Not hitting my pre-boil volume target

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Sizz

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I brewed a robust porter this weekend. Everything went well overall except I was about 3/4 of a gallon low on my preboil volume after I was done with my 2nd batch sparge. Ended up sparging a 3rd time to hit my preboil volume target. This was my 5th AG brew and I'm always low on my preboil volume. I use beersmith and upped the mashtun deadspace to 0.5 gallons for this batch. Should i increase it even more? I'm using a 10gallon round cooler with a dome false bottom.
 
I would suggest that instead of just putting in any number for the amount of deadspace that you actually figure out what your deadspace is. Fill the MLT enough that it covers the spigot, drain till it stops, then pour the remaining liquid out and measure. That way you'll allow beersmith to calculate a better number for you.
 
Always have extra sparge water ready.
Measure the volume in you kettle after your first runnings (a marked dip stick works well.)
Subtract this from your desired boil volume.
Divide this amount in half.
Sparge.

Edit:
Doing it on the fly like this has worked best for me. I don’t have to worry about different grain absorption with different grains and crush or using rice hulls. And it also allows for dead space in the tun.
 
If you're consistently low by 3/4 gallon no matter what the grain bill is, it's probably related to deadspace. If it's low by varied amount batch to batch, it's related to the fixed grain absorption setting in the software. Increase that amount by a bit in the settings.
 
You know, yesterday I was brewing and saying the same thing. I never hit my pre-boil volume. Turns out my measuring spoon was off and I've been hitting it all along. So check that if you haven't already.
 
+1111 to measuring your actual deadspace and not just throwing random values in there. If yer off by just .25 gallon that would equal the 3/4 you are short
(1/4 gal mash, 1/4 gal sparge, 1/4 gal 2nd sparge)

nothing wrong with 2-3 batch sparges.
 
+1111 to measuring your actual deadspace and not just throwing random values in there. If yer off by just .25 gallon that would equal the 3/4 you are short (1/4 gal mash, 1/4 gal sparge, 1/4 gal 2nd sparge).
Am I the only one who has a problem with this logic?
I'm thinking that once the dead space is taken up . . . . well, it's taken up :drunk:
 
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