Marking water levels in my brew pots

[boomtown25]

I have two brew pots that are both 7.5 gallons. One is stainless steel and one is aluminum (taller and skinnier). I have started doing BIAB partial mashes and moving into AG BIAB. Considering I lose a lot of water in the mash, I would like to be able to mark different water levels in my pots so I can know where I am at pre and post boil. Does anyone have a good idea of how to do this? I assume I can always find some way to scratch it in there, but I would rather be a bit nicer than that. Or should I simply mark my stir sitck at different levels?

 

[organ]

I'd just carve some notches into a wooden dowel.

 

[jmhart]

I'd just carve some notches into a wooden dowel.

Came here to post the same.

 

[acefaser]

x2. Wood dowel and a permanent marker. I use one stick for 2 tanks by using different colors on each side and it works great.

 

[3 Dog Brew]

I'd just carve some notches into a wooden dowel.

+1

I used a square dowel from Home Depot/Lowes and used a 1 gallon measuring pitcher to fill both my keggles one gallon at a time. After each gallon settled, I made a notch using a file at the fill line. After I had notched to 15 gallons, I let the dowel dry overnight. I used a Sharpie to write numbers and fill in each notch, then coated the whole thing in cutting board/butcher block oil. A couple days later and good to go. I have a sight glass on my HLT and it is less useful than my "dip stick". :cross:

 

[boomtown25]

I guess I will be making my third trip to Lowes this week! Thanks for the suggestions, and Q to 3 Dog: Do you have to worry about the oil leaching into your brew water? Any other good sealing suggestions after marking the dowel?

 

[IrishBrewer74]

Nano brewery friend of mine uses a pice of PVC pipe. Since it's plastic, it is easier to clean and sanitize. He just marked it with a sharpe or other permanent marker.

 

[organ]

I guess I will be making my third trip to Lowes this week! Thanks for the suggestions, and Q to 3 Dog: Do you have to worry about the oil leaching into your brew water? Any other good sealing suggestions after marking the dowel?

Boiled linseed oil should work. It's water resistant and is manufactured from flax seeds iirc.. so it should be safe. Research yourself, though.

 

[wolfman_48442]

I just use a tape measure to measure the liquid level and compute from there.
pi * r2 * h (from the tape measure) /231 = gallons
This is in inches, btw...

 

[Tinga]

I've made a dipstick out of a ridgid piece of copper tubing and some stainless steel hose clamps. Top hose clamp is 6.5 gallons and bottom one if 5.5 gallons. These are basically the only two pot measurements I need. When I start to warm strike water I put the water in gallon by gallon using an old gallon milk jug or something similar.

 

[3 Dog Brew]

I guess I will be making my third trip to Lowes this week! Thanks for the suggestions, and Q to 3 Dog: Do you have to worry about the oil leaching into your brew water? Any other good sealing suggestions after marking the dowel?

I don't leave it in there, just dip it, take a reading and back out. As long as you wipe it down afterwards any oil that might come off will be trace amounts. I haven't seen any reduction in head retention or fermentation. I let it soak in for a week before I used it.

 

[jroot]

This was an easy one for me.... went to a stationary store and got a stainless steel 15" ruler. Then I used a spreadsheet program to calculate the volume of my kettle based on the height of the the wort as measured at the center and printed out the results for every 1/8" . Its easy to keep clean and already graduated and quick to use by referring to the chart.

 

[smyrnaquince]

this was an easy one for me.... Went to a stationary store and got a stainless steel 15" ruler. Then i used a spreadsheet program to calculate the volume of my kettle based on the height of the the wort as measured at the center and printed out the results for every 1/8" . Its easy to keep clean and already graduated and quick to use by referring to the chart.

+1

 

[bniesen]

^ bloody brilliant. I building a sight tube using some left over silicone tubing. I have an older kettle that I etched the volumes onto the inside wall.

 

[weirdboy]

I use the back of a yardstick/meter stick. Makes it easy to mark since I can just calculate how many centimeters per gallon.

 

[bniesen]

when I brew with my keggle I used a SS stir spoon with gallon and 1/2 gallon levels etched. The spoon had a bent handle that could sit on the top of the keg and when it rest inside the keg I could take a reading. The only problem was the steam, hence the reason for a sight tube.

 

[BrewForMe]

i use a piece of 1/2" cpvc with notches cut in it every half gallon. I can clean and sanitize this very well so I can use it post boil if I need to.

 

[EdWort]

I got an iPhone app for that. I tap the app, drop the iPhone in the kettle, reach in to pick it up and then measure the scald mark on my arm.

Seriously, I have used the dowel before I got a kettle with a site glass.