Minimum sight glass reading?

[BadWolfOregon]

I installed and took a gander at calibrating my polycarbonate sight glass from brewhardware.com. It's easy and looks great, I recommend it!

Anyway, I have it installed with a T in conjunction with my thermometer, off to the side of my valve. When adding water to calibrate, I got no reading on the glass until the 4 gallon point. I have a shorter, wider keg, which means I get a shallower rise per gallon.

How problematic is this for use as an HLT? I will be doing 10 gallon batches, but I may still do the occasional 5. I have a feeling that for a 5 gallon batch mash this will render the sight glass all but useless and I will have to rely on old fashioned methods. Not so sure about how it effects a 10 gallon batch.

 

[dmcman73]

For 5 gallon batches, just fill the HLT with 4-5 gallons more with water then you normally fill with. You'll only use what you need and you'll leave the rest behind. I usually prep about 10 gallons of sparge water, use what I need for 5 gallons and then use the rest for cleaning.

 

[BadWolfOregon]

Sounds good. Hell, I may even etch the first 4 gallons inside the kettle for my own edification. I'm ready to get this new system rolling!