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Brew in a Basket Beersmith problems

st1l3tto

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Hi there!

I constructed a semi-pro brewing rig and now have some problems with understanding how to fit it correctly in Beersmith for optimal calculations.

1) I have a 3,5bbl kettle with 2bbl solid walls basket. I can't really recirculate in it, because my mistake was making basket tall and narrow, and when I try to recirculate grains quickly fall down to the bottom and mash stucks. I have 5,3bbl conicals, so I need 2,2bbl batches to fit them tight.
2) If I get this right, I can only fit 141lb of grain in it, maintaining the 1,75 qt\lb mash thickness in the basket. I tried several batches and it's pretty hard to mash in the larger amounts, however, it's not impossible.
3) I have a separate HLT, so I can sparge into the basket after I lift it from the kettle.

So, I'm having problems formulating Beersmith profile for my equip and mash:
With standard single infusion mash profile, Beersmith offers me to mash 47gal for 150lb of grain for 15P beer (considering all my losses and 75% efficiency) and sparge with 90gal later, which is impossible :(

With BIAB profile, it offers me to fill 92gal water for 150lb of grain (which is what I can fit with basket submerged and grains in it), but I don't collect enough wort without the sparge (usually I require 10-13 gal for sparge after lifting and draining the basket)

If I'm trying to put difference between basket and kettle (46 gal) in "tun deadspace" with standard mash profile, Beersmith offers me to mash in with 93gal for 150lb (which is a bit more than BIAB, but still can fit), but then sparge for 44gal!

All help is highly appreciated, because I can now only roam in the darkness and do un-calculated recipies :(

Thanks in advance!
 
As a professional I certainly wouldn't expect a $25 program to make up for your poor design and lack of adaptability. Research prior to deciding on a system and process would have avoided your problem(s). Just my 2 cents.
 
It sounds from what you have stated that you are using one of the stock mash profiles which comes with the program.  You need to edit the profiles (or create a new one) which matches your process capabilities.  Same goes with the equipment profiles.  There are a number of videos available on the BeerSmith web site and on YouTube which can walk you through the process.



st1l3tto said:
Hi there!

I constructed a semi-pro brewing rig and now have some problems with understanding how to fit it correctly in Beersmith for optimal calculations.

1) I have a 3,5bbl kettle with 2bbl solid walls basket. I can't really recirculate in it, because my mistake was making basket tall and narrow, and when I try to recirculate grains quickly fall down to the bottom and mash stucks. I have 5,3bbl conicals, so I need 2,2bbl batches to fit them tight.
2) If I get this right, I can only fit 141lb of grain in it, maintaining the 1,75 qt\lb mash thickness in the basket. I tried several batches and it's pretty hard to mash in the larger amounts, however, it's not impossible.
3) I have a separate HLT, so I can sparge into the basket after I lift it from the kettle.

So, I'm having problems formulating Beersmith profile for my equip and mash:
With standard single infusion mash profile, Beersmith offers me to mash 47gal for 150lb of grain for 15P beer (considering all my losses and 75% efficiency) and sparge with 90gal later, which is impossible :(

With BIAB profile, it offers me to fill 92gal water for 150lb of grain (which is what I can fit with basket submerged and grains in it), but I don't collect enough wort without the sparge (usually I require 10-13 gal for sparge after lifting and draining the basket)

If I'm trying to put difference between basket and kettle (46 gal) in "tun deadspace" with standard mash profile, Beersmith offers me to mash in with 93gal for 150lb (which is a bit more than BIAB, but still can fit), but then sparge for 44gal!

All help is highly appreciated, because I can now only roam in the darkness and do un-calculated recipies :(

Thanks in advance!
 
+1

I would "thumbs up" Ognime's post for his solid advice but it seems that feature has been removed from the forum.
 
st1l3tto said:
2) If I get this right, I can only fit 141lb of grain in it, maintaining the 1,75 qt\lb mash thickness in the basket. I tried several batches and it's pretty hard to mash in the larger amounts, however, it's not impossible.
3) I have a separate HLT, so I can sparge into the basket after I lift it from the kettle.

The space between the basket and kettle is your "Mash Tun Addition" of recoverable wort, found in the equipment profile. The rest of the water is your liquor to grist ratio.

The sparge remainder should be the difference between whats left after absorption and the preboil target volume. BeerSmith should calculate that correctly if your batch volume, trub losses and boil off are correct in the equipment profile.

If I'm trying to put difference between basket and kettle (46 gal) in "tun deadspace" ....

Tun deadspace is unrecoverable wort. In your rig, this value is zero.
 
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