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Mash tun max volume

sciyan

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Hi

I'm using a 15,5 gallons keg as a mash tun. I've also a mash screen that cover the bottom. I've measured the volume under the mash screen by adding water until it reach it. The volume under it is about 2 gallons.

Since the mash screen decrease the total volume of grain that I can add into the mash tun by 2 gallons, do I need to modify the mash tun volume capacity into my equipment profile for 13,5 gallons instead of 15,5 gallons ?

Thanks
 
There is an option in the equipment profile: "Lauter Tun Dead space".  This option should be set to the amount of water left in your MLT after draining it.  The point is that even though it is wort, you cant get it out of the MLT, so it is wasted at the end of the sparge.

It's not directly how much space is under your MLT screen, but rather its how much space is below the bottom of your dip tube. 



 
tom_hampton said:
There is an option in the equipment profile: "Lauter Tun Dead space".  This option should be set to the amount of water left in your MLT after draining it.  The point is that even though it is wort, you cant get it out of the MLT, so it is wasted at the end of the sparge.

It's not directly how much space is under your MLT screen, but rather its how much space is below the bottom of your dip tube.

Yes, I know that. But the way I was seeing it, my question was more about the size "available" to put grain into the mash tun since it is no longer 15,5 gallons because of the false bottom. I was wondering if it as an impact with beersmith calculation when I want to use all the "real" space available for the grain when I want to brew a big beer such as barley wine ?
 
Ah...got it.  Sorry, I misunderstood.

I think you are correct.  The mash-tun volume seems to be the volume ABOVE the deadspace.  I just created a test profile for a 5 gallon mash-tun with a 4 gallon dead-space.  Beersmith said that I needed 31 qt's of strike water (with 13 lbs of grain). 
 
  Dead space should be defined as what you can not or will not drain.  Put a amount of water into your tun that is above your tap, drain it.  Then tilt or wiggle or what ever you do to get what you want to get out.  Measure what is left.  That is your tun dead volume.
 
PetenNewburg said:
  Dead space should be defined as what you can not or will not drain.  Put a amount of water into your tun that is above your tap, drain it.  Then tilt or wiggle or what ever you do to get what you want to get out.  Measure what is left.  That is your tun dead volume.

Yes, your right and I have already done that. But my point was about the meaning of "mash tun max volume". To be more specific, I was asking if this box was "what is the max volume whatever the real capacity beacause of the mash screen" or is it "what is the real capacity over your mash screen".

From the try that tom_hampton made, it looks like BS is not considering the max volume since it doesn't consider the max volume size of the mash tun

"I think you are correct.  The mash-tun volume seems to be the volume ABOVE the deadspace.  I just created a test profile for a 5 gallon mash-tun with a 4 gallon dead-space.  Beersmith said that I needed 31 qt's of strike water (with 13 lbs of grain)".
 
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