Professional Etching?

[Chap]

Hi all,

I've picked up a new 40L crown urn, but am yet to use it due to being my first all grain brew and being unsure about efficiencies and other intricacies (still researching) and I've come across an issue on volumes. My urn doesnt have any markings and I have read on the forum I can do it myself based on the diameter and height, but in the bottom of the urn (concealed element) is a small hump, as well as what I assume to be the thermometer/thermistor/whatever it's called for the temp dial.

From my understanding this would put off my volume measurements slightly. Would it be worth having it done professionally, or is the difference negligible in terms of volumes and measurements for working out efficiencies, recipes etc? If done by a pro, would anyone know of any around the Brisbane/Ipswich area or what type of business I would approach for the job?

Cheers
Chap

 

[mstrelan]

Get a stainless steel ruler, a jug and set of kitchen scales. Add 1000g at a time and record the depth. Or 2000 or 5000. Plot it on a graph and figure out if it's close enough to linear. For my 70L kettle it's close enough to 6.4mm per litre. Use the ruler to measure volumes until you figure out if you want to etch it.

 

[Chap]

Ok cool I'll give that a go, thanks. Does the temperature or type of water (ie straight tap vs boiled) matter at all?

 

[knot_gillty]

What about just using a measuring jug. Pour in X amount of litres, mark it on there, job done...

 

[GrumpyPaul]

+1 for DIY etching.

Have a read of this thread. Its pretty easy DIY job.

https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/how-to-add-permanent-volume-markings-to-a-kettle.78701/

 

[mstrelan]

Ok cool I'll give that a go, thanks. Does the temperature or type of water (ie straight tap vs boiled) matter at all?

What about just using a measuring jug. Pour in X amount of litres, mark it on there, job done...

Boiling water expands by 4% so won't work if using scales. But once it's marked out, volume is volume.

Yes you can use a jug but it's pretty hard to accurately fill it to a line visually and if you're doing that 20-40 times there'll be greater error.

I did the DIY etching too but it was pretty tedious so I only have 5L markings.