First time cider brewer; no bubbles after 1.5 weeks?

[newise]

Hello, I'm totally new at homebrew and am on my first batch of cider. I used store bought preservative-free grocery store brand apple juice (5 gallons), along with two cups of brown sugar and two packets of the generic yeast that came with my homebrew starter kit (I didn't want to try anything fancy with my first attempt). I'm using a big white bucket with airtight lid for my fermenter, and storing it in sort of a half-basement type room that's usually dark and cooler than the rest of the house (around 60-65 degrees usually). Of course, I sanitized all my equipment thoroughly.

I started it on Oct 2 (the day I got furloughed due to the gov't shutdown, haha) and it bubbled normally at the beginning. Around a week after I started it, the bubbling slowed significantly, and now at almost 2 weeks it has stopped bubbling. A few bubbles will squeeze out if I push down on the lid, but I sat and stared at it for ~10 min and saw no bubbles.

I thought fermentation would take longer than a week and a half? Is primary fermentation already done, or did I mess something up? A couple nights the weather has been cooler than expected, could it have dropped too far below 60 degrees and killed it? I want to move it to a secondary fermenter to let it clear up after primary fermentation. Should I go ahead and do that?

 

[Yooper]

Yes, it's about done. I started a cider about a week ago, and it's finishing up.

I moved mine to the carboy from the bucket a few days ago and it's clearing quite well already!

 

[newise]

Yes, it's about done. I started a cider about a week ago, and it's finishing up. I moved mine to the carboy from the bucket a few days ago and it's clearing quite well already!

Cool, I thought I messed something up since most instructions I read said fermentation would take 2-3 weeks.

I plan on using another big plastic bucket for secondary fermentation because that's all I have. How will I know when it's all cleared up and ready to go since the container isn't see-through?

 

[Randzor]

Ciders sugars are generally simple sugars, and thus the yeast can devour them pretty quick.

 

[Yooper]

Cool, I thought I messed something up since most instructions I read said fermentation would take 2-3 weeks.

I plan on using another big plastic bucket for secondary fermentation because that's all I have. How will I know when it's all cleared up and ready to go since the container isn't see-through?

You don't want a bucket for secondary- it's got a very wide headspace. After fermentation slows and stops, it's important to minimize headspace. A carboy, demijohn, jugs, etc, with a bung and airlock, topped up to within a few inches of the bung is what most people use.