Batch sparge question

[Hawkbox]

I think I know the answer to this but I want to make sure.

When I've been doing batches I put my initial mash water in, then my batch sparge in, and I come out with a required water much higher than my numbers calculate.

Does the software automatically calculate my initial mash for me and I should skip that step?

 

[Yooper]

I think I know the answer to this but I want to make sure.

When I've been doing batches I put my initial mash water in, then my batch sparge in, and I come out with a required water much higher than my numbers calculate.

Does the software automatically calculate my initial mash for me and I should skip that step?

Yes. Put in your desired mash thickness. For me, it's 1.5 quarts per pound of grain for my system. Then, check the set up for your boil off, boil volume, etc. Once you get those settings correct, the water calculation is spot on.

 

[Hawkbox]

Thanks, I was putting in my mash water as well not realizing it did the initial calculation for me and was really confused by the numbers. I had just been ignoring them when I did the batch but started thinking about it later and wanted to figure it out. I'd been using Beersmith previously but I'm enjoying this interface more, it just obfuscated that from my math.

 

[Hawkbox]

Follow up question, if I wanted to make the recipe have the water in it like some of the other recipes do, and I want a 20L Strike volume with a 17L batch sparge, is the below the correct way to do it? If not, how do I correct it?

20 L Mash Temperature 65 C 60 min
17 L Batch Sparge Sparge 75 C 20 min

Example is the link here. https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/546404