[Artemisia] The making of Lye

[Mark Chapman]

Additional comments to add to Judy's.

Both Potassium and Sodium Hydroxide will degrade, (actually becomes a 
salt in chemist terminology) with exposure to CO2, from the air. So 
limiting the sloshing and any other sever agitation is useful. Siphon 
rather than pour.  Simmer rather than rolling boil to reduce the volume.

The floating egg thing is traditional, but pH strips will be more useful 
in real life testing.  (I can give anyone a few, rather than buying a 
box, which will last many years of occasional use.)  You will want the 
pH 1 to 14 strips. They are dipped into the liquid and in moments change 
color to indicate the pH.  In this case how basic a solution you have 
achieved, you are hoping to reach 14.

Wear Nitrile gloves, and splash resistant goggles (your skin is much 
better in dealing with acids than bases, and eyes are particularly 
likely to be damaged by splashes.)  This stuff can blind you easily!

It will be interesting to see how well aspen works,  the books say hard 
wood ash, my guess (with out research) is that something like oak is 
likely to produce a more alkaline ash than aspen.
Ådne

-- 

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions; but everyone is not entitled to their own facts."

--Daniel Patrick Moynihan