An open-top 2500L vessel usually lands in a red wine cellar for one of two jobs: primary fermentation with punch-down or pump-over, or as a working tank where fruit arrives by bin tipper and forklift. We build this one with a dimple jacket on the side wall and bottom, because the cooling demand peaks in the first four days of fermentation, not in the middle of it.

Inner shell is 3mm SUS304 as standard, 316L when the must is high in chloride or the cellar runs aggressive caustic and acid cycles. Outer shell 2mm, dimple jacket formed from 1.2mm sheet and spot-welded to the inner wall before the outer shell goes on. All seams are TIG welded, welds ground and pickled, internal surface 2B or mirror polished on request. The open top edge is rolled and flanged so a lid, a cover or a screen can sit on it without fabrication on site.

Forklift slots run the full length under the bottom and take standard 120mm forks. They move an empty or partially filled tank across a cellar floor without a crane. They are not lifting lugs — slinging from them puts the load into the shell, not the frame.

Jacket ports are 1.5in or 2in tri-clamp, typically glycol in at the low point and out at the high point so the jacket floods properly. Design pressure on the jacket is 3 bar with a 2 bar working pressure and a relief valve; the tank body itself is open and unpressurized, which is what makes sampling, cap management and cleaning straightforward.

Standard connections: racking arm, sample valve, dial thermometer, CIP spray ball on the optional lid. Volume is 2500L working, roughly 3000L gross, leaving headspace for a cap that will rise during peak fermentation.

Common questions

Do I need the jacket on the bottom as well as the wall? For reds, yes — the cap insulates the surface and heat sits low in the tank during the first days. Wall-only jackets often cannot hold 24C on a 2500L ferment in a warm cellar.

Why 316L? Only if your juice or cleaning regime justifies it. 304 handles most red wine programs for the life of the tank.

Can it be pressurized for sparkling base? No. This is an open-top design. If you need pressure, that is a different tank with a dished top and a rated manway.

Tell us your must volume, grape variety, cellar ambient temperature and available floor space. We can confirm tank volume, jacket area and connection layout before you commit to a purchase order.