Keeping track of water amounts...

[DarkUncle]

Hi all,

I'm an all grain brewer about to begin brewing with 2 converted kegs and my igloo mash tun. I find one of the most challenging aspects is keeping track of the water amounts used during the mash step. For instance, I use Beersmith and typically it will instruct to mash in at a given amount such as 5.4 gallons and then sparge in two steps with 1.2 gallons and then with 4.7 gallons. Something like that just as an example. Well, I just bought a pump recently to pump the water directly into the tun from one of my keggles to be used as a hot lauter tank. But how do I know when I'm at these target amounts? Do most people simply guesstimate or do you somehow do this accurately? If so, how?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[brewkinger]

Install a sight glass on the outside of the keggle

 

[Channel66]

Hi all,

I'm an all grain brewer about to begin brewing with 2 converted kegs and my igloo mash tun. I find one of the most challenging aspects is keeping track of the water amounts used during the mash step. For instance, I use Beersmith and typically it will instruct to mash in at a given amount such as 5.4 gallons and then sparge in two steps with 1.2 gallons and then with 4.7 gallons. Something like that just as an example. Well, I just bought a pump recently to pump the water directly into the tun from one of my keggles to be used as a hot lauter tank. But how do I know when I'm at these target amounts? Do most people simply guesstimate or do you somehow do this accurately? If so, how?

Thanks,
Chris

Make a measuring stick, Mark off increments of .5 gallon. On a wooden dowell or something similar.

 

[DarkUncle]

I have a sight glass and I can make a stick easy enough but when the mash calls for gallons in decimals like .2 or .7 it is somewhat of a more or less type of thing then, right?

 

[brewkinger]

Simple answer is yes. But with a sightglass and/or stick method, it becomes even simpler. I have gallon (0) and half gallon (.5)graduations on my sightglass and on my stick. Halfway between those is .75 and I use that for .6-.8 measurements; same applies to .25 and I round .9 and .1 up/down to nearest gallon.
So yes it is still "eyeballing" it, but it can still be done with use of basic equipment.

 

[Channel66]

I have a sight glass and I can make a stick easy enough but when the mash calls for gallons in decimals like .2 or .7 it is somewhat of a more or less type of thing then, right?

Well depends on how thorough you are. You could measure off by quart or less if you want to be accurate. I think we all have our own way of doing it on our specific systems.