Sizing the tank to the fermentation, not the catalog

A 10,000 L tank carries about 10 tons of must, which covers a mid-size red program or a large single white lot. At that volume, heat stops leaving on its own. During peak activity a 10-ton lot can climb two to three degrees Celsius per day, and once the cap passes 30°C (86°F) you start driving off varietal aromatics and risking a stuck ferment. The cooling jacket exists for that reason.

Round or square, single or double wall

Round tanks give the most uniform jacket contact and the cleanest CIP coverage. Square tanks suit cellars built on a rectangular grid and use floor space better when rows are stacked against a wall. Single-wall tanks lean on room cooling and cost less. Double-wall tanks carry 50–80 mm of polyurethane between shells, so they hold temperature with roughly half the refrigeration capacity and behave predictably in an uninsulated cellar.

Fabrication details worth asking about

We build in SUS304 as standard and move to 316L when juice or cleaning chemistry carries meaningful chloride. Interior welds are ground flush and passivated, and the shell is argon-purged on the back side to prevent sugaring. Jacket options are a dimpled belt or a welded coil — the belt covers more surface, the coil reacts faster on smaller lots. Jacket working pressure runs around 0.3 MPa with a relief valve on every circuit, so a stuck solenoid cannot over-pressurize the shell.

Each tank ships with a manway, rotary spray ball, sample valve, racking port, and tri-clamp connections for glycol, CIP, and transfer lines. Jackets are pressure-tested and logged before crating.

Typical specifications

Questions we get before quoting

Do I need round or square? Match the tank to the room. If the cellar is already framed out, square tanks often recover 10–15% of usable floor area.

What glycol supply temperature? Most red ferments are held with glycol at -5°C to 0°C entering the jacket. Confirm your chiller capacity against the jacket surface area, not just tank volume.

Can the same tank do fermentation and storage? Yes, provided the jacket area is sized for the fastest ferment you plan, not the average one.

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