2nd batch is in the fermenter - Thanks for all the help!

Well today was my 2nd batch with a real brewing set up (no offense intended Mr. B). I brewed an Extra Pale Ale, did a full boil on the new burner and everything went pretty well. Part of the reason for that is all the help from this forum so a big THANKS to everyone for answering all my questions (some in the heat of battle)

This batch went smoother than the last but there is still plenty of room for improvement. Boiling 5 gallons in a 26qt. pot went really well, I kept my eye on things and never had a boil over (a little spritzing with a spray bottle was required). One mistake I made was trusting the turkey fryer thermometer I got with that kit. It was off by about 20° and I had the steeping temp for my specialty grains way to high. Hopefully that won't be an issue (I sampled from my hydro tube and it tasted very malty with some hoppiness). I also rehydrated my yeast this time and hopefully I'll get better performance out it (only got to about 1.018 on the last batch)

So after this brew I do have a few new questions. First one has to do with what I noticed when I was cleaning up - there was a bit of scorched wort in the center of the bottom of my brew pot. I thought I did a good job of regulating the temperature so how do I avoid the scorching (or does it matter)?

2nd question, I had a 6 pound jug of LME that I added to the boil. I held that thing over the pot for an eternity (it seemed that way to me) and then set it aside to attend to stirring and watching. After sitting there for a couple hours, the remnants all settled into the bottom of the jug and I'd say there was a couple ounces there. Do you guys get your LME drained out better? How?

Last question, I rehydrated my yeast and it created a good "slurry in a 1 cup pyrex container. I poured it into my carboy but like all viscous liquids, there was some left on the pyrex. Is that last little bit important? Should I add some more yeast at some point?

That's all, except to say that because all of the folks on the forum are so helpful, I have become a paying member. Thanks everyone!

For the LME, two things that can help. One, let the jug sit in a hot water bath for a while before adding it. It will thin it out and make it easier to get more out. Another thing you can do is dip the jug into the boiling or nearly boiling water in your pot after dumping the bulk of the LME out and swirl that hot water around inside the jug. This will help loosen up most of the remaining extract in the jug.

And no, don't worry about a little extra yeast stuck to the glass when pouring it in. There is more than enough yeast in a dry packet and that little bit left behind won't be a problem.

Well fermentation started some time last night and my blow off tube is bubbling about 1 blurp every second. Being only my second batch I don't have a lot to compare to but my first batch had about a 3"-4" krauesan and this batch had probably less than 1/2".

Does that matter? Should I add more yeast? Maybe I should just RDWHAHB

No two fermentations are the same, so as long as it's doing something you should be fine. I've had some beers nearly blow the lid off my bucket while others hardly do more than make a small krauesan, but the end results are perfect.

Yeah, don't worry about it, the yeasties know what to do (and frequently, by appearance, do it differently in different batches). Sounds like you've got a fine batch of beer in progress there.