Boil Kettle Deadspace vs Trub Loss

[lucianthorr]

Hi.  I'm a super new user and I've got a question regarding setting up an Equipment Profile.  I've been using Brewersfriend the past couple of years and am in the process of trying to compare calculations because I've yet to really nail down a final predictable OG and water usage.
I see in Beersmith there's a Trub Loss setting for the Boil Kettle but there isn't a deadspace setting to compensate for loss underneath the spigot and/or between the kettle and the fermenter (ie, tubing, chiller, etc).

Should I add all of that into the "trub loss"?  Because I would assume the trub loss would be a variable value, more like a function of hop amounts and boil size.

Or should I just add that to the "batch size"?  So if I like 5.5 gallons in the fermenter, with 2.25 gallons of deadspace in my 26 gallon kettle and 0.5 gallons in the tubing and counterflow chiller, I'm really trying to make 8.25 gallon batches?

Thanks for your help.  I realize these are serious newbie questions.

[dtapke]

when setting up in the equipment wizard you'll see the note for

"how much wort is lost when cooling or to the trub?(gunk at bottom of the boiler)"

this is all of your cooling losses, trub, unrecovered wort after the boil, unrecovered wort in the chiller, hoses, etc.

The only fault i have with this is that my trub loss will change from batch to batch based on hop amounts. my IPAs that i brew using pounds of hops have a slightly higher trub loss than my milds/stouts/other odd beers that only use an ounce or two of hops. Or if i'm brewing with fresh or dried whole cones.

Also, If you have a good sealed kettle outlet/dip tube it should be able to recover liquid down to the very bottom. my valve is probably at the 2-3g mark, but with a dip tube that seals well, its able to pull it to nearly empty. my 32g kettles if filled with water, i only have .5qts of unrecoverable volume, even though my valve is much higher than that.

[lucianthorr]

Thanks! @dtapke
Your answer is super helpful.  I'm actually on a 20g eHERMS system (an old converted Tippy Dump) so we probably have a similar setup.
My boil kettle has a little trub-catcher that makes it impossible to use a diptube.  I'd really like to get one though because I hate losing that much liquid.

[dtapke]

Thats a lot of loss, I'd ditch the trub catch for a better model. Theelectricbrewery.com has a nice one. https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/collections/hop-stopper/products/hop-stopper

If you contact them, they'll custom make the dip tube to your specs. I have a helluva time with anything because I use Blichmann Boil Coils in my mash and HLT, so it's tricky getting accessories to fit around/inbetween them.

I just use a standard 90 degree dip tube and a big ss mesh hop basket/spider. do a whirlpool after the boil and it keeps my trub to a minimum.

[dtapke]

just checked out the tippy dump, looks pretty rad, I can't imagine dumping my whole mash tun at once though. My setup is in the basement and its plenty of work just carrying 5g buckets of spent grain up the stairs and outside. Couldn't imagine running my grain bill outside in one shot. I've had some 75lb dry grain bills, add water absorption to that... ouch. my back already hurts.

[Kevin58]

If you set up a custom equipment profile you will get much better results from Beersmith. Even if you see one in the list of equipment profiles that comes with the program you should only use it as a good starting point for personalizing your own.

Here are two tutorials that will help. It's not hard to do, it just takes some time to make the measurements.

https://youtu.be/QmW7pwQP5mQ

https://youtu.be/HwEbjOt8OR8

[lucianthorr]

Awesome.  I have not watched either of these tutorials, just a few from the official beersmith page.  I'll be sure to check these out.

It seems like beersmith is the canonical resource for brewers to plan recipes and brew days so I feel like it should be great once I dial it in.  I just want to be 100% sure I understand what all the fields mean in the equipment and mash profiles. 
Thanks again