what are you using to store the yeast in? I'm hoping to do this myself for the first time this weekend and still haven't found the perfect container.
any lessons learned that you'd like to share?
I just bought a flat of 12 pint sized mason jars. They ran me about $7.50. For the "big jar" mentioned in the instructions, I used a 1/2 gallon growler that I had laying around, but you could use probably any container that is a 1/2 gallon or larger that you can seal tightly with a lid.
As for learnings.
1) The jars are hot when you take them out of the boiling water. You probably want to use an oven mit to hold them when you are screwing the lids on.
2) I was harvesting yeast from a bucket instead of a glass carboy. You can't see the layers forming, so you kind of have to go on faith that after 20-30 minutes the trub will settle out.
3) For the "big jar", I would definitely use something glass. Again, it allows you to see the trub settling.
4) I would say that you might want to use a little more water than the instructions call for. It can be hard to start a siphon (even with an autosiphon) if there isn't enough liquid. Otherwise, just be advised you might have to work a little bit to get the siphon going.
5) Don't sweat it too much if you transfer a fair amount of trub into your "big jar" from the fermenter. By the time you siphon the yeast again into your pint jars, it will all come out clean. That's the reason you transfer it twice.
6) A bottling wand works well for filling the pint jars, just like you would a beer bottle.
7) I kept a bucket of star san solution near by to re-sanitize my jars, lids, siphon, etc. during the process.
8) Check your jars after they have been in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure that the change in temp hasn't loosened the rings. The lid itself should still be sealed, but the ring may be a little loose.
Hope this helps!