Hopefully someone can help me with this.... I am running beersmith 2 and after quite sometime ignoring the strike temps and infusion temps thta Beersmith gives as they are always extrememly off I decided to do some research as it''s annoying this feature does not get uses. I have pretty much narrowed it down to the specific heat of my MLT ( a Igloo 10 gallon round cooler ). Originally I left it at the default .3 SH beersmith reccomends. Now for a practical example.... MLT # = 12lbs, MLT temp- 72deg, grain temp 72deg grain# 10.5lbs, desired mash temp 152 deg. Beersmith would have me add 14.65qts at 165 degrees this is even with the adjust for equipment turned on. I would end up with a mash temp of like 145deg and either had to decoct the mash or add boiling water and really thin out the mash. Now after playing around and doing about 3 hours of research I changed my specific heat to .98 !!!! has anyone else had to deviate from beersmith's reccomendation this much ? I mean that's a huge difference from .3 specific heat for plastic. Now for that practical application all the info above stays the same but then my mash after adding the strike water is a perfect 152 deg and once the mash hits temp and everything equalizes I loose less than 1 degree over the hour. Basically what I'm asking is did I change this right by changing my specific heat or is there a better way to hit my strike temp and is a .98 specific heat for the above cooler correct / normal ? Thanks for any input.
