BS3 Adjust Gravity Tool

[mkutil]

I have been using BeerSmith 3 for quite some time and every once in a while I need to use the Adjust Gravity tool for a batch in progress. This is an extract recipe with steeping grains which I steeped at the range given in the recipe. Near the end of the boil, I check the gravity with my refractometer (calibrated OK) and find that it is lower than expected, let's say 10 points lower. I use the Adjust Gravity tool from the Tools drop down menu and enter the required information and it tells me I need to add 1.43 pounds of DME to get the gravity where I want it to be. I have learned from past experience that if I were to add that amount of DME my wort would be way over the target OG so I added 1 pound of DME. I stirred it in thoroughly and when I was sure it was mixed well I took another reading. The gravity was within 1 point of spec so it begs the question of what is wrong with this picture. This is not just a one-time fluke, this overage happens every time I use this tool. Am I doing something incorrectly or is there something wrong with the tool?

[BOB357]

I can't understand why you'd do a gravity check before the end of the boil. At that point, you have no real target to compare to. It would be perfectly normal for the gravity to be lower than normal at that point, because there will be additional boil off before flame out, that will further concentrate the wort.

Gravity is dependent on volume. With extract, if the volume is correct the gravity will also be correct within a very few points. The gravity contribution of steeped grains isn't generally enough to make much of a difference so, as long as you measured everything correctly at the beginning and had the expected volume at the end, your gravity will be close enough that there's no real benefit in making post boil. adjustments.

[Oginme]

Measurement of gravity alone is only half of the equation.  Accurate volume readings are essential to determining if your issue is adding the proper measurement of weight, the extract itself, or a volume assumption which is wrong.