Description
A 5000 L open top fermenter is a red wine tool before it is anything else. The cap has to be punched down, the must has to be visible, and heat has to come off fast in the first 48 hours when the exotherm peaks. Closed tanks with a top manway make all three harder.
We build the shell and bottom in 304 stainless, 3 mm plate at this volume. Seams are machine welded with full penetration, nozzle welds are TIG under argon purge, and interior welds are dressed so tartrate and lees have no crevice to settle into. Inside is a 2B mill finish. Outside we apply the oil brushed treatment, which leaves a matte grain that hides handling marks and holds up better than a mirror polish in a damp cellar.
Cooling and control
The dimple plate jacket is resistance-welded to the shell and inflated into a channel network, so coolant runs directly against the tank wall instead of through a separate coil. A 5000 L tank normally gets two zones on the side wall, about 3.5–4 m² of total cooling surface. Two zones earn their cost: run one through the cold soak, then bring both online when fermentation starts pulling 8–10 °F a day.
Open top means no working pressure. Plan transfers with a pump or gravity, and treat a gasketed lid as an atmospheric inert gas blanket only — never as a way to push wine out with gas.
Specifications
| Working volume | 5,000 L (6,000–6,500 L total) |
| Shell and bottom | 304 stainless, 3 mm |
| Interior finish | 2B mill, dressed welds |
| Exterior finish | Oil brushed |
| Cooling | Dimple plate jacket, 2 zones, 3.5–4 m² |
| Jacket pressure | 1.5 bar working, 3 bar tested |
| Insulation | Optional 50 mm PU, stainless cladding |
| Ports | 1.5 in sample valve, 2 in racking, top hatch |
Where these tanks fit
Estate wineries running single-varietal lots, custom crush houses that swing between red and white programs, and pilot plants scaling a blend before committing to larger vessels.
Common questions
Should I insulate it? Yes, with 50 mm polyurethane and cladding, if your cellar is not temperature controlled.
What glycol supply temperature? 26–28 °F at the chiller, sized to your peak fermentation heat load rather than to the tank volume alone.
Do I need 316L? For must, 304 is standard. 316L mainly pays off where cleaning water runs high in chlorides.
Can the hatch and sample port move? Yes. We position them around your punch-down routine and the aisle space you actually have.
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 winery.
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