Measuring Water Volumes

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triangulum33

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For those of you without sight glasses, how do you measure your strike/sparge water volumes?
I use a cheap graduated 5 gal paint bucket from HD, but wondering if there is a better way.
 
I use a 2 quart measuring cup and measure out my strike and sparge water. Your strike water isnt going to evaporate very much and I usually add about an extra pint to the sparge water to account for evaporation and a little bit of grain absorption. I have found my volumes to be spot on doing it this way.
 
I used a two quart pitcher to measure water into the pot I use to heat the strike water and sparge water. I made a mark at each gallon on a long plastic paddle. I just stand the paddle up in the pot and fill up to the correct mark. (or guestimate if it's in between marks. 3.5gals, etc...)
 
I use a 1 gal. water jug with .5 gal marked. Also use a 1 qt. pitcher and also use it for lautering.
 
I start drawing off my wort then after a gallon or so I begin adding water to the now exposed grain bed. I add it very slowly a couple of quarts at a time. I use a graduated pitcher and continue this method with some moderate stirring until I get my desired preboil volume. Essentially I never measure.
When I start getting close to preboil volume I stop adding and drain the mashtun. I always hit my efficiency numbers.

Not really a mashout but the collected wort in going directly to the boil kettle
 
I use a fermenting bucket. I don't think it matters at all what you measure in, just as long as you measure the same way every time.
 
I use bottled water, and I tare the bottles on a kitchen scale before adding to mash tun. There's usually about an extra half pint in each bottle. After mashing and also after boiling, I weigh the mash tun or boiler pot on a bathroom scale to get a decent estimate of the volume (+/- 0.5 lbs).
 
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