Marking your brewpot for volume! How do you do it?

[shek]

Is there really a difference?

Chemistry is just physics simplified with a LOT of assumptions

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I just marked my measuring stick today. I originally marked a super heavy duty stainless grilling spatula but found it to be very inaccurate from the cooking liquid measuring cup I used to find volumes. I now have a volumetric flask that is accurate to within 0.6ml so I thought that would do better.

Anyways I marked both a wooden down rod and old racking cane every half gallon. My efficiency calculation will be on the spot now.

 

[bmckee56]

Lots of ideas and opinions submitted here and I appreciate them all. I think I am going to go the route of heating my water and marking the levels on a stainless rod. I can then remove water in measured increments and mark the lower volumes accurately. I have graduated beakers and jugs as well as a digital scale.

I know I am just HBing, but I am anal about what I do when I make my wine and beer, so I want it to be as close to perfect as my inexperienced self can get it.

Thanks to all for the input.

Salute!

 

[nebben]

Umm, so like, I had a piece of scrap aluminum in my trash pile. I didn't take great care to ensure a completely level pot...no...but it doesn't matter since when I measure the wort, it'll be close to level but not exact anyway. I measured 2Quarts at a time with a pitcher, while cold.

The measurements I get are far more accurate than eye-balling, and this is what I'm shooting for.

Did I mention it was free?

 

[bad coffee]

Is there really a difference?

from xkcd - A Webcomic - Oregon

B

 

[bmckee56]

Picked up a SS rod at work and then filed marks into it a given volumes of liquid. I did this with cold volumes and I know there is expansion due to higher temperatures, but my main concern is final volume into the primary.

Someday I will install a sight glass, a ball valve and a thermometer in my brew pot, but I am satisfied with what I have for now.

Thanks for all the response to this post.

Salute!

 

[Catt22]

I calculated a volume constant factor for each of my two kettles. I then use an aluminum yardstick or sometimes just a tape to measure the depth. It's quick and easy to do the conversion with a pocket calculator. I know the volume below the false bottom, so I just measure down to it and add or subtract that volume depending on which way I'm going. ie, filling or draining.

 

[JerD]

I found an aluminum yardstick at Ace for a buck. Just used it with new kettle actually. I measured room temp water with 2qt measuring cup and kept adding it to the kettle. Every 1/2 gallon I wrote down how deep the water was. I started at 3 gallons and went up to 7. As it turns out, each 1/2 gallon is 3/4". I just finished an hour water boil to get my evap rate and will check volume again when it cools. Funny thing though, v=Pi x (rxr) x H didn't exactly match up with my more pedestrian method. I'm sticking with the pedestrian method

 

[bluegrassbrewer]

I just cut lines into my plastic stir spoon with a sharp knife.

I did the same thing. I have a mark every 1/2 gallon from 1 to 8 gallons.

 

[Catt22]

I found an aluminum yardstick at Ace for a buck. Just used it with new kettle actually. I measured room temp water with 2qt measuring cup and kept adding it to the kettle. Every 1/2 gallon I wrote down how deep the water was. I started at 3 gallons and went up to 7. As it turns out, each 1/2 gallon is 3/4". I just finished an hour water boil to get my evap rate and will check volume again when it cools. Funny thing though, v=Pi x (rxr) x H didn't exactly match up with my more pedestrian method. I'm sticking with the pedestrian method

There is nothing inferior about your pedestrian method to determine a volume factor. Usually any discrepancy with the mathematical calculation is due to either imprecise measurement of the kettle inside diameter or due to the non-uniform sides of the kettle. ie, kettles will usually have a radius where the bottom meets the sides or as with converted kegs, the bottom is usually concave and there are ribs in the walls. I first measured and calculated a factor then checked it against actually filling the kettles with measured volumes as you have done. It turned out the difference was quite small. I measure the keggle from the top of the false bottom and I know the volume to that level is very close to 1/2 gallon. That makes it simple to calculate. My keggle factor is 0.8 gallons per inch and my 10 gallon kettle is 0.66 gallons per inch with one gallon below the false bottom. There is also a seam half way up on the keggle which is the 7.5 gallon level. That's handy for just eyeballing the volume for a quick approximate estimate. A 4% shrink factor for hot vs cool wort works well, though I seldom bother figuring it in. I like to brew a slightly larger batch size to account for hop absorption etc and I'm happy if I actually get between 5 and 6 gallons into the fermenters. Usually it winds up at 5.5. I like that as there will be inevitable racking losses and I want to get a full 5 gallons into the keg. If there's any surplus, I put it in a two liter PET bottle. What I don't like is coming up short when filling a keg, but I make certain that doesn't happen anymore. This is also why I brew either 6 or 12 gallon batches. The losses will almost alway be more than you think. I learned that very early on.

 

[SourHopHead]

I took a piece of copper pipe and some sharkbite fittings. Marked each gallon from 3 to 13 and it took 3 brews to dial in for a 60ish minute boil and 5gal in my fermenter.

 

[wildwest450]

Why take the extra step of another piece of equipment? Just mark your brewpot, it's simple and effective.

 

[jbaysurfer]

sorry to resurrect a long dead thread, but I'm shocked the obvious question about wildwest's marking method hasn't been asked!

What did you use to mark it..and does it wear off in time? Does it wear off in your wort, or mostly just from washing w/ PBW/oxy?

I really like the simplest ideas, but I am a little leary of ending up with sharpie in my wort.

 

[sharpstick]

What did you use to mark it..and does it wear off in time? Does it wear off in your wort, or mostly just from washing w/ PBW/oxy?

first off, i weighed weigh a half gallon of water at a time, added it in, carefully find each point on the outside wall, mark with sharpie. then put the pot over a wooden "anvil", a log or something, and use a whittled down blunt piece of hardwood as a punch and mark a dimple in the metal that shows up inside and outside. You could do this from the inside or outside, just be careful it just barely dents the metal and doesn't poke through. It will be hard to see, but will never wear off.
Personally, I don't have a problem with also marking the inside. I'm not afraid of sharpie poisoning.
be careful that the pot is perfectly level when calibrating and marking. Maybe mark both sides (or 4?) so you can be sure it is level when using it.