Tank design

[Hops Hollow]

Greetings from the highest brewery in South Africa. Due to expansion, I need to acquire additional fermentation tanks. The one question that I have been unable to resolve is the height to diameter ratio of the tank. Some folks swear by a 1:1.2 ration while an article in Brauwelt recommended 1:1.5 for micro production. This has to do with stability as well as efficient heat loss during fermentation.
Theo :confused:

[BelgianBrewer]

What size are your fermenters, because it is mainly in smaller unitank fermenters that this ratio is very important.

BelgianBrewer
www.sbmbrew.com

[Hops Hollow]

The tanks will be 10 000lt unitanks
Theo

[Moonlight]

That seems to be about 85 US barrels...In the US, stainless steel usually comes in rolls 48 inches wide. If you can use a sidewall dimension that is even multiples of the raw material, you will save great amounts of money in not cutting, and wasting stainless steel. I don't know what size rolls your manufacturer may use, but I would recommend you consider a design that is cost-effective from the manufacturer's side. Then again, depending on where it is made, there may be shipping issues relating to the size.
If you are making ales with a more vigorous fermentation, a wider tank will have less foaming issues. German literature usually refers to lager fermentations.
Without technical research, I seem to think a 2:1 height to diameter is pretty normal and even a 3:1 is OK, maybe more. Any change from your current configuration will likely affect the yeast performance, and therefore the flavor of your beer.
I know there has been research about the location of cooling jackets making a huge difference on performance.

[Hops Hollow]

Thank for the reply, but due to finger problems and not reviewing my typing I put an extra 0 onto the tank capacity. Volume is 1000lt and not 10 000lt. My most humble appologies
Theo