Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/438260
12 p r a c t i c a l w i n e r y & v i n e ya r d J a n U a r y 2 0 1 5 c o v e r s t o r y that are seamless. Although the tanks have a rectangular shape, the inside is rounded with no sharp corners." La Garde fabrication has been preceded by seismic design objectives to resist an earthquake of level 6 on the Richter scale. The Rodney Strong 6,000-gallon tanks were designed following a finite element analysis. Two structural braces were welded around the tank and rein- forced corners support the base of the tank. La Garde supplied special circular metal collars that limit the movement of the tank's six feet (see photo on page 13). Dimensions of the 6,000-gallon (20-ton grape capacity) tank are 115 inches (side walls), 112 inches (front and back walls), 127 inches tall from the 2% slope floor that is 34 inches above ground. There are six breakdown tanks: two 1,250 gallons, two 1,000 gallons, and two 750 gallons. Cooling/heating capability on new tanks "The 6,000-gallon fermentation tanks have two sets of tank wall channels for recirculation of chilled or warm gly- col to give winemaker Justin Seidenfeld close and constant temperature control," explains Bob Heasell, senior engineer at Applied Process Cooling Corp. (APCCO). Depending on the temperature of the fruit being received, the two tank wall- channel system allows for either cooling or warming of the fruit. In the 2014 harvest, grapes typically arrived at the winery at 70º F and were chilled for three days in tanks with chilled glycol in tank wall channels to lower the fruit temperature to 50º F. On the third day, the fruit was allowed to begin to warm up naturally to assist the initiation of primary fermentation, and the system continued to precisely man- age the tank temperature. During the cooling mode, both the upper and lower jackets provide cooling based on a TankNet controller activat- A "toad" irrigator was installed inside the truncated manway at the top of the tank to perform a 20-minute pump over supplied by a 2-inch air pump three times per day. Glycol piping on tank back wall.