Create gallon markings on a brewpot?

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TheH2

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Is there a way to mark the inside of a brewpot with gallon markings. I bought my brewpot on the internet and didn't realize it didn't have the gallon markings (thought it was standard). I thought I would be able to keep track of the mash/sparge runnings but I lost track quite quickly. Having markings in my pot would help, so instead of remembering how much wort comes out of my mash tun, all I have to do is remember how much comes out after the five gallon marking.

I thought about marking it with a sharpie, but figured that would wear off in a stainless steel pot? Any ideas/suggestions?
 
Mark your brew spoon in half gallon increments as you fill it up. I'm not sure how long it will last with a sharpie, but I use a yard stick that has been notched and it works great for any keg I have as a measuring tool.
 
WortMonger said:
Mark your brew spoon in half gallon increments as you fill it up. I'm not sure how long it will last with a sharpie, but I use a yard stick that has been notched and it works great for any keg I have as a measuring tool.
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That's what I did...I tired scratching the inside of mine, but gave up. Doing my spoon was much easier.
 
Yep, in the brewery I learned this technique, lol. We had a wooden curtain rod notched with gallon setting that worked great in that huge kettle. I just had to transfer that to my home brewery. I even use it when cleaning kegs, just dip and check in that tiny Sanke hole, lol.
 
How much does temperature affect water volume? Has anyone calibrated their notched measuring stick for different temperatures? I made mine when ground water was 80 degrees. It's a little cooler than that in the winter (maybe 70 degrees). But I measure the post-mash pre-boil runnings to calculate mash efficiency, and that is a much higher temperature than my baseline measurement temperature of 80 degrees. How much off would a volume measurement at 150 degrees be compared to 80?
 
billtzk said:
How much does temperature affect water volume? Has anyone calibrated their notched measuring stick for different temperatures? I made mine when ground water was 80 degrees. It's a little cooler than that in the winter (maybe 70 degrees). But I measure the post-mash pre-boil runnings to calculate mash efficiency, and that is a much higher temperature than my baseline measurement temperature of 80 degrees. How much off would a volume measurement at 150 degrees be compared to 80?
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That's just a wee bit too anal for me to be concerned about...:D

I'm only really using it to guestimate the volume of wort in the kettle after I've drained my mashtun and sparged, to see if I need anymore...and to see just how much loss I have post boil....

For anything that requires any measure of accuracy I use measuring cups.
 
The graph on this page shows approximately 4% difference between room temperature water volume and boiling water volume. So, for a 6.5 gallon boil, the volume difference is ~1 qt. To me, that's pretty negligible, but it could be significant for a more anal brewer.
 
Hmmmmm. Now I guess I'll have to work up a temperature-volume sliderule dipstick for accurate measurements at various temps. :D

Seriously, I think a quart at 6.5 gallons and approaching half a gallon for a 12 gallon batch is significant enough to make it worthwhile to at least calibrate a stick at two temps... average groundwater temperature and mash runnings temp. Or at least correct for the difference on paper.
 
I used a dremel to mark the 7 gallon level and the 5.5 gallon level. Make sure you have your immersion chiller in place when you mark your finished level.
 
Wooden square dowel rod "etched" with a wood burner for me. It's as exact as I need to be.
 
billtzk said:
Seriously, I think a quart at 6.5 gallons and approaching half a gallon for a 12 gallon batch is significant enough to make it worthwhile to at least calibrate a stick at two temps...
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Seriously, I think that's over the top...and I'm usually the one that goes over the top.

To put it in different terms, it's going to make a difference of less than 0.002 in SG. I don't know about you, but I don't worry about SG issues less than about 0.004.

You certainly COULD calibrate two sticks, but I'm pretty convinced this is a case where RDWHAHB applies.
 
Revvy said:
Yeah, you know something is over the top, when Yuri, HBT's very own Mcgyver, isn't offering to draw up blueprints and throw together a prototype or two made with popsicle sticks and chewing gum. :D
Click to expand...

