Home of the BrewNosers

Hey I probably got a newbie question here because I'm only on my second batch in life. I'm searching for the info on the web and get mixed opinions so I'm confused:

Is a secondary fermenter glass carboy really necessary?

I'm using a "Best Case 1820 British IPA" kit and I don't have a secondary fermenting carboy yet, just a primary plastic one.
The instructions in the kit are alarming by saying "neglecting to rack after 5 days can be hazardous to your beer", but looking elsewhere they usually say no problems.

The answer is no, it's not necessary, and modern convention dictates the vast majority of styles don't benefit from it. There's also a greater risk of infection and oxidation while transferring to secondary. Not many people here use one, myself included.

Totally agree, not necessary in the slightest.

I used to always rack to a secondary glass carboy but wiser brewers told me this was not needed. The only time I've used one in the last two years or more is for Brett yeast as they are less likely to be infected/easier to clean fully.

The other piece of advice I got which helped immensely as a newbie was to control the temperature during fermentation as best you can. I use a heat wrap and Inkbird ITC-308 I got from amazon. For around $50-$60 it was a game changer for me.

Good luck with the brewing!

Alright thanks for the inputs! Then I'll probably get a plastic conical fermenter as my next upgrade.