FermenteaWhere food goes to change
Equipment · Tanks and vats
Flextank maturation tank · polyethylene wine maturation tank · polyethylene egg tank
Flextank Apollo and Orion are PE vessels for beverage fermentation and maturation, engineered for stated oxygen transmission. Their material, scale and use differ from generic tanks, pressure-rated PET fermenters and coopered barrels.
Engineered polyethylene maturation tanks are moulded beverage vessels whose polymer, wall thickness and geometry are selected for particular cellar work. Flextank's Apollo and Orion are documented examples. Apollo is an egg-shaped polyethylene tank sold for small-batch closed fermentation and long-term storage; its product sheet gives 230 US gallons (875 litres). The larger Orion technical sheet lists a 528 US gallon (1,998.7 litre) tank made of linear low-density polyethylene. These capacities describe named models, not a standard size for the equipment class.
Flextank says it engineers each vessel's resin blend, wall thickness and surface-area-to-volume ratio for its intended beverage use. Its maturation-weight vessels are specified at 9 mg/L/year oxygen transmission under the company's stated conditions. The manufacturer compares that figure with a typical two-year-old oak barrel at about 13°C, while its heavier vessels are described separately. Those are product specifications and company comparisons, not proof that all polyethylene behaves this way or that a tank produces the same wine as a barrel. Oxygen transmission depends on the exact vessel and service conditions.
Apollo has an elongated egg profile, large top access, moulded-in inserts for fittings and optional side lifting brackets and pallet. Flextank's current Apollo listing notes that photos may show valves or accessories that are sold separately. The Orion has its own technical specification, lid, bottom-access and base arrangement. A cylindrical maturation tank in this family is a different model form; this page uses Apollo and Orion to explain the engineered-polyethylene category rather than treating their fittings as universal.
The published pressure-rated PET fermenter is a transparent vessel whose manufacturer specifies pressure limits and fittings for pressure fermentation. The Flextank examples use polyethylene (the Orion sheet specifies LLDPE) and are described for fermentation, storage and model-specific oxygen transmission; the reviewed specifications give no pressure-vessel rating, so pressure capability should not be inferred from a closed lid or ferment lock. The vessel is also not a wooden barrel: a coopered cask has a wood shell and its own oxygen and flavor behavior. Flextank markets its tanks partly as alternatives to barrels, but its transmission comparison is a maker claim under stated conditions, not evidence of identical sensory outcomes.
Flextank's Apollo lifting instructions warn that the spreader bar can slide off forklift tines unless restrained.
Hazard sourceThe reviewed Apollo and Orion documents describe fermentation, maturation and gas permeation but do not specify a pressure-vessel rating.
Hazard sourceFor lifting or tipping, use only the exact manufacturer's tank and lifting hardware instructions, and secure forklift-mounted equipment as the Apollo sheet specifies.
Control sourceDo not infer pressure capability from a lid, ferment lock or polyethylene construction; use only a vessel whose maker documents the exact pressure service.
Control sourceFlextank's barrel-comparison figures are its own design claims under stated conditions; they do not prove identical sensory results or establish a general polyethylene property.
The reviewed materials do not establish a pressure rating for Apollo or Orion; this page does not present either as a pressure fermenter.
This vessel family is not interchangeable with generic polyethylene tanks. Flextank states that wall thickness, resin blend, surface-area-to-volume ratio and configuration determine its intended oxygen permeation.
Source →The term polyethylene here does not mean PET. The separate pressure-rated PET fermenter is a transparent pressure-capable vessel; the Flextank examples are opaque PE/LLDPE vessels designed for specified gas transmission and wine storage or fermentation. Do not transfer pressure ratings between them.
Source →Similarity to an oak barrel is a maker-stated oxygen-transmission comparison under stated conditions, not proof of identical flavor or a claim that the polyethylene tank is a coopered barrel.
Source →Flextank says its vessels are produced in Vancouver, Washington. This is a manufacturing location for the cited Flextank line, not all PE tanks.
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FlextankForm · Function · Capacity · Model variation
230 Gallon Apollo Egg TankFlextank describes Apollo as a 230-gallon polyethylene egg tank designed principally as a small-batch closed fermentor and also suitable for long-term storage after fermentation.
The company attributes internal convection and cap concentration to the egg form; these are the maker's claims, not independent comparative findings.
The product page says product photographs may show valves and accessories that are purchased separately.
Cited in: A manufactured vessel with a specified wall; Tank forms and fittings vary by product; Distinct from a pressure fermenter or coopered barrel
FlextankConstruction · Capacity · Operation · Safety
APOLLO Tanks product sheetThe sheet describes the 230 US gallon (875 litre) Apollo as both a closed fermentor and a long-term maturation tank, with molded inserts for valve flanges and accessories.
It describes optional lifting brackets and a pallet, and warns users to secure a forklift-mounted spreader bar against sliding off the tines.
Flextank says Apollo is manufactured in Vancouver, Washington, USA.
Cited in: A manufactured vessel with a specified wall; Tank forms and fittings vary by product
FlextankMaterials · Gas transmission · Manufacture · Geography
About FlextankFlextank says its vessels are individually designed with specific surface-area-to-volume ratio, wall thickness and configuration; it cautions that not all polyethylene vessels have the same permeability.
The company describes maturation-weight vessels as designed for 9 mg/L/year oxygen transmission, similar to a typical two-year-old barrel under its stated nominal cellar condition; it presents this as a manufacturer specification.
Flextank states that the vessels are produced by SmaK Plastics in Vancouver, Washington, and says dealers serve markets around the world.
Cited in: Gas transmission is designed into the model; Distinct from a pressure fermenter or coopered barrel
FlextankModel variation · Materials · Capacity · Specification
Flextank technical sheet: OrionThe Orion technical sheet identifies its tank material as LLDPE, capacity as 528 US gallons (1,998.7 litres), and oxygen permeation as 9 mg/L/year.
These measurements apply to the Orion model in this technical sheet; they do not define every Flextank or polyethylene vessel.
Cited in: A manufactured vessel with a specified wall; Gas transmission is designed into the model; Tank forms and fittings vary by product; Distinct from a pressure fermenter or coopered barrel