Revvy beat me to it. :D
 
I took my pot and made 1 gal markings with a sharpie. Then I used a hammer and a nail driver (i.e. a punch tool) to make a dimple at every 1gal mark. Easily seen from inside and out and won't scrub off.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
Seriously, I think that's over the top...and I'm usually the one that goes over the top.

To put it in different terms, it's going to make a difference of less than 0.002 in SG. I don't know about you, but I don't worry about SG issues less than about 0.004.

You certainly COULD calibrate two sticks, but I'm pretty convinced this is a case where RDWHAHB applies.
Click to expand...

Let's say you collected 12.5 gallons of wort as measured by your stick that was calibrated at groundwater temperature. Really it is only 12 gallons, but you think it is more because of the thermal expansion of the wort. You measure the post-mash SG at 1.043 properly adjusted for temperature.

43 * 12.5 = 537.5 GU
43 * 12 = 516 GU

A difference of 21.5 GU

Let's say the potential extract at 100% efficiency for your particular grain bill was 750 GU.

537.5 / 750 = .7166 or 71.7% efficiency
516 / 750 = .688 or 69% efficiency

So you think your mash efficiency is almost three percent higher than it really is. I guess it doesn't matter if you like the beer anyway, but chances are you won't end up with the beer you intended to brew. Accurate efficiency measurements help you determine the grain bill adjustments you need to hit your target SG.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
The graph on this page shows approximately 4% difference between room temperature water volume and boiling water volume. So, for a 6.5 gallon boil, the volume difference is ~1 qt. To me, that's pretty negligible, but it could be significant for a more anal brewer.
Click to expand...

I got lost after the third big word, I'm glad they drew it in crayon for me.:D
 
How's that plastic holding up under a boil? Do you cook outside on a gas burner?
 
pldoolittle said:
How's that plastic holding up under a boil? Do you cook outside on a gas burner?
Click to expand...


The plastic tube and the two fitting that are hooked to it are high temp.... good to 250 F. and unbreakable too. Got it at US Plastics real cheap just had to get 8 ft. And yes I cook outdoors on a gas burner.....
 
Thanks for the great ideas, putting markings on a spoon or yard stick is genius, not to mention quick and cheap.

Maybe in the future I'll try engraving.
 
TheH2 said:
Thanks for the great ideas, putting markings on a spoon or yard stick is genius, not to mention quick and cheap.

Maybe in the future I'll try engraving.
Click to expand...

If you want to get fancy with this, you could get a piece of Stainless Steel and put your markings on that. I'm thinking of getting a piece of square stainless and putting different markings on each side. One side for brew pot, one for carboy, etc...
 
billtzk said:
Let's say you collected 12.5 gallons of wort as measured by your stick that was calibrated at groundwater temperature. Really it is only 12 gallons, but you think it is more because of the thermal expansion of the wort. You measure the post-mash SG at 1.043 properly adjusted for temperature.

43 * 12.5 = 537.5 GU
43 * 12 = 516 GU

A difference of 21.5 GU

Let's say the potential extract at 100% efficiency for your particular grain bill was 750 GU.

537.5 / 750 = .7166 or 71.7% efficiency
516 / 750 = .688 or 69% efficiency

So you think your mash efficiency is almost three percent higher than it really is. I guess it doesn't matter if you like the beer anyway, but chances are you won't end up with the beer you intended to brew. Accurate efficiency measurements help you determine the grain bill adjustments you need to hit your target SG.
Click to expand...

So..... does wort have the same expansion characteristics as water? does expansion change with the gravity of the solution? How about tidal effects, be sure to calibrate your stick for the position of the moon. Down this path lies madness :drunk:

If your SG is a little off make up with a little DME or water as appropriate and be done with it.
 
MrFebtober said:
I scratched gallon marks on the SS dip tube (spear?) that came out of the keg that I keggle-ized. Works great.
Click to expand...

I thought the proper term was "keggle-ated" rather than "keggle-ized". Interesting. Or could it be keggle-fied? Keggle-terized? :D
 

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