Marking my plastic mash paddle

[mgr_stl]

I brew partial mash and extract, and would like to be able to have a better idea how much "stuff" is in my brew kettle when I'm boiling the wort.

I'm somewhat reluctant to mark the paddle with a Sharpie since it's going to be in contact with boiling wort. I'm also somewhat reluctant to carve into it since I'd rather not create any additional places for bacteria to hide (I also use the paddle to circulate the wort during the cooling process).

I've also thought of just getting a wooden rod to use as my volume measuring stick.

What do you guys do for this purpose?

 

[WI_Wino]

I did both to my plastic spoon. Sharpie is non toxic and there is so little of it. As far as notching, I stir the boiling wort with the spoon so I think any nasties would be killed off by the heat/steam

 

[unionrdr]

I have an alternate method. I use a 1 gallon SunnyD jug marked off in quarts to measure the water with. Works great for pb/pm biab too.

 

[mgr_stl]

Union, one reason I want to do this is so I know if I'll need top off water for the fermenter, so I want to be able to "measure" it during the boil. But I also know this won't be the absolute answer due to loss once I filter out all the break material and hops.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[cjgenever]

I scored my wooden paddle and worked permanent market into the cut. The boil sanitises the paddle. Sight glasses work better though.

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[unionrdr]

All my fermenters are marked off in gallons. And I do pb/pm biab anyway,so I'm always topping of to recipe volume in the fermenter pouring the wort through a dual layer,fine mesh strainer. The graduations tell me when to stop topping off to get the right amount per recipe. That's the easiest way,imo.

 

[Oberon]

I bought this ruler from Home Depot for $8.49. It is really easy to clean and sanitize and it is dead accurate. I put together a spreadsheet with volume for hot and cool liquid every 5mm.

The formula for volume in a cylinder is pi*r*r*h. Boiling water has 4% more volume than cool water so divide volume by 1.04 to get the cooled volume of hot water.

I screwed around with sharpie and soldering iron marks on paddles for a long time before I bought the ruler. The ruler is a superior system. I'd go as far as saying the ruler is superior to a sight glass because it is easier to clean and can be used on multiple containers.