High gravity

After 4 days in the primary fermentor I have transfered some stout to a secondayry glass carboy. Original gravity was 1045 and the gravity when i transfered was 1018. Do you think it was too early to transfer - secondly there is hardly any bubbkles in the airlock at all - maybe one bubble a minutte if im lucky - do you think further fermentation will occur in the glass carboy - im hopinng the final gravity will be much closer to 1010 = is there anything i could do to encourage a little more fermentation or will the yeast in the water do the trick if it need be?

4 days was probably too soon, but no harm. The yeast in suspension should continue to do its stuff. Leave it alone for a week and then check the gravity again.

Yes hopefully it will finish fermenting but it has been in the secondary for close to 24 hour now and there is almost no activity in the air lock - i mean ive never seen one so dead. Is it possible it can be fermenting witout the airlock bubbling - also would it hurt if i threw some more yeats in - i have a spare package at home i was thinking if i pitched half a package or somthing like that?? Any ideas?

What's your gravity doing? Has it stayed the same over the course of those days? If it's moving slow you may never see the airlock move, but it will still be fermenting.

I didnt check the gravity again since moving to secondary - i dont give bacteria too many chances to get into the brew. Im thinking i will pitch a half a pack of yeast in the secondary - can this hurt the beer - is there any downside to doing that?

No need to add more yeast, there is plenty in suspension already.
You might lose a couple more points in the secondary but it is unlikely to get to 1.010 at this point.
What yeast did you use and what was the malt bill? Its likely this beer might just finish sweet. If you used a low attenuative yeast like Danstar Windsor or S-04 then it is possible you could get a little lower by adding something like US-05 or Nottingham but I'm not sure how much you would gain. You could also add champagne yeast but I think it is likely to leave you with an off tasting beer.
Craig

If the beer is fermenting, there isn't any reason to throw more yeast in it. You move the beer to secondary to get it off the yeast cake and trub to clear up a bit.

I don't know of any real downside, besides having to wait for the yeast to flocculate out and maybe having a yeasty taste to the beer. At this point, though, I think the best thing to do is leave it alone for a total of two weeks (counting the four days in the primary) and then check the s.g.

Most people around here recommend keeping the beer in the primary at least a week before moving it to the secondary tank. If you're not using a secondary, it's good to leave the beer in the primary for about 2 weeks. When it's done fermenting all the available sugars, the yeast "cleans up after itself" and gives a cleaner taste with less off-flavors. Then, it's moved to secondary for clearing. The term "secondary" really is wrong- it should be called the clearing tank or the "bright tank" because you shouldn't expect fermentation to be taking place. I use the 1-2-3 method; 1 week (or more) in the primary, 2 weeks in the clearing tank, and then three in bottles before sampling.

Good beer just can't be rushed. So, it'll take its time and make beer for you. All you need is a little patience.