Hey yall.... I'm hoping to brew my first all grain batch next weekend. I have a 5 gallon Igloo cooler, with a kettle screen instead of a false bottom. Is calculating the dead space as simple as filling it with some water and noting how much is left behind after draining it (as I would presumably do with wort at the end of the mashing process), or is there for some reason more to it than that? There always seems to be more to it in the homebrewing world...
If you're using a bazooka braid style in the bottom the deadspace will be very little. The grain, however, will take a little than a cup per pound. Expect to go through about 8.5 gal of water on a session all grain batch. If you are batch sparging, it's easy addition. After the grain is wet, it won't take up any more of the water that you add in. After first runnings, you just add as much sparge water as you need to get to 6.5 gal (or whatever you want your preboil volume to be). Makes sense to me^^^ Let us know.
