Strike/Infusion Tool

I've been all grain brewing for a long time and am getting ready to purchase Beersmith.  I have a single tier, 2 pump, 3 keggle, direct heat setup.  I have 2 questions about Beersmith and strike temp. 

1.  Can I  use the strike/infusion tool as a standalone tool?
2.  If I heat my mash water in my mash tun (direct heat) to strike temp and then add the grain, how should I set the strike tool parameters to calculate the strike temperature.  I understand that I do NOT check the "Adjust for Equipment" box.  I already know the amount of mash water I need to give me the water/grain ratio I'm looking for, so I don't need Beersmith to calculate that.  I just want Beersmith to calculate the strike temp based on the grain mass/wt, grain temp, water volume and desired mash temp. 

I plan to gradually migrate my recipes over to Beersmith, but my immediate need for a good strike temp calculator based on my above needs.

Thanks for thoughts and ideas here.

1) Yes, if you mean that you don't need to add a recipe to use the infusion tool.

2) This question is confusing. This question seems to reference using the mash tab inside the recipe window. The recipes are self contained entities that calculate using far more variables than the Tools and you'd have to enter that information.

Tools in BeerSmith are available in the Tools tab. Based on the last sentence of your question, the Infusion tool is capable, except that grain temperature is assumed to be about 70F. You can zero out the mash tun weight and specific heat to exclude equipment in the calculation.

Thanks Brewfun.  I don't have a copy of the sw yet so I'm a bit on the blind side.  I wanted to see if it would work for me before purchasing.  It may just be easier to buy and play around with.  What I see on the Beersmith help site is a Strike/Infusion Temp (Tools) which says to Select the Strike/Infusion Temperature command on the Tools menu. What I'm trying to figure out is:

(1)  is this a standalone calculator (can be used by itself; does not use or need any parameters from a recipe or elsewhere; I can input all necessary parameters into this calculator) 
(2) can I use it to calculate my strike temp given that I am heating my mash water in my mash tun via direct heat and then adding the grain.
(3) how should I set the calculator parameters to accomplish this (Water to Add, Starting Water Volume, Weight of Grain, Initial Grain Temp, Initial Mash Temp, Mash Tun Weight, Infusion Water Temp, Water/Grain Ratio).  Some of these are obvious. 

In the end, I know my the starting water volume, the grain weight and grain temperature.  I want to calculate my strike temp. 

dmcmillen said:

It may just be easier to buy and play around with. 

Click to expand...

Good idea. There is a free trial period, too.

The rest of your questions were answered in my first reply. Yes, the infusion tool is stand alone, within the program. It lets you select initial strike temp or infusion for upward steps.