Can lye cause a plastic drum to fail?

[Craig Allison]

This might sound like a dumb question but all the searching I've done refers to soap making or drain cleaning.
From what I read, the real concern is in high heat to the plastic. Not the lye itself weakening the plastic.

The reason I ask is that one of my lye tanks is in an area where dogs would be exposed if my tank would leak or rupture.

is there any concern?
Thanks in advance.

[Neal Birkett]

In the setting you describe, there are risks of lye exposure that have nothing to do with the material the containers are made of.  Consider relocating or isolating (fence) your drums.

[Craig Allison]

Are there risks other than coming in contact with the lye itself? Such as vapors or something?

[Corinne Wetzel]

I've had lye in my basement in heavy duty Rubbermaid tubs for 10 years with no leakage problems. Of course, I change the lye periodically, but the tubs have been continuously used. I have had dogs all this time and am careful not to let them near this room when I have the tubs open. Also, this is our laundry room, in the basement, so it's not an area where the dogs would normally be unattended. With this arrangement, it's never been a problem with our dogs.

[Neal Birkett]

There are risks of spills, drips, knock-overs, etc.  Pets or other animals may trigger events that lead to these, which lead to exposure. 

It's really about how secure your set-up is.   One easy way is "No pets allowed."

[Craig Allison]

Well it's a brand new 20 gallon trash can with 15 gallons of liquid. Figure 120#. On a wooden platform to keep it level. An 8# and a 14# pair of mutts won't knock it over. I was just concerned about degradation of the plastic due to the lye.

I will consider a perimeter fence of sorts as a safety barrier since I don't see me trying to carry it to a better location.

[Russell Ware]

15 gallons of water and lye should be just over 130 pounds. Lye can etch glass, but it shouldn't harm plastic. What you need to watch out for is dropping cast iron into the container. That can put a hole in or crack your lye bath. Make sure it is a thick plastic container, not a cheap one.

[Duke Gilleland]

Never can enough caution be exercised when it comes to the animals. if it ever did spring a leak,
and the animals were around it, that could be terrible. Learned that the hard way about 40 years ago.

[Craig Allison]

I was worried about all of this and that's why I asked the folks with experience.

Maybe this winter when it freezes, I can get someone to help me move it into the garden which has a fence that keeps the pups at bay.

Thanks for all your thoughtful responses.

[Cheryl Watson]

Craig, lye baths really don't freeze, depending on where you live..........

Please do... not .... try... to ... physically move a full lye bath, partially frozen or not.

I have an electric pump (with internal plastic parts, NO aluminum) which I use to move liquid from my lye bath....

whether to another container or for disposal.

I personally know of a Collector that sustained serious injury attempting to  move a large lye container....

[Jim Glatthaar]

Yes, always exercise caution when dealing with lye baths.  In the past, when I felt it was time to replace the lye bath, I have added white vinegar to the bath until it neutralized the lye, then used plastic buckets to dump the neutralized solution on my lawn away from the house.  I would never try moving a lye bath.

[Craig Allison]

Yes, always exercise caution when dealing with lye baths.  In the past, when I felt it was time to replace the lye bath, I have added white vinegar to the bath until it neutralized the lye, then used plastic buckets to dump the neutralized solution on my lawn away from the house.  I would never try moving a lye bath.

OK y'all have made me uncomfortable with leaving it where it is but scared to try to move it.

Next question.
How much vinegar do you add per gallon to neutralize the lye?

[Russell Ware]

Don't forget that lye is sold for cleaning drains. An old lye bath can do wonders for household drains that run slow.

[Cheryl Watson]

And to help the underground lateral to flow efficiently.........

[Jim Glatthaar]

Craig, I don't know that I would add vinegar to a lye bath to neutralize the lye.  Chemistry is not my forte, and never was, but I would be concerned with the lye bubbling over, possibly even overheating the container if you are using plastic to store the lye.  I would take small amount of the lye solution and dilute it with 5-10 times the volume of the lye solution.  I suspect that would dilute they lye solution to the point where is it no longer dangerous and could be dumped in the yard or down the drain.

An alternative would be to buy a second container, place it in your desired location and transfer the lye solution little by little to the new container.