Secondary fermentation ????

I usually move to secondary because I need the primary free for another beer

That is the BEST reason to secondary!

Maybe I will just use the same recipe twice. First time only in the primary, the second time in the secondary and then compare.

Ugh....my funds are almost there, and then I will have my kit from Austin's.

adurotec said:

Once in the secondary another smaller yeast cake will form when you let it sit 7-14 days (I secondary for 14 days). The smaller the yeast cake the less likely you are going to accidently stir dormant yeast/particulates back into the beer which will end up in the final product; unless you filter there will always be yeast (and hops) in the beer.
David

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....OK, I am glad to hear that I should have a smaller second cake in 2ndary but I complicated things a bit by pitching re-hydrated dry yeast into 90 deg wort (i knew I screwed up as soon as I did it). What I got was a runnaway ferm that attenuated in 63 hrs when I moved it to 2ndary. hte first hour in secondary I got some bubbles in the air lock (very few) but that quickly stopped and now it looks dead excepting that there is a <1/4" cake on my 5 gal batch and I can see small lumps rising to the sueface and falling back...but not one bubble....should I let it (Irish red ale extract kit) for the full 14 days B4 racking to bottles?

What I have since learned is at a good bare minimum beer needs 3 weeks in fermentation weather you go primary for 2 secondary for 1 or primary for three then bottle. lots of people do more than 3 weeks and lots don't bother with secondary. I just got a keg set up and decided to try a 3 week no secondary ferm with force carbonation. It worked awesome and the beer (with the help of 3 friends) was gone in a night.
Any way what I am saying is I wouldn't bottle until it has been with the yeast for 3 weeks unless your feeling lucky then go 2. you can take hydro readings all day long that say you have attenuation but that still doesn't mean you have great beer, it needs a little time to age so all the flavors can meld. Leave it for 3 weeks then you will have good beer and no bottle bombs!

Update for my Midwest Irish Red. I am more convinced that I didnt hurt it by moving it to secondary after almost 3 days total in primary based on the taste and attenuation. I used the stock dry Muntons ale yeast in this kit and a friend has a similar kit with the same yeast. I know I was carrying higher temps at zero-hour because of my wort cooling issues but his kit did the same 3 day rapid ferm mine did.
I have this in the bottle now after a full 7 days in secondary and I am hoping for the best. I figure at worst it will be a little estery, but I know from taste at racking that I am on the right track.

BTW...my second batch (ever) is a Midwest Bass Clone using Wyeast Brit Ale 1098 and it has been slow a steady in primary for a good 6 days so far and is still bubbling the airlock. Granted, my wort temps were much better but so was my buddy's batch with the Muntuns and this ferm is nothing like that one.
I can't see myself using dry yeast again.

OK, So I tasted my Irish Red WIth the High Pitch Temp after 14 (OK, 12) days bottle conditioning and....I was amazed at how good it actually was:rockin:; However, as it warmed the impact of the 80 degree pitch and 3 day primary fermentation at 75 deg or better, became more and more apparent.

I was right about the esters....Bubble gum turning to Juicy Fruit...mild at first but more obvious as it warmed.
Read up in a couple forums and I will have and Ice bath on hand for the kettle on the next batch in addition to my new wort chiller. Also going to look to cool the ferm for primary into the upper 60's if I can get there using t-shirt water bath evep method.

The hate for secondaries always makes me chuckle a bit.

I've brewed and let the beer sit in the primary for six weeks and then moved to a secondary. Even after sitting in secondary for a few months there was some sediment on the bottom when I transferred into a keg. This says to me that even after a long primary there was still a little work to be wrapped up by the yeast.

Skarekrough said:

The hate for secondaries always makes me chuckle a bit.

I've brewed and let the beer sit in the primary for six weeks and then moved to a secondary. Even after sitting in secondary for a few months there was some sediment on the bottom when I transferred into a keg. This says to me that even after a long primary there was still a little work to be wrapped up by the yeast.

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The sediment is the yeast... if you had left it in the primary the same amount of time then you would have had the same end result. For long term, I don't see why you would want to take the chance of autolysis, even if the chance of it occurring is slim, and that is a perfect understandable use for a 'secondary' vessel.