Manufacturer: The Sun Products Corporation. Wilton, CT. USA.
pH: 7.7 (approx). Bubble juice seems pH-sensitive.
Ghosts: almost ghost-free with guar-based juice.
Availability: This is a fairly widely available but not terribly popular brand -- often in small grocery stores and 'dollar stores'.
Quick Summary[]
By itself, this detergent is a mediocre bubble juice base, but it has promise as a ghostbuster when added in small quantities to Dawn-based juice.
On its own, the resulting juice seems less friendly to big bubbles than the Dawn family (even when you take the surfactant strength into account). The bubbles have shorter lifespans and the soap film is prone to early breakage. However, it is notable for its nearly ghost free pops. Tri-string bubbles tend to pop with a "whoosh" sound.
Critical Dilution. The 'critical dilution' (the dilution that corresponds to the CMC) seems to be somewhere between 5:1 and 7:1 and is influenced by the presence of baking powder (which seems to boost the surfactant potency). This needs better investigation as lighting was not ideal for the evaluation. See Dilution Profile below.
A nice nearly ghost-free mix can be made by combining Sun with Dawn Pro. Edward Spiegel added a small amount of a Sun based bubble juice (4:1 water:detergent ratio with guar) to Dawn Pro based guar juice to achieve a juice that worked well with no or minimal ghosts. The recipe is undergoing refinement. The video below shows an early (low dilution) exploration.
The only version tested has been Sun, Sunsational Scents™ Lemon. Purchased early 2013.
Dilution Profile[]
Based on a 'standard' guar gum based juice. 1/4 heaping teaspoon guar per liter water and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Note that other tests indicate that the use of baking powder boosts the apparent surfactant strength. Tests performed early September 2013
This detergent is far less concentrated than Dawn Pro and similar detergents. It seems about 1/3 as potent as Dawn Pro based on the color profiles of the bubbles at various dilutions. See the Dawn Pro Color Evalution article for more about Dawn Pro's color profile.
40:1. Pretty much impossible to make a bubble. At least with amount of polymer in the mix. Bubbles colorless and glossy.
10:1. Color profile very similar to Dawn Pro at 32:1
5:1 (actually 16:3). Seems similar to Dawn Pro at 16:1-18:1, but lighting conditions (too much filtered direct light) made a full assessment difficult. Film showed the sort of paisley swirls typical of thin films.
4:1. Without baking powder in the mix, the color profile seemed like that of a dilution in the 17:1 to 19:1 range but with the baking powder, the appearance was of a colorful thinner film with much paisley swirling.
Compatible Polymers[]
Compatible with: guar gum, probably others.
Incompatible with:
Not exhaustively tested. So far, only guar gum tried.
Ghosts[]
More or less ghost free. The pop has a whoosh sound (at least with the 4:1 guar-based mix) and is made of droplets larger than Charmy's vapor pop. A mix that includes a combination of Dawn Pro and Sun works better than Sun alone and is nearly ghost free.
Considerations[]
Tests (with 4:1 and 16:3 dilutions done on 2013 09 09 with Edward Spiegel's tap water [pH:9) indicate that 1/8 tsp baking powder (in 500 ml juice) significantly improved the juice.
Without the baking powder, it was virtually impossible to form even a small bubble with a 36" single strand twine loop. The film tended to break as the loop was opened during a session at 8:30 am with 75% humidity and air temp 62. With the baking powder, 3 to 4 foot diameter bubbles were sometimes possible. The juice was not as friendly as Dawn-based juice with a similar concentration (relative to the CMC).
The pH of a solution made with pH 9.5 tap water (with calibrated pH meter) that was 4:1 water:detergent was 7.7. With 1/8 tsp baking powder in 500 ml solution, the pH was 7.2. With 1/4 tsp baking powder the pH was 6.8.
MSDS[]
File:SUN 12-20Z LDU LEMON MTR INDS EN.pdfClick to download.
Ingredients[]
From MSDS
| INGREDIENT | FUNCTION |
|---|---|
| Water | Solvent |
| Sodium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate | Surfactant |
| Methyl Ester Sulfonate | Surfactant |
| Palm Kernelamide DEA | Surfactant |
| Sodium Hydroxide | pH Adjuster |
| Urea | Hydrotrope |
| Sodium Chloride | Viscosity Adjuster |
| Tetrasodium EDTA | Chelating Agent |
| Perfume | Perfume |
| Citric Acid | pH Adjuster |
| Methylchloroisothiazolinone | Preservative |
| Methylisothiazolinone | Preservative |
| Liquitint® Bright Yellow | Dye |
| Sodium Benzotriazolyl Butylphenol Sulfonate | UV inhibitor |
| Buteth-3 |
UV inhibitor |
| Tributyl Citrate | Processing Aid |
| Orange 4 | Dye |
NOTE: Sodium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate has some similarities to Charmy's Linear alkyl benzene sulfonic acid. Though Charmy is a much more effective detergent, this may account for the similar ghosting properties.