Head Space Q?

I Know the debate to move to secondary or not may never be settled but my biggest reason is in order to free up my primary for the next round and my question is not related to if I should, but more how.

So now that we've established that I'm moving to secondary my question is...

What's the max head space you want to allow in secondary? I understand there is a chance of oxidation if there is to much head space.

Im using a siphon and know that The less startling of the beer the better.

Thanks for the responses ahead of time

The less headspace the better. Try to use a secondary vessel just big enough for your batch. And don't hesitate to use a secondary if you want to. For most brews, it's not needed, but I use secondaries whenever adding something post fermentation or for bulk aging.

unionrdr said:

The problem with us comes in insomuch as we brew 5 & 6 gallon batches.

Click to expand...

thus the 5 and 6 gallon carboys. if i go to secondary w/ a five gal batch, i rack from the 6.5 gal to the 5 gal carboy. as far as headspace in primary, it's not really an issue if you have 5 gal in a 6.5 gal carboy due to all the co2 produced during fermentation. eventually that co2 will mix in with the air, thus the need for a smaller vessel with less headspace for post fermentation additions or long term aging.