Dialing in Volumes

My volumes got all out of wack after moving to biab with promash, so I have since went back to mashing in a cooler and I am trying out Beersmith for a fresh start.  I am trying to dial in my volumes.  Can someone tell me if I'm moving in the right direction?  The changes below are the changes I made after I brewed the recipe below.

I changed Mash Tun Specific Heat from .30 to .35 because I was a couple degrees low on my mash temp.  I did not preheat.
I changed Lauter Tun Deadspace from .80 to .52
I changed my brewhouse efficiency to 65%

Here is the recipe i brewed.

Recipe Specifications
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Estimated Preboil Gravity 1.062            Actual 1.055
preboil Size: 15.22 gal                              Actual  15.5
Post Boil Volume: 13.52 gal                    Actual 13.25
Batch Size (fermenter): 12.00 gal        Actual into fermenter 12 gallons
Bottling Volume: 11.25 gal
Estimated OG: 1.072 SG                        Actual OG  1.065
Estimated Color: 7.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 76.4 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %              Measured efficiency  64.4
Est Mash Efficiency: 78.5 %                   
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt                  Name                                    Type          #        %/IBU       
27 lbs 2.1 oz        Pale Malt, Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett)  Grain        1        88.1 %       
1 lbs 0.7 oz          Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)            Grain        2        3.4 %       
1 lbs 0.7 oz          Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)    Grain        3        3.4 %       
1 lbs 9.0 oz          Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM)          Sugar        4        5.1 %       
2.00 oz              Galena [14.50 %] - Boil 90.0 min        Hop          5        37.0 IBUs   
1.00 oz              Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 90.0 min        Hop          6        16.6 IBUs   
1.00 oz              Simcoe [12.20 %] - Boil 45.0 min        Hop          7        14.7 IBUs   
2.00 oz              Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min      Hop          8        2.6 IBUs     
1.00 oz              Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min    Hop          9        2.2 IBUs     
1.00 oz              Simcoe [12.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min          Hop          10      3.2 IBUs     
2.00 oz              Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min    Hop          11      0.0 IBUs     
2.00 oz              Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min          Hop          12      0.0 IBUs     
2.00 oz              Simcoe [12.20 %] - Boil 0.0 min          Hop          13      0.0 IBUs     
1.0 pkg              California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35. Yeast        14      -           
2.00 oz              Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Day Hop          15      0.0 IBUs     
2.00 oz              Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days      Hop          16      0.0 IBUs     
2.00 oz              Simcoe [12.20 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days      Hop          17      0.0 IBUs     


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 30 lbs 12.5 oz
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Name              Description                            Step Temperat Step Time   
Mash In          Add 39.72 qt of water at 163.0 F        150.0 F      75 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 3 steps (Drain mash tun, , 4.80gal, 4.80gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
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Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
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Thank You,
Andy

I don't know if the lack of response means that I'm headed in the right direction, or if my numbers are so out of wack it doesn't deserve a response lol.

Andy

Speaking only for myself, I find it much easier when users attach the recipe file.  I can download it, click it, and being looking at the actual information very quickly, and look for  the specific question one asks. 

Reading all the text is tougher for me and takes much longer, so I can only do it when I have the time. 

Ok.  Thanks for the heads up.

I'm hoping this works.  Let me know if I did it wrong.  I exported to desktop then attached.

I think you made some correct adjustments. 

I personally would not change the specific heat factor of the MLT.  You didn't preheat, and you could simply check the box that says to account for non-preheating AND preheat until you figured out the equipment. 

You over-collected, which contributed to not making the OG target.  I personally try to hit the pre-boil volume target as closely as possible and then diagnose any misses for the next brew.  If you are not hitting that volume, the concentration of the wort is different from everything BSmith expected, so it's harder to figure out the causes of the other issues.

I'd double check your boil off rate.  You had it checked to be an hourly rate, and the difference between 60 and 90 mins was over a half gallon.  It's tough to keep the boil-rate consistent over several different brews, so that could have been the cause of some of the under shooting gravity.  Lots of people just measure the boil off and use 1.0 gallons or 1.5 gallons as a fixed amount.  You'll have to figure out what is best for you, but it's worth verifying until you're sure. 

I personally like using boil off as an hourly  rate such that it adjusts for 60 or 90 min boil on its own. And to me the boil of rate seems a little low but that take several batches to get a good average. well good luck.
cheers

Ok so I brewed again using my adjustments I posted previously to account for over collecting and lower efficiency.  I also changed my boil off to 1.25 gallons per hour which still may be low now that I'm figuring out these Blichmann burners.

I still over collected by .5 gallons, then overshot my OG.  I think I got an efficiency bump from doing a better job at batch sparging, although it's such a pita vorlaufing three times that I think I'm going to go full circle and go back to fly sparging.  I will wait to do that until I get these numbers dialed though.

What should be my next move?  I would be so happy if I could actually have my preboil volume, and my postboil volume correct.  Then it should be easy to dial in my efficiency.

FYI, I re-calibrated my boil kettle, HLT, and fermenters by weighing gallons of water so there should be no problem there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Andy M

I'm going to uncheck the Tun Deadspace box and see if that gets my preboil volume dialed.

Thanks,
Andy