dopey question: compensating for loss to hops/dead space

[monkeyboy]

Hi all. Thought i'd pick the collective brain to see if anyone has some ideas on this one.
Here's the problem: I'm aiming for 23l, and my boiler will hold maybe 26l before i get into potential boil-over problems. 90 minutes later, i'm left with somewhere in the region of 23l. Maybe slightly less. So i drain the boiler, and i'm lucky if i've got 20l in the FV. That's not a surprise - the hops are soaking it all up for a start.
What i have been doing at this point is carefully pouring a couple of litres into the boiler and letting it drain through the hop bed at the bottom, until i have my target 23l in the FV. Is this what others do, or do they top up in the FV? Or not top-up at all? The reason i ask is that for the first time my latest beer had noticable break lumps in the FV, and i'm suspecting that my 'rinsing' process is probably encouraging it to get out of the boiler. I could just pour liquid into the top of the boiler as it drains, but at that stage i don't know how much i'm going to lose to hops etc.
Thoughts, comments, suggestions all welcome
Thanks

[Garth]

I've sparged the hops before to get a bit more wort from them, agreed, they do soak up quite a bit unless you use pellets. If you're finding the wort is very near the top and close to boiling over all the time, maybe it's time for a bigger boiler?

There is nothing wrong in getting a bit of break material in the fv, I do all the time as I use a cfc rather than a immersion chiller. I still get great tasting, clear beer, even without any aux or isinglass finings.

[monkeyboy]

i only got the boiler this year so i'm reluctant to retire it to hlc status just yet working on it though! perhaps the break was there before and i just didn't notice it - i've not had any problems with beer clarity, just curious what others do.

[Brotherton Lad]

I don't think it makes much difference whether you add water to the boiler as it evaporates, or at the end or whether you add a bit to the FV to hit your target. It doesn't matter whether you end up withh 22 or 24 litres either in my book.

[techtone]

I have only done 2 AG's but what I have done is to hold back a couple of litres of wort from the mash tun and I add it to the boiler gradually within the first 30 minutes (from 90) of boil. I figure some people do 60 minute boils so all my wort gets at least this. I have a half litre jug of wort ready to pour in to avoid boil over. I have the bruheat boiler which allegedly is "just short" of 30 litres to the brim.

[monkeyboy]

@techtone - yeah, i did this, but still ended up with <23 at the end. the boiler was going like a train!
Guys - thanks for the replies - i think i'll try just topping up as i near the bottom, but not quite at it, and see how that goes. Or just settle for slightly less beer...