemade lye soap until i was 10 or 11 and then we stopped making it.it was pretty harsh on skin from what i remember...or what we made was...lol..not sure if it took dirt off or first layer of skin or both...roflmao

can you imagine doing lye in today school setting? no way...!! we had school tractor and our own chainsaws as well.
Where and when I went to HS, we got Deer Day and Elk Day off from school which was opening day of each hunting season. Then we cleaned the wood shop top to bottom and covered the tables and learned to cut and wrap critters - at school! That's a skill I use to this day. Can you imagine "arming" students today with saws and knives? (We didn't make lye or soap at school though.)
 
Yep, we had 2 chainsaws, shovels, axes, a gun rack and a big bucket on our school bus. The high school in town two hours away closed up shop at -40F. The local bush elementary school at -30F. It came complete with all of the above and the kids had to keep the school wood pile topped up. That included the teacherages wood piles as well. (the two cabins the two imported teachers lived in)

That was recess and lunch for us. I can't imagine grade 4, 5 and 6 boys out cutting and chopping wood while the girls hauled it in, today.

In elementary school we would get a gone fishing day as soon as winter cleared; one day of sunshine and running about free of chores and schoolwork.

On topic, it was hard to get good lye from softwood and where we lived, its all softwood. Soap was store bought whenever possible. Animal fat was also more valued as a food source.

I have lye in my pantry, but living back in a softwood forest, I also have a barrel of soap.
 
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In school we drew names for chistmas gifts in our home room classes. I remember in Jr. high drawing a boys name. I got him a box of shotgun shells for a gift. This was common for boy gifts, knives, a box of shells etc. In high school everyone who had a pickup had a gun rack full of weapons... normal.

Sorry for the off topic post... that memory just popped into my head. Oh, the boy's nickname... Snuffy.
 
Maybe you can do a bit of research.
I guess I was referring to the pure lye that we used to make homemade soap. If you google, "pure lye" you will find many commercial products that are 99%-plus sodium hydroxide or caustic soda.
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..Yep, Unless you add a bit of 'essential-oils' like Pine, Eucalyptus, Sage, Peppermint.. or Cinnamon.. :cool: (but not All of them, then it just ends up smelling like Dog barf... 😁

jd
We need the story behind this observation:brewing:
 
Not charcoal, has to be white powder ash. Charcoal is for grilling & gardening or purifying water.
 
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