Where a 5,000 L Tank Fits in a Winery

This size shows up when small-lot handling stops being practical. Producers order a 5,000 L vessel because they want one tank to carry a full press load through alcoholic fermentation instead of splitting the must across four or five 1,000 L tanks and losing consistency between them. The multi-chamber cooling layout exists for a specific reason: temperature inside 5,000 liters of must is not uniform, and one jacket cannot hold a stable differential between the bottom cone and the top of the cap.

Materials and Fabrication

SUS304 is our default for shell and cone. We move to 316L when the customer runs high-acid must, long skin contact, or a harsh peracetic cleaning regime. Interior welds are ground flush, pickled, then polished to Ra ≤ 0.8 µm on all wetted surfaces. The exterior is 2B or mirror finish depending on whether the tank stands in a visible tasting room or a working cellar.

Dimple or channel jackets are laser-welded to the shell before insulation goes on. That means cooling area is locked in at drawing stage — it cannot be increased after the tank is built, which is why we ask for must temperature, ambient cellar temperature and desired pull-down time before quoting.

Insulation runs 80–100 mm polyurethane under a stainless cladding. Legs are sized against filled weight — about 5.6 t of liquid plus tank and fittings — so we need your floor loading and anchor points before shipment.

Connections, Cleaning and Pressure

A typical fitting set includes top manway, CIP spray ball, racking arm, sample valve, airlock or breather port, and 2 in. tri-clamp ports for the glycol loop. These tanks are non-pressure vessels unless specified otherwise. Where you intend to sparge or transfer under pressure, we build to 0.5–1.5 bar working pressure with a correctly sized relief valve; the valve rating and the tank rating have to match, and that is a certification item, not an accessory.

Specifications

Common Questions

Can one jacket handle red fermentation heat? Usually not at 5,000 L. Segmented chambers let you run the upper zone harder during peak fermentation and idle the lower zone afterward.

Do I need a cone or a flat bottom? Cones help with lees removal and racking. Flat-bottom tanks cost less and work fine for white juice settling.

What should I send before asking for a price? Batch size, must type, target fermentation temperature, glycol supply temperature, available ceiling height and doorway width.

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.