Help me upgrade my system - questions

[bpgreen]

Thanks again for all the input guys. I pulled the trigger this morning on the 7G cooler with upgraded S/S ball valve and barbs. I should have it next weekend (or a bit later since I chose the cheap shipping) and Ill let my wife wrap it for me for my Feb birthday. I'll play with it a bit before then though so I can swap out the brass for S/S and to measure the dead space under the false bottom so I can set up my BeerSmith profile accordingly.

I appreciate all the discussion and pointers mentioned, too. I expect a learning curve as I move away from BIAB to a mash tun and sparge but I'm looking forward to learning a few new things.

Do you have a mash paddle? If not I sell them in various configurations. Solid maple for $25 shipped.

I've got a mash spoon (large, not just a normal spoon, mind you) that I've been using.
But, send me a pic if you have one. Not sure I need one but if I decide I do I'm happy to support another Borg member.

I've got one of his mash paddles. I think he gave it to me in trade for some rhizomes, but I forget.

I can vouch for the quality.

[Whamolagan]

This is the one I would suggest if you are using a false bottom, it gets down to the bottom and the edges. works great without having to stir too much. I am getting ready to start another run of mash paddles after I finish the whamolas that are going out this week. I have one of these in stock though.

[rickbray66]

I know this is a bit late. Just got around to reading it, but was excited for you Ron while catching up with this. I'm anxious to hear how your first go around turns out.

I also batch sparge with my 5g Igloo, usually running two sparges like Dave. I've had great results with this method.

[Kealia]

Thanks. I plan on starting a new thread when the equipment shows up so I can document what I'm doing, my results, etc. for others.
Some may find it helpful, and likely I'll post some things that others who have been down this road and help me with, too.

The first thing I am doing is playing with the math/numbers on water volumes, loss, etc. I can't verify some of it until my equipment arrives but in the meantime I'm trying to understand how BeerSmith comes up with numbers so that if I need to do them myself offline, I can.

So far, so good. I'm pretty close.

[rickbray66]

Good luck and have fun with Beersmith. If you have any questions, I'll be glad to try and help.

One of the things that drives me crazy with Beersmith is how it deals with the "Loss to Trub and Chiller" variable. If you put a value in here, it can properly adjust the water volume needed to hit the desired batch size. But it doesn't adjust the estimated SG, which just seems wrong to me. For example, if I'm targeting a 5g batch size, with a 1g boil off, it will correctly set my pre-boil volume at 6.20g. With a 10lb grain bill, the estimated SG is 1.052 and the estimated pre-boil SG of 1.043. Now if I put a value into the "Loss to Trub and Chiller" variable -- let's just say something insane like 1 gallon --, the amount of water volume needed is corrected adjusted to 7.24g. But the estimated SG and pre-boil SG remain the same, which cannot be right because we are now dealing with more water (6g of wort at the end, not 5g). I've read where some say just tweak the efficiency value to account for that. I don't like that answer either. Because of this, I keep the "Loss to Trub and Chiller" variable set to zero and I adjust my batch size accordingly by the amount of loss. That way, the volume of water still comes out where I need it and the estimated SG values are also handled correctly. Ideally, the loss to trub and chiller value for some equipment profiles is small enough to not make that much of a difference. But even a loss of only 1 quart will skew those SG values by 2 points in the example I used. With the example I used, keeping the loss variable at 0 and bumping my batch size to 6g to account for the 1g loss to trub and chiller, the estimated SG now correctly comes in at 1.044 and the pre-boil SG at 1.036, not 1.052 and 1.043.

[Kealia]

It's here! It's here!

[BlackDuck]

[Beer-lord]

That box has holes in it. You should get a discount for damaged goods.

[Kealia]

That box has holes in it. You should get a discount for damaged goods.

That was from me trying to rip into it.

And whoa! When the hell did I become Brewer of the Month? Clearly I have some catching up to do.

[berryman]

And whoa! When the hell did I become Brewer of the Month? Clearly I have some catching up to do.

And with that new title, we will need step by step on the progress with the new equipment and procedure.... And pictures to prove it Good deal on your new purchase.....

[Kealia]

I've assembled this now and will open a new thread next weekend when I use it for the first time.
I'm excited to switch up my brew day.

[RayF]

New Equipment gives me a Woody! Have fun!