IBC ToteTexas

Reuse ledger, year to date: 41,200 totes diverted from Texas landfills this year. 2,060k lb of HDPE kept in service. 1,772k lb of steel cage recovered. 3,140 tons of CO₂e avoided. 92% of our wash water recycled on site. 68 Texas counties served from one Austin yard. Full methodology at /sustainability/reuse-ledger.

Product · 275 gallon

The 275.
Texas runs on it.

Roughly four out of five totes that leave this yard are 275 gallon composite units. It is the size that fits every pallet position, every forklift, every trailer and almost every job.

Rows of used 275 gallon composite IBC totes stacked two high in an outdoor yard under a blue sky

The short answer

A 275 gallon IBC tote measures 48 × 40 × 46 inches, weighs about 130 lb empty and 2,425 lb full of water, and occupies exactly one standard pallet position. Buy Grade B for water and general industrial use, documented F-grade for anything edible, and rebottled when you need compliance paperwork.

Price a 275 gallon order

Tell us the quantity and the grade — or leave grade blank and we'll recommend one.

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From the yard

Wide view of a warehouse hall filled with reconditioned IBC totes on polished concrete
Covered inventory. What you see on the rack is what goes on your truck.
Close-up of a single 275 gallon IBC tote showing its capacity label, UN placard and blue ball valve
A 275 with the plate, the capacity label and a standard 2-inch ball valve.

48×40×46

inches, L × W × H

One standard pallet position.

130 lb

typical tare weight

Varies 120–145 lb by pallet type.

2,425 lb

gross with water

8.34 lb per gallon.

1,040 L

metric capacity

Nominal, not brimful.

Specifications

The numbers you'll actually be asked for

Print this, or send the page to whoever is planning your rack, your trailer or your containment.

Physical specification
AttributeValue
Nominal capacity275 US gallons / 1,040 litres
Brimful capacity≈ 278–282 gallons (never fill to it)
External dimensions48 in L × 40 in W × 46 in H
Footprint13.3 sq ft — one standard pallet position
Cube51.1 cu ft
Tare weight120–145 lb depending on pallet base
Gross weight (water)≈ 2,425 lb
Bottle materialBlow-moulded HDPE, ≈ 50 lb
CageWelded galvanized tubular steel, ≈ 43 lb
Fill opening6 in screw lid (9 in on some food-grade units)
DischargeS60x6 buttress outlet, 2 in ball or butterfly valve
Forklift entryFour-way
Stacking (empty)3 high
Stacking (full, static)2 high on level improved ground
Load weights by product density
Productlb / galGross weight
Water8.34≈ 2,425 lb
Diesel7.10≈ 2,082 lb
Vegetable oil7.70≈ 2,247 lb
UAN 32-0-0 fertilizer10.90≈ 3,128 lb
12.5% sodium hypochlorite10.00≈ 2,880 lb
Sulfuric acid 93%15.30≈ 4,338 lb
Cane syrup / HFCS11.70≈ 3,348 lb

Choosing

Which 275 should you buy?

Same size, very different containers. The grade decision usually moves the price more than anything else on the order.

275 gallon options by grade
GradeWhat you getRight forWrong for
R — RebottledNew HDPE bottle in a reconditioned cage, new valve and lidChemical packing, potable water, audited supply chainsJobsite water — you're paying for a bottle you don't need
F — Food gradeDocumented edible prior contents, W4 caustic wash, records attachedSyrup, oil, cold brew, molasses, liquid feedAllergen-sensitive production — rebottle instead
A — Grade AClean, straight, presentable, triple rinsedDedicated chemical service, customer-facing installsAnything requiring documentation
B — Grade BSound and leak-free with visible historyRanch water, irrigation, waste collection, jobsiteFood contact
C — Grade CStructurally sound, cosmetically roughWashout containment, consumables, cutting projectsAnything a customer will look at

Common uses

What people do with them

  • Livestock and pasture water

    Two totes on a skid covers a small herd for two days.

  • Liquid fertilizer and 32-0-0

    Watch the weight — 3,130 lb full.

  • Jobsite water and dust control

    Before the meter is set, water arrives on a trailer.

  • Rainwater harvesting

    620 gallons per inch of rain off 1,000 sq ft of roof.

  • Chemical storage in dedicated service

    Match the seal to the chemistry, then never rotate it.

  • Waste oil and glycol collection

    Cheap, robust, and recyclable at end of life.

  • Cut-down planters and wicking beds

    One tote makes two raised beds with a trellis frame.

Honest limits

What a 275 is bad at

  • Transporting fuel on public roads. Totes are not DOT-approved for it. Static storage on private property is a different question — see DOT & UN compliance.
  • Burial. The bottle is not rated for soil pressure and the cage will not hold shape. Berm above ground or buy a cistern.
  • Long-term potable water in a clear bottle. Algae takes two to three weeks in Texas sun. Block the light.
  • Aggressive solvents. Ketones, aromatics and chlorinated solvents permeate HDPE. The tote is single-service after that.
  • Stacking full outdoors on unimproved ground. Uneven bearing folds cages, usually at 3 a.m., usually onto something expensive.

Why the 275 became the default

The 48 × 40 inch footprint is not an accident. It matches the GMA pallet that North American warehousing, racking and trailer decking were all built around. A 275-gallon tote drops into a pallet position with nothing wasted, which means racking, floor planning and truck loading all work without a special case.

