How to measure First Runnings

lmd · Feb 28, 2013

I have done two all grain brews and I have had trouble figuring out how much of the first runnign sI have collected. I drain into an 8 gallon ss megapot with no markings.

what is the easiest way to see how much I have and then how much I need to batch sparge?

bferullo · Feb 28, 2013

Make a dipstick with gallon markings in by pouring a gallon in your pot, mark with permanent marker, repeat. I used an oak dowel from Home depot for a buck or two to calibrate my 10 gallon SS kettle.

broadbill · Feb 28, 2013

Find yourself a dowel, and put markings on it for where 1 gallon, 2 gallon, 3, etc. come up to when added to the pot.

Bonus points: weigh the water for better volume measurement (1 gallon =8.34 lbs, or if you are metric savvy: 1 L =1000g)

anico4704 · Feb 28, 2013

I drain my mash tun into a bottling bucket with volume markers on it, pour it into the kettle, then fill tthe bottling bucket up to the desired volume of sparge water and dump that into the mash tun. Very simple

GrogNerd · Feb 28, 2013

tape measure.

measure the diameter of your kettle for reference, then when you pour you wort into it, measure the depth.

simple geometry from there

my BK makes it simple. 1 inch = 2 quarts. not telling you the diameter

RM-MN · Feb 28, 2013

If its a straight sided pot and you know that it is 8 gallons, measure the height of the pot. If 32 inches makes 8 gallons, then 4 inches make one gallon. Height divided by 8 equals height of one gallon.

Yooper · Feb 28, 2013

bferullo said:
Make a dipstick with gallon markings in by pouring a gallon in your pot, mark with permanent marker, repeat. I used an oak dowel from Home depot for a buck or two to calibrate my 10 gallon SS kettle.

But what do you mean by the amount you need for batch sparging? Sometimes you end up using more sparge water than you need to collect in runnings. You just stop collecting runnings when you reach your target pre boil volume or the runnings SG gets too low that you may be extracting tannins.

For batch sparging, you don't end up more sparge water than you need, and you don't stop collecting runnings when the runnings' Sg gets low- the water is added in a big "batch", so whatever goes in comes out!

But the dipstick is a great idea if you don't want to mark your pot. Or, measure it in a bucket and then put that in your pot. I have the dipstick, and it works fine.

Measure your runnings, so you know if you have 3 gallons you'll know exactly how much sparge water you'll need to add to the MLT.

lmd · Feb 28, 2013

Thanks for the replies..I may just get a dwoel from HD. I also like the drain into the bottling bucket that already ahs the markings and then dumping into the bk.. Its just an extra step.

Evan_L · Feb 28, 2013

broadbill said:
Find yourself a dowel, and put markings on it for where 1 gallon, 2 gallon, 3, etc. come up to when added to the pot.

Bonus points: weigh the water for better volume measurement (1 gallon =8.34 lbs, or if you are metric savvy: 1 L =1000g)

8.34 for water but wort will be different depending on SG.

I got lucky, my pot is almost exactly 1.125"/Gal so I just use a ruler.

jflongo · Feb 28, 2013

If I take my 7.5 gallon, it's 13" high, so 0.577 gallons / inch.

You could mark that on a stick, and then verify it by using a bucket or pitchers.

lmd · Feb 28, 2013

Is it ok to mark the dipstick with a marker? What should be used?

bferullo · Feb 28, 2013

Yooper said:
For batch sparging, you don't end up more sparge water than you need, and you don't stop collecting runnings when the runnings' Sg gets low- the water is added in a big "batch", so whatever goes in comes out!

But the dipstick is a great idea if you don't want to mark your pot. Or, measure it in a bucket and then put that in your pot. I have the dipstick, and it works fine.

Measure your runnings, so you know if you have 3 gallons you'll know exactly how much sparge water you'll need to add to the MLT.

Coming from Yooper, I stand corrected!!

boilerbrewer · Feb 28, 2013

I use a yard stick to measure the wort depth. You'll have to calibrate this measurement ahead of time. Once you've done that it's easy to see where you are in the wort collection process. After your initial run off the amount you put in will run out.

Echoloc8 · Feb 28, 2013

lmd said:
Is it ok to mark the dipstick with a marker? What should be used?

Most people use Sharpies, but after watching my buddy's dipstick's markings fade from batch to batch, I wanted something more durable. I grabbed a cheap set of letter & number stamps (the kind you apply with a hammer) and hammered the letter I across my dipstick and the number of gallons.

It's a bit faded in this picture, but the markings have much better contrast when wet, and they won't fade with time.

But a Sharpie will work too.

-Rich

broadbill · Feb 28, 2013

Evan_L said:
8.34 for water but wort will be different depending on SG.

I got lucky, my pot is almost exactly 1.125"/Gal so I just use a ruler.

true but its good enough

broadbill · Feb 28, 2013

lmd said:
Is it ok to mark the dipstick with a marker? What should be used?

Sharpies marks won't hold, I would etch the dipstick in some way.

Evan_L · Feb 28, 2013

Echoloc8 said:
Most people use Sharpies, but after watching my buddy's dipstick's markings fade from batch to batch, I wanted something more durable. I grabbed a cheap set of letter & number stamps (the kind you apply with a hammer) and hammered the letter I across my dipstick and the number of gallons.

It's a bit faded in this picture, but the markings have much better contrast when wet, and they won't fade with time.

But a Sharpie will work too.

-Rich

That's a freakin awesome idea and it looks pretty slick too!

Echoloc8 · Feb 28, 2013

Evan_L said:
That's a freakin awesome idea and it looks pretty slick too!

Glad you like it. The punches/stamps are like $13 from Amazon.

-Rich

StMarcos · Feb 28, 2013

Mark the dipstick so it measures from the wort surface to the lip of the pot, but calibrate it so it measures the volume of wort. This way, the stick only has to touch the surface of the wort, not submerged all the way to the bottom. Less messy. Maybe that's what you guys are talking about anyway - if so, sorry for the interruption!

michael_mus · Feb 28, 2013

Evan_L said:
That's a freakin awesome idea and it looks pretty slick too!

+1 shut up and take my money!

bd2xu · Feb 28, 2013

I used a dowel for my keggle until I got this sight glass http://www.brewhardware.com/wlsightglass/47-weldless-compact-sight-glass-with-2q-dial-thermometer. I think it's the best one out there, instructions are great, can do with an integrated thermometer. One of the best investments I've made so far, especially the one on my HLT.

GilSwillBasementBrews · Mar 1, 2013

lmd said:
Thanks for the replies..I may just get a dwoel from HD. I also like the drain into the bottling bucket that already ahs the markings and then dumping into the bk.. Its just an extra step.

Just make sure you check the markings on your bottling bucket with a measured amount of water to ensure the markings are correct to the amount of volume in the bucket. Mine were right on but I've read comments of others whose markings were off by as much as an inch or so which is substantial to the overall volume your aiming for.

Iceman6409 · Mar 1, 2013

VERY simple. I use a plastic one gallon jug made by Rubbermaid. It has all the markings up to one gallon etched in the plastic. This way I know EXACTLY how mach I have at all times

bd2xu · Mar 1, 2013

Sight glass. Sorry, it's just such a great mod.

How to measure First Runnings

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