When to start taking grav tests?

[PistolaPete]

Normally I start taking gravity test when the air lock bubbling slows way down. I went back to using buckets to ferment in after my glass carboy broke in my hands and left me with 28 stitches! The bucket I'm using now has an air leak but seems to be fermenting fine but now I won't be able to tell when fermentation is done by looking at the the air lock. I am doing an American Pale Ale with an OG of 1.049 and was going to go straight from primary to bottle. When should I start taking FG tests? 2 weeks? 2 1/2 weeks?

 

[BigB]

I take one gravity reading at 3 weeks for all of my ales and at 2 weeks for all of my lagers (I just confirm that FG has been reached).

 

[Fennis]

I usually give my beer 12-14 days before I start taking tests. As long as you sanitize your hydrometer and whatever you are using to remove some of the beer from the fermenter, it should be fine at any time, but probably after 2+ weeks you are good to start testing.

 

[gcdowd]

I wait at least two weeks. No sense opening up your fermenter until you have a reasonable expectation that fermentation is complete. If you wait long enough, two readings are all you will need. For higher gravity beers, I would wait longer before my first reading.

 

[PistolaPete]

In relation to the comment I made about the accident it has occurred to me that I should issue a disclaimer that I was to blame and not the carboy! :cross:
So I'll start testing at 2 weeks then.