A couple questions...

[Hop2It]

Is there an additional benefit of secondary fermentation other than leaving most of the yeast sludge in the primary? I ask this after having secondary fermented my last 2 batches after a little over a week in the primary then racking over and dry hopping. Both came out very well, but the racking over seems like an unnecessary step. I have a batch that has been in the primary for 10 days now and am considering just adding the hop pellets to the primary, then bottling in 4 or 5 days. Just looking for some input, thanks in advance.

 

[freisste]

The best input I can give is for you to do just as planned. It is totally your choice whether or not to secondary.

I would recommend trying it both ways so you can decide for yourself.

Beer will certainly clear without using secondary. You will have to be a little more careful when racking to your bottling bucket to minimize what you transfer, but that is a pretty small price to pay.

 

[Bensiff]

Yes, it is an unnecessary step that serves little more than wasting time, adding unwanted oxygen, more opportunity for infection, and less opportunity for the yeast to finish its job clearing out the beer. You can just as easily leave the yeast sludge behind when you rack to a bottling bucket. Go ahead and dry hop in primary, I usually begin the dry hop right on the tail end of active fermentation to let the CO2 scrub any O2 I introduce.

 

[grem135]

The longer the beer is in primary the firmer the yeast cake will compact making it easier to rake to bottling bucket without transferring the "sludge". I have not used a secondary and I usually go 3-4 weeks in primary unless life gets in the way..... I gotta get that batch bottled I brewed on 12-4-13 LOL

 

[johngaltsmotor]

There is nothing magical about "secondary" fermentation. It is (for the most part) a continuation of the same processes (aside from stage like a diacetyl rest). The true benefit is that after a certain period of time (6weeks +/-) the dead yeast cells on the bottom of the fermentor decompose and produce off flavors in your beer. By eliminating them you can prevent those flavors.
If you are not going to ferment for more than 4 weeks many brewers don't transfer to a secondary because there is no significant benefit.