What this tank actually does in a cellar

An 8000 L top-open vertical fermenter stands on the floor, not on legs or a stand. Cellars pick this shape when the cap has to be worked by hand or with a punch-down tool: the open top gives direct access to the must, and there is no closed dome building pressure during the most active days of fermentation. For red varieties — Cabernet, Syrah, Petit Verdot — that access matters more than automation on day three or four of maceration.

Materials and fabrication

We build the body from 304 stainless as standard, with 316L available when fruit is high in acid or when the tank will also handle juice with elevated chloride. Shell runs 3 mm on the cylinder, 4 mm on the bottom — thicker bottoms survive years of repeated punch-down and pump-over tooling. Interior welds are ground and passivated; the wetted surface is polished to 0.4–0.6 µm Ra so tartrate and lees release cleanly during cleaning. Exterior is either 2B mill finish or brushed, depending on how visible the tank will be.

Cooling

Fermentation heat is the reason these tanks carry a jacket. A dimple-plate jacket is welded to the side wall, and a second circuit can be added on the bottom. Two independent zones let you pull heat from the upper must without over-chilling the lower layer. Glycol at 28–30 °F with a 15–20 °F differential between inlet and outlet is typical for an 8-ton lot; a 3–5 °F drop per hour is realistic when the jacket area is sized properly. Undersized jackets are the most common mistake we see in incoming inquiries — a 8000 L tank with only 2 m² of cooling surface will stall in a warm cellar.

Fittings and connections

Standard configuration: 2 in. bottom drain with butterfly valve, 1.5 in. racking arm, 1 in. sample valve, 1/2 in. thermowell for the probe, 1.5 in. tri-clamp jacket inlets and outlets, and a CIP spray ball under a hinged lid where a lid is specified. Insulation of 80 mm polyurethane with a stainless cladding keeps the jacket from sweating in humid cellars.

Typical specifications

Questions we get before quoting

Can it handle pressure? No. This is an atmospheric tank. If you need 1–2 bar for carbonation or transfer, that is a different vessel with a dished top, relief valve, and pressure rating.

Open top or with lid? Reds usually run open for cap access. Whites and rosé benefit from a sealed lid with a fermentation lock and CIP coverage.

Is one jacket enough? Depends on ambient cellar temperature and how fast you need to cool. Send us your must temperature target and lot size, and we will calculate the required area.

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.