cold break

I just got done putting a batch of stout in the fermenter but when I poured the wort off the trub it seemed as if there wasn't much of a cold break, as sediment started pouring off about halfway on transfer. I kept going until there was a lot starting to collect at the rim of the stockpot, and I capped the fermenter after stirring in the yeast. When I poured the trub into the woods behind the house it looked like there was about a quart of wort/trub left behind. Is that a lot, should I have cooled it down more being that it is a higher gravity batch. Also, should I add water to make 5 gal. in the secondary or leave it as is (I would need about a half gallon). I know, relax and have a brew I just want to make a good thick batch of stout though!

I have been adding water (boiled and cooled) to mine to top it off at 5Gallons. Assuming that your ingredients are based on a 5G batch, it will not be diluted. As for the break, I have been less paranoid about any material getting into the fermenter since I started using secondaries. I rack to the secondary religiously at 7 days, and leave all that behind. My brews have been nice and clear so far, with no off tastes. Having said that, I still have a bunch of debris in the brew pot after pouring into the primary.

try using irish moss w/ 15 min left in the boil, and or a vigorous boil. that helps precipitate cold break too. or, pour your wort through a large strainer thats set on top of your primary bucket. if you use a 6.5 carboy for primary, use your racking cane/tube to transfer over......

i used to top off the fermenter w/ water to get my final vol of 5-5.5 g when i extract brewed. that's that bad part of extract brewing on a stove top. it's hard to boil the whole 5 g and end up with 5-5.5 in the primary.