And to address the problem of not enough yeast in a liquid yeast pack as well as the washing/rinsing side of things, with your next yeast pack you can build a starter that has too many cells. Then you only add as much of the starter as the batch needs and keep the rest of the starter for your next batch.
Ok, that's where I was kinda going with this. I only have 5 gallon fermenters, so making a 10 gallon batch adds a little excitement for consistency. I use 3 buckets for blending/aerating when I do 10 gallons. I put 6 gallons in 1 bucket, 2 gallons each in the others. I hold the fullest bucket up high and pour into the next, rotating it until I get so much froth the buckets have to sit for a few minutes to be able to combine into two bucket for the ferment. This technique worked VERY well for me.
So my general idea of making a larger slurry for a starter will work. The 'beer' from it will probably not be very good, but I'm thinking it'll be great for stirring up the slurry without a lot of additional water for makeup (killing the OG, obviously) The waste will be exactly the same stuff as the waste from the wort, just no flavorings, and I have to add to the wort for makeup anyway, may as well be a weak beer slurry with lots of yeast in it. I like this idea rather than just dumping raw water into a mix. I like for things I'm putting in to actually be contributing instead of just being a filler upper.
I may actually want the overpitch one time, just to see what the effects are. Pretty sure I'm already familiar with under pitching after trying some liquid yeasts. There's a definite flavor difference from the dry pitch stuff, but I'm not sure it's a better flavor, or worse. Just different. Hard to describe what my taste buds are telling me.
Sorry if I come across as stressing out. Not really stressed. It's more about haveing a discussion and learning from people that know a lot more than I do. I want to understand all the parts of what I'm trying to do, and what to expect of the effects on the end product. Books don't have it all, but they certainly have some good tools to learn the trade. There's no substitute for experience, lots of it, and many different kinds. I'm past the basic mechanics of the process now, and want to learn more of the advanced processes and the effects of that on the Beer 101 recipes. Same reason I join ANY forum or user's group. To LEARN. If I can't understand something completely and want to do it, I'll bug the crap outta folks until I do understand it better. I've always had a hunger for knowledge. I'm not a "know-it-all", I just like to understand what I'm doing and why some things MUST be done in a certain order or by a certain method. I'm a very basic brewer at the moment, but would eventually like to come up with something I can take to one of the local micro-breweries for taste tests. Can't sell it here without bonding, but can give it away, or brew it for someone that does have the bond. I find the beer crowd to be very laid back and relaxed (well, most of 'em). I don't mind sharing my own experience, albeit, most of you guys are all on the 21-speed articulated mountain bikes, and I'm still on my tricycle with training wheels trying to figure out which way to push the pedals. I've made enough now that commercial stuff I used to like tastes horrible to me, or has no taste at all. There isn't much difference in cost, but for the quality and flavor, I'll never go back (unless I get slack and don't keep my shelves stocked).