What a 5,000 L Tank Actually Holds

A 5,000 L vessel is where most small wineries move from one-ton bins to a proper tank farm. In practice you ferment about 4,000 L of must in it, leaving headspace for the cap and the foam of a fast, warm ferment. It still fits through a standard 2.5 m door if you tip it before rigging, which matters when the crush pad is upstairs or behind a narrow driveway.

Shape, Bottom and Working Access

We build these as vertical cylinders with either a conical or flat bottom. Red maceration normally gets a shallow cone at 15–30°, which drains lees cleanly and gives you room for a pump-over line and a racking arm. If your crew dumps pomace by hand, a flat bottom with a side door is cheaper to make and faster to shovel out. Whites and rosé often go the other way: a slightly deeper cone for settling and juice racking.

Material, Welding and Finish

SUS304 covers wine in most cellars; 316L is what we recommend when the tank will also see high-acid must, salt-heavy CIP chemistry, or coastal air. Shell thickness runs 3 mm, with full-penetration welds ground and pickled. Interior polish is usually Ra ≤ 0.8 µm — enough to keep tartrate and lees from grabbing, without the cost of a mirror finish nobody sees. Gaskets are food-grade EPDM or silicone, and the manway uses a swing bolt or clamp door depending on how often it opens.

Cooling and Pressure

A dimple jacket on the shell and lower cone, fed by glycol at −5 °C, holds red ferment between 24 and 28 °C and white must near 12–15 °C. Jacket surface area is the number that decides whether you can crash-cool a full tank overnight; a 5,000 L unit usually needs 2.5–3.5 m². Working pressure is 0.2 MPa with a relief valve set above it — never rely on the valve alone to control a sealed ferment.

Typical Specifications

Questions Buyers Ask Us

Can I clean it without opening the manway?

Yes, if the CIP spray ball is sized to the tank diameter and your pump delivers 2–3 bar at the ball. Rotating heads need flow, not just pressure.

Do I need one big tank or two smaller ones?

Two 2,500 L tanks give you varietal separation and blending options. One 5,000 L tank gives you lower cost per liter. Most cellars under 30,000 L annual production pick two.

What connections should I plan for?

Glycol in/out, CIP supply and return, a racking line, and a vent or CO₂ path. Confirm your glycol header size before we weld the jacket ports.

Send us your batch size, varietal, number of tanks and available floor space. We can work out volume, jacket area, bottom style and port layout for your cellar.