Is Anyone using a bubbler to measure volume in your mash tun?

[Kmo4040]

Is Anyone using a bubbler to measure volume in your mash tun? I am in the process of designing my new herms system with a brewtroller and was going to install fittings for the hlt and boil kettle for volume measurement, but I did not know if the the grain weight in the mash tun would allow the bubbler to work properly. So has anyone tried this?

Thanks

 

[doug293cz]

A bigger issue might be that the SG of the liquid in the MLT will be increasing during operation, so calibration will be continuously changing. If you just want to measure initial volume, then probably not an issue.

Brew on

 

[BrunDog]

No need for a bubbler if you use a hydrostatic pressure sensor and are willing to put a hole in your kettle. Look on my build thread a few posts back from the end how I did it with an air pressure sensor.

Doug is correct on the calibration changes, but these are minor and measuring volume post mash doesn't have much utility.

 

[Kmo4040]

I'm not too worried about the slight difference the specific gravity would make, I kinda figured as much. And the hydro-static pressure sensor is genius, I would like a little bit more portability and I have the brewtroller where the bubbler has already have code for it. Has anyone tried the bubbler method in the mash tun?

 

[BrunDog]

Some have, dunno off-hand. Tends to be the Brewtroller crowd. I am working toward reducing oxygen so didn't think aerating my wort was something I wanted to do.

BTW my kettle is integrated via a side mount. I put a hole as low as possible in the kettle and soldered a coupling on there. I like this arrangement better as it doesn't require the flushing through the bottom for cleaning.

 

[Kmo4040]

BTW my kettle is integrated via a side mount. I put a hole as low as possible in the kettle and soldered a coupling on there. I like this arrangement better as it doesn't require the flushing through the bottom for cleaning.

Do you have any pictures of this, I would be very interested in this setup? Sounds like a much better approach. I'm somewhat unclear on how to keep the air pocket. I'm hoping I can install a tee where my temp probe will be and not add another hole.

 

[BrunDog]

That's a good idea. You can do that as long as you don't pump fluid in or out of that port as that would change the pressure. Obviously your probe needs be long enough to accommodate the tee and reach into the kettle.

Also keep in mind that a side port will not measure below the level of that port - the bottom port measures from zero. It actually measures the fluid column below the kettle but you need to offset that out in logic. For the side port, you will need to assume and add the volume below the port and start counting from there. Usually this is not an issue as long as the volume you care about is always above the port.

Picking the right sensor to get the resolution you want is also critical. I would use a direct mount sensor if it wasn't measuring to 1 psi, which would be a column ~25 inches above the port IIRC.

 

[Kmo4040]

Any suggestions on a sensor? My setup is a 15 gallon pot 19.4" tall with the port installed ~1" from the bottom. And since the brewtroller is basically an arduino I should be able to configure this to work with it.

 

[BrunDog]

The one I am using will work. I need to look it up but it is a Panasonic I ordered from Digikey. 0.5V - 4.5V analog output.

 

[Kmo4040]

The one I am using will work. I need to look it up but it is a Panasonic I ordered from Digikey. 0.5V - 4.5V analog output.

They have a ton of them, you wouldn't have a model number or a thread where you explained them? Thanks

 

[TexasWine]

Doug is correct on the calibration changes, but these are minor and measuring volume post mash doesn't have much utility.

I hope one of you fine folks can help me understand how minor these changes in specific gravity or density are. Let's say I start and calibrate with water at a specific gravity of 1.000. Then, during the mash I create wort with a specific gravity of 1.070.

Continuing the example, let's assume I was expecting a post mash/pre boil volume of 7 gallons. This volume is something I like to keep track of so I record my absorption rate. But, with a higher specific gravity of 1.070, my measuring device will be off by 7%, meaning my volume will read 7 gallons x 1.070 = ~7.5 gallons.

That's 0.5 gallons difference, which is nothing to scoff at.

I've had this happen with my sight glass where wort if in the kettle at a higher density, but water is in the sight glass at a lower density. Threw my volume reading off just like the example. I blew into the top of the sight glass a few times to get wort into it, and everything was right with the world.

Y'all chime in if I'm missing something obvious. Maybe it's just that 0.5 gallons isn't minor to me?

 

[BrunDog]

Well, there is no such thing as a free lunch. If you use this type of measurement system, you will need to account for the mash liquid density.

As I mentioned I am only really concerned with the strike volume so it's not a deal breaker to me. But you could use the recipe as a guideline to tune up the calculation for volume vs pressure. A 1.07 mash is a pretty big beer - probably results in a post boil near 1.090+.

 

[doug293cz]

Well, there is no such thing as a free lunch. If you use this type of measurement system, you will need to account for the mash liquid density.

As I mentioned I am only really concerned with the strike volume so it's not a deal breaker to me. But you could use the recipe as a guideline to tune up the calculation for volume vs pressure. A 1.07 mash is a pretty big beer - probably results in a post boil near 1.090+.

Not really. A mash at 1.25 qt/lb will have a wort SG of about 1.095 (if you get 100% conversion). http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Understanding_Efficiency#Measuring_conversion_efficiency For full volume mashing, then yeah, 1.070 would be a big beer.

Brew on

 

[BrunDog]

Good point.