3 Vessel 16 Gallon Configuration

[Steven Sinclair]

So, I inherited, then modified this system. It came to me with three 16 gallon vessels, each with two ports near the bottom; the higher of the two for a physical analog thermometer and the lower for a ball valve.

I added 240v 5500w ripple elements via 1-1/2" tri-clamp bulkheads, HERMS coils via 1/2" tri-clamp bulkheads, and whirlpool fittings via 1/2" tri-clamp bulkheads to both the BK and HLT. I swapped out the analog thermometers for thermowells and digital temperature sensors on the BK and MLT, placed at the valves and capped the thermometer port on the MLT. I also added an additional 1/2" tri-clamp bulkhead at the top of the MLT for recirculation and sparging as well as pickup tubes on all three kettles.

I know I'll be able to get 10 gallon batches out of this system, but how can I calculate the maximum gravity I could achieve figuring the 3" dead space in the MLT?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers!

 

[Rob2010SS]

I don't think you can calculate the maximum gravity that this system could achieve. I could be, and most likely am, wrong. Gravity is going to vary by batch. You can brew as high a gravity as you want. The variable will be your ending volume. So I don't think there's a maximum gravity calculation...

You can, however, figure out how much grain you can stuff in that mash tun. Using this calculator, for a 16G mash tun at 1.35qt/lb of grain, you can fit 38.5 lbs of grain in there.

But again, you can adjust that variable by how thick you want your mash. You could drop the mash thickness to 1.25qt/lb of grain and stuff in 41lbs of grain in.

I could very well be wrong but that's just my 2 cents.

**EDIT** - Unless, if you wanted to hold the 10 gallon batch constant, then I suppose someone can figure out a max gravity there. That's beyond my brain though.

 

[Steven Sinclair]

Thanks for the link to the calculators, Rob!

Cheers!