Biab water amount

[Dmmflys]

Im sure this question has been answered in a round bout way before but I dont have the time to seach a bunch of forums so forgive me.
Im going to do a 6 gal biab batch of a Flimish Red. I have 13.5 lbs grain bill so with my calculations i figured im going to need 7.5 gal of strike water. My pot is 9 gal so im guessing there isn't enough room for the water and the grain ... right? (Anyone have a calculator for this?)

If I'm right on having too small a kettle anyone have any ideas on how i can make this work? I suppose i could use a bit less water but im guessing that would hurt my efficiency?
I would of considered making a smaller batch but i already have the grains milled and mixed in a bag.

 

[bobeer]

yea.. that'll be a tight fit. Water volumes really just depend on the boil off rate of your equipment. I used to sparge in these kind of situations when I biab'ed. I'd mash in the typical lb's of grain x 1.25 qts then sparge up to boil volume. If you have a rig that can hold the bag for you then it wont be has hard to sparge through the bag. I used to do 4 gallon biab's and hold the bag while sparging- which was a total pia but it worked.

Good luck.

 

[dkevinb]

Here is a good BIAB calculator:

http://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/

A lot depends on your boil-off rate, grain absorption, etc., but it looks like you'd be right up to the lip of your kettle during mash.

I have a similar problem with my kettle and BIAB. I calculate how much water I can mash in with my grain bill that puts me an inch or so below the top of the kettle when it's at mash temperature (water expands a little when it's heated). I then reserve some water to sparge by pouring it slowly through the bag after I've taken it out and put it into another container with a false bottom. Then I squeeze the bejeesus out of the bag and add the drippings back to the boil kettle.

 

[m00ps]

Why not just add a bit more water during the boil? Just know approximately where the 6gal line is on your kettle and adjust accordingly during the boil. That's what I do for all my BIABs with a large grain bill

 

[JohnSand]

Similarly, with limited pot size, I sparge. But I dunk sparge. The grain bag comes out of the mash, is held over the pot until my arms get tired, then put into another pot with the remaining heated water. Let it sit and absorb water while heating the wort toward boiling. If you worry about boilovers, let the wort boil past hot break. Stir your grains, drain, squeeze in a colander with a plate, pour all of the runnings into the boil. You will get another hot break, then start your timer and add your hops. This is simpler to do than to write down.

 

[Dmmflys]

Thx guys. Im going try the calculator and get as much water as i can in the pot with the grains then spare with the remaining water needed.
What's more efficient dunk sparge or pouring through/over the grain bag?