"J F" > wrote in message
. ..
>
>>
> I have experience in a commercial winery with floating lids up to 15000
> litre tanks.

All I have is a 200 liter tank, but I will echo all your complaints (well,
OK I don't need a ceiling mounted winch for mine).

Nice idea in theory, but this fall when it came time to protecting my must
as fermentation was dying down, I just resorted to some heavy plastic
sheeting. I doubt if I'll ever use the lid again.

Brian

"Brian Lundeen" > wrote in message
...
>
> "J F" > wrote in message
> . ..
> >
> >>
> > I have experience in a commercial winery with floating lids up to 15000
> > litre tanks.
>
> All I have is a 200 liter tank, but I will echo all your complaints (well,
> OK I don't need a ceiling mounted winch for mine).
>
> Nice idea in theory, but this fall when it came time to protecting my must
> as fermentation was dying down, I just resorted to some heavy plastic
> sheeting. I doubt if I'll ever use the lid again.
>
Did I mention you should check the membrane air prerssure frequenlty to make
sure the seal still exists? Thay have habit of slowly leaking even if the
membrane is not ruptured.

Thanks for the opinions. I was looking for something in the 10-20
gallon range. An alternative to having "break down" the wine into
smaller containers once the original container is opened.

The "floating lids" sound like more trouble than they are worth. I
think I might investigate kegging with Nitrogen a little more closely.



On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 18:52:47 -0400, "J F" > wrote:

>
>"Brian Lundeen" > wrote in message
...
>>
>> "J F" > wrote in message
>> . ..
>> >
>> >>
>> > I have experience in a commercial winery with floating lids up to 15000
>> > litre tanks.
>>
>> All I have is a 200 liter tank, but I will echo all your complaints (well,
>> OK I don't need a ceiling mounted winch for mine).
>>
>> Nice idea in theory, but this fall when it came time to protecting my must
>> as fermentation was dying down, I just resorted to some heavy plastic
>> sheeting. I doubt if I'll ever use the lid again.
>>
>Did I mention you should check the membrane air prerssure frequenlty to make
>sure the seal still exists? Thay have habit of slowly leaking even if the
>membrane is not ruptured.
>

I have two 200 Liters variable volume SS tank and I really love them.
No trouble with small size. But I agree that big tank could cause
more problem because of the weigth of the lid but it is not the case
with mine. I find them to be really handy for blending and no worry
for top up with the floating lid. I use them to ferment my red and to
aged blended wines. No complain so far.

Séb



monkeybug > wrote in message >. ..
> Thanks for the opinions. I was looking for something in the 10-20
> gallon range. An alternative to having "break down" the wine into
> smaller containers once the original container is opened.
>
> The "floating lids" sound like more trouble than they are worth. I
> think I might investigate kegging with Nitrogen a little more closely.

Séb,
How long have you been using it? I am wondering about long term
maintenance. This is actually for someone else and the less
maintenance, the better.

Also, where did you get it from? Any examples online?



On 28 Oct 2004 13:02:17 -0700, (seb) wrote:

>I have two 200 Liters variable volume SS tank and I really love them.
>No trouble with small size. But I agree that big tank could cause
>more problem because of the weigth of the lid but it is not the case
>with mine. I find them to be really handy for blending and no worry
>for top up with the floating lid. I use them to ferment my red and to
>aged blended wines. No complain so far.
>
>Séb
>
>
>
>monkeybug > wrote in message >. ..
>> Thanks for the opinions. I was looking for something in the 10-20
>> gallon range. An alternative to having "break down" the wine into
>> smaller containers once the original container is opened.
>>
>> The "floating lids" sound like more trouble than they are worth. I
>> think I might investigate kegging with Nitrogen a little more closely.

monkeybug > wrote in message >. ..
> Séb,
> How long have you been using it? I am wondering about long term
> maintenance. This is actually for someone else and the less
> maintenance, the better.
>
> Also, where did you get it from? Any examples online?


I use these two 200 VC tank since only two years now. The only thing
I can see for long term maintenance is that you will have to buy
replacement air tube to avoid any problem. SS is the best material
for winemaking and is so easy to clean. Don't use sulphite to avoid
damage the surface. 304 alloy SS will pit if expose to sulphite.
Some higher quality tank are made of 316 alloy but they are pricey. A
small VC SS tank is very handy as you can put various amount of wine
without the need to top up, they are light, have large opening so you
can ferment your red in it and the white of course. They are really
great tools for blending and any ratio you want. However there are
many different size of tank for the same volume and different quality
and features that you have to take care. Also check the valve
diameter, some got 1/2" while others are 1" and more. I pick one with
1" valve as it fit my pump requirement.

I buy these two tanks from Kevin Watson in Niagara. Kevin is really
nice and have good price on these small tank. http://www.watsons.ca/

For more informations on SS VC tank, check this link
http://www.stpats.com/Fermenters.htm

Hope this help,
Séb