I generally start with about 7gallons of water to end up with a full cornie at the end of fermentation, what with trub loss, grain absorption, etc. So it's not been a big problem for me.
The smallest batch that I have tried was 3 gallons finished volume which gives me an inch or so of water above the heating element. 5 Gallons has been the norm.
The smallest batch that I have tried was 3 gallons finished volume which gives me an inch or so of water above the heating element. 5 Gallons has been the norm.
Yup, but I don't fire my element during the mash. I didn't have very good temperature control that way and I only lose about 2-3 degrees during an hour mash. My first batch had really high efficiency (10% higher than the norm for my last smaller kettle), but since then have been suffering. I'm beginning to think that the crush that I am getting at my LHBS isn't ideal so I'm going to start using the corona mill that I bought a year back and haven't getting to yet. We'll see if that makes any difference.
