No more CPOP for me

[SoapDaddy70]

Tried CPOP’ing again the last couple of batches and both times the bottom and edges of the soap are crumbly. Same exact recipe that I did not CPOP came out of the mold beautifully and is smooth as glass. Not sure what I am doing wrong but just going to go back to wrapping in towels and heating pad method. My oven is old so not exactly sure if the temp is correct. Bought over thermometers from Amazon and they stink and take forever to show an accurate temp so maybe I am making the oven too hot. At this point not even worth troubleshooting. Not even sure why I tried CPOP’ing again as I have never had a good result.

 

[lsg]

Since your oven may be off, the heat might have been too high. I turn my oven on and heat to 170*F. I turn it off right before I put the soap in and leave the soap overnight.

 

[SoapDaddy70]

Since your oven may be off, the heat might have been too high. I turn my oven on and heat to 170*F. I turn it off right before I put the soap in and leave the soap overnight.

Yea. That sounds about right because I am assuming my oven runs cold so I was putting it at 200 on the dial thinking it would actually be around 170 but that doesn’t seem to be the case. This last batch was only in a 4 bar mold so no big deal so maybe I will try again and lower temp.

 

[AAShillito]

Have you tried replacing the heating element? Then you may be able to calibrate it more effectively. Repairclinic.com usually has everything and youtube will show you how

 

[Tara_H]

Fwiw, I always CPOP somewhere between 40 and 60 C (~100 to 140F) and generally get good results, so I wouldn't worry about bumping up the heat to compensate for an oven that runs cool...

 

[Catscankim]

There are you tube videos on how to calibrate your oven, no matter which type you have. I have yet to do this, but I have watched them and it seems pretty on point.

I always cpop, stick the loaf in the oven and turn it off. My light doesn't work, so it doesn't stay as warm as long. I have beautiful results, and have been cpop'ing solely for about 8 months. Never a glitch, except for last night of course LOL. I wrapped my loaves in plastic wrap first, which I don't normally do, but I was trying to avoid ash. I had what looks like condensation drips on my soap tops.

Try not leaving your light on, maybe it is getting too hot.

 

[SoapDaddy70]

Yea. Calibrating my oven is probably something I should do. I am also thinking it could have something to do with my high lye concentration which is 40%. I know the higher the lye concentration the higher the temp required to enter gel phase but even back when I was using 30-33% lye concentrations I still always had better results just wrapping and heating pad. Not sure why I am arguing with myself. Should probably just stop obsessing about CPOP and do what has worked for me already. Sometimes this soapmaking can sure drive a person crazy...

 

[DeeAnna]

I hear people talk about CPOP as a way of "forcing gel" and I think this idea of "forcing" encourages the use of temps higher than necessary. Not to say I think the OP has this idea, just commenting on a trend I'm observing in general.

CPOP is only one way among many of providing some extra warmth to encourage the outer edges of a loaf of soap or small individual molds to get warm enough so all of the soap will go into gel. The center of a loaf of soap wants to gel on its own without any help or "forcing" required.

Thankfully I learned how to CPOP when the more experienced soapers were shifting away from using higher temp (170 F / 75 C) due to getting good results and fewer problems by dropping the temp to around 140 F / 60 C. I seldom use CPOP now, although it's useful from time to time -- it's a tool in my toolbox, not a cure-all for every batch.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I can’t CPOP...I’m too much of a “peeker“. I love the heating pad method.

 

[AliOop]

CPOPing always gave me weird textures on top. Heating pads work best for me. Besides the even heat, they don’t tie up the oven or transfer smells to it.

 

[SoapDaddy70]

I hear people talk about CPOP as a way of "forcing gel" and I think this idea of "forcing" encourages the use of temps higher than necessary. Not to say I think the OP has this idea, just commenting on a trend I'm observing in general.

CPOP is only one way among many of providing some extra warmth to encourage the outer edges of a loaf of soap or small individual molds to get warm enough so all of the soap will go into gel. The center of a loaf of soap wants to gel on its own without any help or "forcing" required.

Thankfully I learned how to CPOP when the more experienced soapers were shifting away from using higher temp (170 F / 75 C) due to getting good results and fewer problems by dropping the temp to around 140 F / 60 C. I seldom use CPOP now, although it's useful from time to time -- it's a tool in my toolbox, not a cure-all for every batch.

DeeAnna, you nailed it on the head. I am guilty of exactly what you mentioned. Sometimes I blindly follow the pack instead of doing what is right for me and what has worked for me. Rather than deal with figuring out how to get consistent results from CPOP'ing I think I would rather go back to the good ol heating pad method. Thanks for everyone's feedback. Happy Friday!!

 

[SoapLover1]

Hi! I only CPOP if I have colors that I want to be vibrant. Otherwise, I put my soap in a styrofoam Cooler and put the top on it! It cost $1 and is priceless! Give it a try! Blessings!

 

[TheGecko]

I've tried CPOPing a couple of times last winter. My oven doesn't go below 200F (it's an old stove from the 80s) so I just let it heat up and then turned it off when I got out the Stick Blender...figured that was enough time for it to cool down. To be honest, I really didn't notice any difference between CPOPing and just covering the top with plastic wrap and wrapping it in thick towels. However I did notice what happens when you forget to turn off the oven and 'bake' your soap for a couple of hours. LOL

 

[Becky1024]

I tried CPOP a few times and got lots of soda ash. I never get soda ash otherwise. A heating pad works fine for me - good results every time.

 

[linne1gi]

I've been CPOPing all my soaps for 2-3 years now - I do a water discount (lye solution 38-40% depending on recipe), so, in order to gel I pretty much have to CPOP or use heat in some means. I also seldom get soda ash - probably the water discount.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I've been CPOPing all my soaps for 2-3 years now - I do a water discount (lye solution 38-40% depending on recipe), so, in order to gel I pretty much have to CPOP or use heat in some means. I also seldom get soda ash - probably the water discount.

I also use a high lye concentration, and especially for soaps poured at emulsion, I must add heat in order to get a nice quality soap.

 

[user 49910]

Yea. That sounds about right because I am assuming my oven runs cold so I was putting it at 200 on the dial thinking it would actually be around 170 but that doesn’t seem to be the case. This last batch was only in a 4 bar mold so no big deal so maybe I will try again and lower temp.

The majority of ovens fluctuate in temperature PLUS or MINUS 20 - 25° F from the original temperature setting, this is to maintain the desired temperature set.
So if you're putting the oven at 200° F, it was probably cruising between 180° and 220° F.

If you have one of those grilling / smoking temperature probes with the cable you test it out yourself on your oven to see how it actually fluctuates.