Okay! I haven’t done the KNF write up yet, but here’s a little sumthin sumthin for y’all: I whipped up some JADAM wetting agent this afternoon!
This is basically a cold process liquid soap, so it’ll be used as hand soap, body soap, laundry soap, and dish soap, in addition to being used for pest control, and as a wetting agent for foliar nutrient application.
Ingredients/Supplies for a 5 gallon batch
-5 gallon bucket and lid ($10)
-Electric drill
-paint stirrer attachment
-.5 kg of water (that’s a half liter)
-640 grams KOH (potassium hydroxide) (1 kg was $13)
-1 gallon canola oil ($10)
-additional 16 L of water
Recipe
Pour the 500mL of water into the 5 gallon bucket, then dump in the measured KOH. Roll the bucket around at an angle to fully dissolve the KOH
CAUTION This initial solution creates a powerful exothermic reaction (it gets hella hot), AND is an extraordinarily strong base, meaning that it is caustic and will fuck you up if you get it on you. Always wear a mask, elbow length gloves, and safety goggles when dealing with this chemical.
Once the powder/flakes are totally dissolved, use the drill with paint stirrer attached, to agitate the solution while slowly streaming the entire gallon of canola into the bucket. Don’t stop pouring, or stirring, until all of the canola is in. The emulsion should look like runny mayo with a yellowish white coloration. If the mixture breaks (separates), just turn up the drill speed and re-emulsify.
Let the mixture stand, covered, for 3 days.
After the requisite time had passed pour 4 liters of RO (or other soft water) into the bucket. Use the drill to mix the water into the original solution, and to knock any of the concentrate off the wall of the bucket.
Finally, hand stir the last 12 liters of water into the solution until you have a homogenous mixture.
So for about $20 ($30 if you don’t have a bucket and lid already) you’ll have 5 gallons of JWA/cold process soap.
Dilute between .6%, up to 3% of total solution for foliar use.
Pictures are from today, so the 16L of water will be added in Monday, and I’ll post the finished product