Equiping a winery, looking for good used gear

Rats –

We’re finally taking the plunge and looking to equip a space on a very rapid timeframe. We’ve been leasing space from another winery for 3 years, so we’re well in the swing of producing and selling now its time for this jump. We’re self-funding (nutso) so as much used gear as possible would be great. If you know of anything, specifically related to the following, please hit me up. We only have 240 power, so no 480V gear please. We’ll be about 200 tons/year or so. Harvest is coming.

destemmer and sorting table/elevator of quality like a E2 or similar 5-10tph size. We do mostly whole berry.
membrane press 25hl or similar size. Hopper to dump into the press.
Glycol chiller ~100K BTUs/hr
Waukesha 130
ozone generator
4-8 ton jacketed open top fermenters (3)
600-ish gallon portatanks, jacketed (2)
forklift and bin dumper
Other random parts and pieces that a winery needs
Compressor and diaphragm pump for pumpovers
40x40 plate and frame filter

Thanks for your help with this.
ibvinification@gmail.com

Seems like the size of equipment your seeking is just big enough that alot of the used stuff will be 3 phase. Maybe a phase converter should be on your list? Just a thought. You probably already know this but there is quite a bit of used equipment on winebusiness.com and winerysite.com. Also contact transition equipment they have a large selection too. Good luck with your venture! Hope you already have your TTB and state licences in! Cheers
casey

I use a phase converter for a much smaller operation so I can use the variable speed drive on a 3 phase machine. Of course there are phase converter/variable speed drive combos but with a stand alone rotary phase converter like a Temco, you can power a variety of 3 phase equipment.

240/3 phase power. I can convert 480 gear to 240 if necessary. No phase converter needed.

I did exactly the same thing as you propose, and bought everything used.

There are a few things you MUST have right away (Pallet Jack & Forklift, in that order) , and a few things you can borrow (or wait for) and a few you can rent (or try before you buy).

It also turned out that non glamorous items like cheap used 250 gallon food transport cubes, became tanks and fermenting vessels that we still find useful and convenient. And boy how we used up a cheap used Karcher Diesel Steam pressure washer for years, before we got a nice new one, with a Aaquatools barrel washer! It took time tho!

Our bootstrapping method (relentlessly having to justifying everything) had a double benefit, as it turned out my estimation of our needs changed or was incorrect, and by borrowing and renting we ended up not getting stuck with a piece of equipment that we really did not want. (i.e thank God we did not buy that little press!)

You gotta be quick, and have cash, but take your time and suffer, and don’t buy everything at once.

Like I said, we’ve been at this for a few years, so I have a pretty good idea of what I need. I’ve also run four or five other small wineries, so I’m versed in my equipment. Licensing is in process, wastewater is taken care of. I have a pile of bins, barrels, etc. The biggest problem is I’ll likely outgrow the space in two years, but taking on 10000 sq ft was too much rent.