The height is the other half of the answer. At 46 inches, two full totes stack under a standard 8-foot rack beam, and a single tote clears the deck height of a flatbed with room to strap. Go up to a 330-gallon unit and you gain 55 gallons but lose some of that flexibility.

Volume in perspective

275 gallons is five standard 55-gallon drums in one container, on one pallet, moved in one lift instead of five. That single fact is why the IBC displaced the drum across most of the chemical supply chain — and it is worth reading the full comparison if you are still running drums.

What to inspect before you accept one

Look at the cage welds at the base corners, the bottle around the outlet, the valve seat, the lid gasket and the pallet feet. Those five points account for nearly every problem we see. There is a 48-point inspection checklist if you want to be thorough — it is the same one our intake crew uses.

Questions people actually ask

+How much does a 275 gallon tote weigh full?
About 2,425 lb with water — 130 lb of tare plus 2,293 lb of liquid. With a chemical at 10.9 lb per gallon, like 32-0-0 fertilizer, you are closer to 3,130 lb. Check your forklift capacity at load centre before you lift one.
+Will a 275 fit through a standard doorway?
Not upright through a 36-inch residential door — the tote is 40 inches wide at minimum. A double door or a 48-inch commercial opening clears it. Height is rarely the issue at 46 inches; width almost always is.
+How many 275s fit on a truck?
Twenty on the floor of a 48-foot flatbed or dry van, forty if you double-stack empties. Full totes should not be stacked in transit — the load shifts and the cages fold.
+Is 275 gallons the real capacity?
It is the nominal capacity. Actual brimful volume is usually 275 to 280 gallons, but you should never fill past the shoulder — leave headspace for thermal expansion, especially outdoors in Texas.
+What's the difference between a 275 and a 264 gallon tote?
The 264 is the true 1,000-litre European spec and it is about 11 gallons smaller in the same footprint. Many sellers label both as '275'. We list them separately because if you are batching to a recipe, eleven gallons matters.

Related

Where to go next

Quick reference

Numbers worth having open in another tab

The figures that come up in almost every conversation, whichever page you arrived on.

275 gallon · 1040 L

48×40×46

Tare
130 lb
Gross, water
2,425 lb
Stack full
2 high
Stock
Always in stock

330 gallon · 1250 L

48×40×53

Tare
160 lb
Gross, water
2,915 lb
Stack full
2 high
Stock
Always in stock

264 gallon · 1000 L

48×40×46

Tare
125 lb
Gross, water
2,325 lb
Stack full
2 high
Stock
Usually in stock

350 gallon · 1325 L

48×40×56

Tare
175 lb
Gross, water
3,095 lb
Stack full
2 high
Stock
Order in

Outlet thread

S60x6 — 60 mm coarse buttress. Not 2" NPT.

Grades published

N, R, F, A, B, C, X — applied at the wash bay.

Wash standards

W1 rinse through W4 caustic CIP at 160°F.

UN retest

Leakproofness 2.5 yrs, requalification 5 yrs.

From the yard notes

Longer reading on this

32 articles written by the people who wash, grade, weld and dispatch. No marketing copy in any of them.

All 32 articles

On the yard this week

Rows of used 275 gallon composite IBC totes stacked two high in an outdoor yard under a blue sky
Graded stock on the outdoor rows, stacked two high and waiting on a grade tag.
Wide view of a warehouse hall filled with reconditioned IBC totes on polished concrete
Covered inventory. What you see on the rack is what goes on your truck.

More answers

While you're here

Pulled from the full FAQ, which runs to forty-plus answers across buying, grades, food safety, sizes, selling, compliance, delivery and care.

Read the full FAQ

Where we are
3505 Montopolis Dr, Austin, TX 78744
Yard hours
Mon–Thu 7:30a–5p · Fri 7:30a–4p · Sat 8a–12p · Sun closed (Central Time)
Coverage
68 Texas counties on scheduled routes, from one Austin yard.

+Do you buy used totes?
Yes — it's half the business. Anywhere in Texas, from a handful behind a brewery to several hundred on a chemical yard. Send photos and prior contents and we'll price them the same day.
+How fast can I get totes?
Austin metro is usually next business day. Most of Central and South Texas is inside 48 hours. Longer hauls ride consolidated routes — San Antonio twice weekly, Houston and DFW weekly, the Permian monthly.
+Is a 275 gallon tote the same as 1,000 litres?
No. 1,000 litres is 264 US gallons. Many sellers round it up to 275; we list both figures because eleven gallons matters if you batch to a recipe.
+Are your totes NSF certified?
The resin in new and rebottled bottles meets FDA 21 CFR 177.1520. Container-level NSF/ANSI 61 certification is a manufacturer programme that does not carry over to reconditioned units. If your specification cites it, you need new containers and we'll tell you so.
+Are stained totes a problem?
Cosmetically yes, functionally usually not. Staining is a strong signal about prior contents, which is why stained units drop a grade, but a stained bottle holds liquid exactly as well as a clear one. It does make the level strip harder to read.

How many 275s do you need?

Stock changes daily and we quote from what is actually on the ground. Send the quantity and grade and you'll have a written price the same business day.

Get a quoteCompare with the 330