Time frame for racking to secondary?

[Doliss]

Just wondering what the general concensus is on the subject. I've read a week after and also read once the bubbling stops you can transfer.

I started a batch on thursday evening and haven't seen much action in the airlock all day today after it having a constant bubble every second or two for ~60 hours. Wondering how much longer I should give it before racking into a secondary

 

[nedvalton]

You will get many opinions on this. Some say 1 week some 2. Others say no need for secondary at all. I usually go 2 weeks minimum. But my beers are all 7.5%abv and above. Some go 3-4 weeks in primary. Those being 12%+
I secondary because I like as little sludge as possible if I bottle

 

[Doliss]

The lack of slugde and sediment is the reason I want to use a secondary. Think I'll give it at least a week for it to settle out of suspension and have a seat at the bottom of the bucket

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

You will get many opinions on this. Some say 1 week some 2. Others say no need for secondary at all. I usually go 2 weeks minimum. But my beers are all 7.5%abv and above. Some go 3-4 weeks in primary. Those being 12%+
I secondary because I like as little sludge as possible if I bottle

All of this is true.

I go 2 weeks minimum to reduce trub and help clear the beer, i dryhop in keg and will also age in keg if need be.

No secondarys here....

One thing i will say "in the name of revvy"
The airlock is not a measure of fermentation and should NOT be used to tell when fermentation is done.

The lack of slugde and sediment is the reason I want to use a secondary. Think I'll give it at least a week for it to settle out of suspension and have a seat at the bottom of the bucket

Make sure to leave a couple inchs below your racking cane to avoid picking up trub.

 

[flars]

You would rack to a secondary vessel when fermentation is complete. Stable hydrometer readings over a few days is the best way to determine that the fermentation has completed. Some brewers wait a few more days for the yeast to clean up some fermentation by-products.

 

[BigFloyd]

Do you have a special reason the you want to use a secondary?

If not, you can just leave your beer 3 weeks in the primary, cold crash it 3-5 days at 35*F and rack to the bottling bucket. I don't secondary and my beers are clear to the point where friends ask me what I use to filter them. I do, however, use whirlfloc, cover/rest for 15-20 min after chilling and before transfer to the fermenter, cold crash, and take great care to not slosh things around when moving the primary prior to bottling.

 

[jacobg83]

I don't use secondary often. I usually use it when I want to rack on a yeast cake

 

[kh54s10]

The right answer is to make sure you have reached final gravity - then transfer.

I rarely secondary and at about 3 weeks almost all my beers are as clear as the ones that I do use a secondary. I also have less than 1/2 inch trub in my typical primary and with careful siphoning I get almost no trub into the bottling bucket. I have also never felt the need to cold crash, my beers are clear enough without the hassle.