Why do most people say you need minimum 15 gallon kettle for biab ?
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IMO a 10 gallon kettle is a perfect size for 5 gallon BIAB batches. For a very large grain bill, a simple sparge can compensate for any lack of mash volume.
Also, a larger pot than actually needed will lose more heat during the mash rest due to greater headroom and surface area.
If you have any doubts please check out my http://biabcalculator.com tool. I wrote a total mash volume value in there that takes the volume of grain and water into account so you know the minimum volume of the kettle needed for your recipe and brewing parameters.
I like this calculator! Seems to give you all the information needed in a simple format! I also find it interesting and useful that this calculator can be used for a sparge step if needed. Simply calculate your planned batch, and if the warning is given regarding insufficient kettle size, just simply reduce batch size by the amount you want to sparge, and the calculator will compute strike temps given your lower strike volume.
Because they haven't learned good heat control and have issues with boilovers and boil off rate so they have to start with extra wort to avoid boiling off too much and with that much extra wort they need lots of space to avoid boiling over when hot break occurs. I do a 5 gallon batch in a 7.5 gallon pot and haven't boiled over yet nor have I ended up with less wort than I intend.:cross:
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