Volume Settings

This topic is approved.
some additional notes here

Volume Settings (Detail)

Volume Settings Fields

The various fields in the Volume Portion of the window are used for the following purposes: Kettle Volume Kettle Volume is the volume of liquid in the kettle before the boil has taken place. Kettle Volume Lock Checking this box will make lock the initial liquid volume in the kettle. This means that any changes to Wort Boil Duration, Evaporation Loss, or Water Volume Added will not modify the Kettle Volume text field. Wort Boil Duration This is the amount of time that you will be boiling your wort. This does not include time to heat your wort to boil, only the actual time that it will boil. Evaporation Loss Amount of wort volume lost due to evaporation during the boil period. Evaporation Loss = Evap/Hour * Wort Boil Duration An example would be if you have 0.67 Gallons entered in the Evap/Hour field, and you boil 6.74 gallons of wort for 1.5 hours, then the volume of water lost will be 1.01 gallons. Evaporation Loss = 1.01gal = 0.67gal/h * 1.5h Water Volume Added Volume of water added to the kettle volume. This is usually done to make up for evaporation losses, adjusting the final gravity of the wort (dilution), or to compensate for a small kettle size. Final Volume Final Volume is the volume of wort after the boil has taken place. This is the volume at ambient temperature. Final Volume Lock Checking this box enables the Final Volume Lock Menu. Final Volume Lock Menu Selecting "Lock" from this drop down menu will force the grain bill weights to stay constant when you adjust the Final Volume value. Beware that the gravity will change due to more or less water being used for a given amount of fermentable ingredients (extract or grains). Selecting "Scale" from this drop down menu will scale (or adjust) the grain bill when the Final Volume value is changed. This allows the Original Gravity to stay the same. Efficiency Efficiency is most relevant for all grain and partial mash brewers. It indicates how efficiently sugars are extracted from your mash. This is best based on previous batch experience. If data is unavailable then home-brewers can expect efficiency between 70 and 80% whereas commercial brewers can attain efficiency as high as 90%. Starting with 75% is going to get you close you will adjust this number as you gain experience. When you take your OG reading the efficiency can be more accurately calculated using the Analysis Tab. Efficiency Lock Checking this box will effectively lock your original gravity. This means that when you change the value of the efficiency in the text box, your grain weights will be scaled to match the "OG Reading" you have entered under the Analysis Tab. For example... In the Analysis Tab, you have an OG Reading of 1.060. You have the efficiency checkbox checked as shown in the picture, and you change your efficiency number from 75% to 76%, you will see your grain bill amounts scale down because you want to keep the 1.060 OG intact (maybe you are trying to follow a recipe, or keep to style). Attenuation Attenuation field indicates the apparent attenuation expected from your yeast. Attenuation varies with yeast strain. There are several factors that affect attenuation including yeast strain, mash temp, ingredient choices, fermentation temp...etc. So when creating a recipe you want to use your best guess. If you have already brewed and you know what you final gravity is you can enter your Original Gravity reading in the Analysis Tab. Doing this will automatically calculate your attenuation. Evap/Hour Amount of wort evaporated off per hour. Evap/Hour = Evaporation Loss / Wort Boil Duration An example would be If you have 1.01 gallons entered in the Evaporation Loss field, and you boil 6.74 gallons of wort for 1.5 hours, then the Evap/Hour will be Evap/Hour = 0.67gal/h = 1.01gal / 1.5h