[Pricelessbrewing]

Yup, that formula is only 100% accurate for straight walled cylinders. All the brew kettles I've used have had minimal, if any, deviations from that.

Keggles on the other hand are a completely different beast.

[Phil_M]

That curve on the bottom only messes with the data for the curved portion. I.e., the first gallon will have to be determined by adding a gallon of water and marking the point. From there on Derek's formula will work to calculate any volume over 1 gallon.

[tommymorris]

That curve on the bottom only messes with the data for the curved portion. I.e., the first gallon will have to be determined by adding a gallon of water and marking the point. From there on Derek's formula will work to calculate any volume over 1 gallon.

Good point. After the 1 gallon mark it's a perfect cylinder.

[RPIScotty]

That curve on the bottom only messes with the data for the curved portion. I.e., the first gallon will have to be determined by adding a gallon of water and marking the point. From there on Derek's formula will work to calculate any volume over 1 gallon.

Good point. After the 1 gallon mark it's a perfect cylinder.

It's all about the level of precision you're going for. If the curve is slight enough for the reduction in volume to be negligible the. It's really a judgement call.

With that said, I think we have laid out a pretty solid procedure detailing the process of creating a nice tool for measuring volume.

I can speak for myself when I say that this has always been an issue for me (measuring volume) so any piece of gear that helps me do it is welcome!

[SPAMR]

I think your numbers look fine. I compared them to this calculator (I chose it at random from google): http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php

My only suggestion is mashing thinner. Your quarts mash water to pounds grain ratio is about 1.14 now. I would going up to 1.75. Thinner mash is easier to avoid dough balls and I think you will get better efficiency. You can increase that ratio in the mash profile of your recipe (if you want).

Thank you again @alestateyall and to everyone else on this thread!!!!!!!!!!

[Phil_M]

+1 to measuring volume being a pain, and a pain that I'm revisiting as I convert to my new setup. My plan for my new kettle is to measure the volume to the end of the "curve" area, then calculate from there. If the difference between the curve is negligible, then I won't care anymore.

I do want an accurate picture of kettle deadspace and how much wort gets left behind. That's why I'm being so picky about accurately measuring the lower volumes.