Beersmith and Spike Kettle setup...info/tips appreciated

[Turfgrass]

Good morning. I think my diy Spike HERMS setup is almost complete on Beersmith. Any helpful tips or suggestions when setting up the equipment profile with Beersmith? One thing that I wonder about is in customizing an equipment profile.

I’m not sure if I should have recoverable mash despace losses checked or not. There is a dead space of .25 gal beneath my false bottom, but there is also a spot to check for adJust mash dead space for losses. I don’t want to add an extra 1/4 gallon by mistake.

 

[Turfgrass]

Noticed I probably added an extra .25 gallons with the mash tun addition and also having “adJust mash vol for dead space”checked off.

 

[Oginme]

Definitions: Recoverable Mash Tun Deadspace is the volume under a false bottom or mash screen which will be drained out with the wort.

Mash Deadspace Loss is the volume which remains in the mash tun after you have drained all the wort out.

Both of these together should equal the total volume under your false bottom or mash screen.

If you check to adjust the mash volume for the deadspace, the program will use the water to grain ratio listed in the mash profile and then add to that any volume listed under the deadspace loss or recoverable deadspace. This is to make sure that you maintain a suitable water to grain ratio for the water which is in contact with the grains. Otherwise, the program will take your infusion volume based solely on the water to grain ratio for all the water to add in your initial infusion step.

Short Circuited Brewing has a good video on setting up a profile in BeerSmith on their YouTube channel at

 

[Turfgrass]

Definitions: Recoverable Mash Tun Deadspace is the volume under a false bottom or mash screen which will be drained out with the wort.

Mash Deadspace Loss is the volume which remains in the mash tun after you have drained all the wort out.

Both of these together should equal the total volume under your false bottom or mash screen.

If you check to adjust the mash volume for the deadspace, the program will use the water to grain ratio listed in the mash profile and then add to that any volume listed under the deadspace loss or recoverable deadspace. This is to make sure that you maintain a suitable water to grain ratio for the water which is in contact with the grains. Otherwise, the program will take your infusion volume based solely on the water to grain ratio for all the water to add in your initial infusion step.

Short Circuited Brewing has a good video on setting up a profile in BeerSmith on their YouTube channel at

Great, thx.

 

[Gozie Boy]

Sorry to be late, but I just found this conversation. I guess I don't understand the concept of "recoverable deadspace". I appreciate that there is some volume (but not all) that can be drained from under the false bottom by the center pickup tube. But true deadspace is, by definition, unrecoverable.

So I just use zero for "recoverable deadspace". As a simple test, I filled my MT with water a few inches over its drain port on the kettle wall, and then ran my pump as if I was draining wort. When the pump sucked air, I shut it off and then tipped the kettle to collect and measure what was left -- the "unrecoverable" deadspace volume.

Is it more complicated than this? Am I missing something with this "recoverable deadspace" term?

 

[Oginme]

Sorry to be late, but I just found this conversation. I guess I don't understand the concept of "recoverable deadspace". I appreciate that there is some volume (but not all) that can be drained from under the false bottom by the center pickup tube. But true deadspace is, by definition, unrecoverable.

So I just use zero for "recoverable deadspace". As a simple test, I filled my MT with water a few inches over its drain port on the kettle wall, and then ran my pump as if I was draining wort. When the pump sucked air, I shut it off and then tipped the kettle to collect and measure what was left -- the "unrecoverable" deadspace volume.

Is it more complicated than this? Am I missing something with this "recoverable deadspace" term?

The addition of the "recoverable dead space" came in because users were encountering issues when the volume under a false bottom was large enough to cause the actual water volume in contact with the grist to be well below the minimum needed for adequate solubility and conversion of the starches. It allow the user to set the water to grist ratio at a desired level and the system would provide for the amount of water which would not be in contact with the grains in the strike volume calculation.

 

[Gozie Boy]

Thanks. So, effectively, this is water that is in a quiet space away from the grist, and not interacting with it? If so, then the name seems a bit misleading. Since I circulate my mash in a HERMS, which picks up wort below the false bottom, then I don't think this would apply to my situation. Still not sure I fully comprehend this, tho. Doesn't seem to be a huge matter -- if I am hitting my numbers, then all's good!