Is it ok to add more yeast to my primary?

[ELMOREK12]

I just started a batch of brown ale two nights ago and I have a few questions.
Right now it is in the primary fermenter and I am not getting and bubbles in my air lock. If nothing happens soon, can I add more yeast to save it or is it trash? Also, should my fermenter be the glass carboy or a 7gal ale pale? Is there an advantage to one over the other. Last thing. I read that you can reuse yeast from one batch to the other. Is this true? How do you get it, and will the taste of one batch carry over to another batch?

 

[user 19629]

You can't be sure it's not fermenting without either
checking for krausen or getting a gravity reading
there could be a leak somewhere and that might cause the lack of airlock activity.

 

[hal2814]

x2 on a hydrometer reading or looking for krausen. If you see krausen, you know fermentation is happening. If not, compare the current hydrometer reading to your original reading. If you didn't take an original reading, take one now and compare your results to three days from now. If you don't see the krausen AND the hydro reading hasn't changed, you don't have fermentation. Pitching more yeast is fine, but give it at least three days. Sometimes yeast is slow to start.

The fermenter can be any clean glass, stainless steel, or PETE or HDPE plastic container. Each have their own pros and cons, but any will allow you to produce good beer. And I'm sure other materials could be used as well but I won't vouch for them since I haven't used them.

There's a thread on "yeast washing" somewhere here. That's the best way to reuse yeast for a typical homebrewer though other methods do exist.