Nearly four tonnes of stainless steel has been used to extend and upgrade facilities at Cape Clairault Winery in Western Australia's Margaret River region.
The project involved the installation of four 5 000 litre red wine hopper fermenters, four 12 000 litre and one 4 500 litre white wine storage tanks and the upgrade of 15 existing tanks of 1 000 -12 000 litre capacities.
Each hopper has a 20 degree sloping bottom to allow complete drainage after service. The design reduces the need for manual cleaning, a potentially dangerous practice due to the build-up of carbon dioxide in the enclosed tank space.
The white wine storage tanks have a conical bottom, also for drainage, and a two piece controllable heating/cooling system constructed from grade 316 stainless steel high pressure cavity plate. If the tank is only half full, refrigeration can be pumped through just the bottom cavity plate.
The cavity plate, constructed by ASSDA member Simcraft Products also features off-centre dimples for greater distribution of the cooling brine.
To convert the winery's existing tanks from storage to fermentation, high pressure cavity plate and temperature probes were added for cold stabilisation, while one of the 5 000 litre tanks was converted to a fermentation hopper.
The tanks were fabricated or upgraded with grade 316 stainless steel in coil, with all welds acid cleaned with post-fabrication polishing to ensure greater corrosion resistance.
The tanks were fabricated in sections then joined together, stacked one on top of the other. Plug welds were used to reduce the risk of cracking at contact points and for improved corrosion resistance.
Simcraft Products undertook all fabrication for the project. Stainless steel and stainless steel components for the tanks were supplied by ASSDA member Austral Wright Metals.
This article featured in Australian Stainless magazine - Issue 18, May 2001.
