Where a 10,000 L Tank Starts to Make Sense

A 10,000 L (10 ton) fermenter sits at the point where a winery stops treating fermentation as a manual job. One tank usually holds a full picking day, a single varietal lot, or a component you plan to blend later. Round tanks rack cleanly and distribute glycol evenly around the shell; square tanks fit rectangular cellars and use wall space that round shells waste.

Steel, Welds, and Surface Finish

We build these in SUS304 as standard, since must at pH 3.2 to 3.6 is not aggressive to 304 under normal turnover. Step up to 316L when cleaning water runs high in chloride, when the cellar sits near the coast, or when high-acid must is held for a long time. Interiors are 2B finish with welds ground flush and passivated; product-contact roughness is held around Ra 0.8 µm. Every internal weld is argon back-purged. That costs us time on the shop floor and saves you from crevice corrosion two vintages later.

Cooling Jacket: Belt or Coil

A dimpled belt jacket welded to the shell gives the largest surface area per liter, so glycol at -5 °C can pull a 20 °C must down slowly and evenly, which matters for whites and for holding red fermentation peaks. Coil jackets move heat faster per square meter and cost less on small shells, though they occupy volume and get in the way during cap management. Most 10,000 L units we ship carry a shell belt with an optional bottom coil. Jacket working pressure is typically 0.3 MPa, hydro-tested at 0.6 MPa, and the relief valve protects the glycol loop rather than the tank.

Single Wall or Double Wall

Single-wall tanks live inside a temperature-controlled room and lean on ambient control. Double-wall versions add 50 to 80 mm of polyurethane with stainless cladding, so the tank can stand in an unconditioned cellar with far less condensation on the shell. If your room swings several degrees overnight, insulation cuts glycol load quickly.

Standard Fittings

400 to 450 mm top manway, racking arm, sample valve, CIP spray ball, thermowell, level tube, 1.5 to 2 in butterfly outlets, and adjustable feet. Conical bottoms, variable-capacity lids, and forklift bases are options.

Questions We Get Before an Order

Can one tank handle reds and whites? Yes, with a racking arm and a jacket sized for the faster white ferment. Reds at this volume usually call for a larger manway or a punch-down setup.

How is the jacket sized? From peak heat release, roughly 100 to 150 W per hectoliter at the height of red fermentation.

What do you need from me? Batch size, must temperature at filling, target fermentation temperature, glycol supply temperature, ceiling height, and door width. Ceiling and door dimensions catch more projects than steel grade ever does.

Tell us your batch size, wine type, number of fermentation tanks and available space. We can recommend the tank volume, cooling area and configuration for your cellar.