Reference
The vocabulary,
defined plainly.
Container jargon is used loosely enough that two people can have an entire conversation about 'food grade totes' and mean completely different things. These are the definitions this site uses, consistently.
The short answer
The four terms worth learning first: S60x6 (the outlet thread on almost every composite IBC), tare weight (the empty weight, 120–145 lb on a 275), permeation (chemical migrating into the polymer, which cannot be washed out), and rebottling (new bottle, reconditioned cage).
From the yard
- Bottle
- The blow-moulded HDPE inner receptacle of a composite IBC. Around 50 lb on a 275 gallon unit and the only component with a routine failure mode.
- Buttress thread
- An asymmetric sawtooth thread profile designed to take load in one direction. S60x6, the standard IBC outlet, is a buttress thread — which is why NPT fittings will not screw into it. More →
- Cage
- The welded galvanized tubular steel lattice surrounding the bottle. Carries the load, allows stacking, and holds most of the container's embodied energy.
- Camlock
- Cam-and-groove quick-connect coupling. Types A through F describe the geometry; the common tote pairing is a Type F male adapter with a Type C female coupler.
- CIP — clean-in-place
- Cleaning a vessel without disassembling it, using recirculating detergent through a spray head. Our W4 food-grade standard is a caustic CIP at 160°F. More →
- Composite IBC
- The common format: a plastic inner receptacle inside a metal outer casing on a pallet base. UN code 31HA1 for liquids.
- Cube
- External volume in cubic feet, used for freight planning. A 275 gallon tote is 51.1 cu ft; a 330 is 58.9.
- EPDM
- Ethylene propylene diene monomer, the default seal compound. Excellent with water, acids, bases and hypochlorite; poor with hydrocarbons and oils.
- Food grade
- A container whose bottle meets FDA 21 CFR 177.1520, whose prior contents were all edible and documented, and which has been washed to a recorded standard. All three, or the claim is not defensible. More →
- GHT
- Garden hose thread, 3/4 inch. Adapts directly off S60x6 and restricts flow considerably — fine for drip, poor for filling a sprayer.
- GMA pallet
- The 48 × 40 inch North American grocery and industrial pallet standard. The reason every standard IBC shares that footprint.
- Gross weight
- Tare weight plus contents. A 275 gallon tote of water is about 2,425 lb; the same tote of sulfuric acid is over 4,300 lb. More →
- HDPE
- High-density polyethylene. The bottle material. Single-resin, recyclable, and permeable to certain solvents — which is what ends a tote's service life.
- IBC
- Intermediate bulk container. Sits between a 55-gallon drum and a bulk tank, typically 120 to 550 gallons.
- Leakproofness test
- A pressure test required every 2.5 years on UN-marked IBCs under 49 CFR 180.352, verifying the container holds without leaking. More →
- Level strip
- The translucent graduated band moulded into the bottle. Crude, cheap and the most useful feature on the tote — readable to roughly ±10 gallons from twenty feet.
- Moffett
- A piggyback forklift carried on the rear of a trailer, allowing a truck to unload itself at sites with no dock or material handling equipment.
- NPT
- National pipe taper, the North American pipe thread standard. Seals on the taper, so it wants PTFE tape — unlike buttress threads, which seal on a gasket.
- Packing group
- Hazard classification for regulated materials. X covers PG I, II and III; Y covers II and III; Z covers III only. Most composite IBCs are marked Y.
- Permeation
- Migration of a chemical into the polymer wall rather than sitting on its surface. Cannot be washed out. The reason some totes can never return to service.
- Rebottling
- Fitting a new HDPE bottle into an inspected and reconditioned cage. Typically 55–65% of new-unit cost and roughly 38% of the embodied carbon. More →
- Reconditioner registration
- A federal registration required to restore UN markings after repair. Ask any seller of 'UN-rated' used stock for theirs.
- Requalification
- Full periodic inspection and testing of a UN-marked IBC, required every 5 years.
- S60x6
- The standard IBC outlet thread: 60 mm nominal diameter, 6 mm pitch, coarse buttress profile. Roughly 2.36 inches across the male thread. More →
- Tare weight
- The weight of the empty container. 120–145 lb for a 275 gallon composite IBC, depending mostly on the pallet base.
- Triple rinse
- A three-stage rinse with fresh water and full drain between stages, following the practice described at 40 CFR 165.117(k). Our W2 standard.
- UN 31HA1
- The UN design type code for a composite IBC with a plastic inner receptacle and steel outer casing, intended for liquids. More →
- Vented lid
- A fill cap that admits air as liquid is drawn out, preventing vacuum collapse of the bottle. The cheapest insurance available on a pumped tote.
- Viton (FKM)
- Fluoroelastomer seal compound. Handles fuels, oils and aromatics; poor with hot water, steam, ketones and strong bases.
- WARM
- The US EPA Waste Reduction Model, the emission factor source behind our published avoided-CO₂e figures. More →
Three terms people use wrongly
“Food grade”
Frequently used to mean “looks clean”. It should mean a compliant resin, a documented edible prior-contents history, and a recorded wash. If a seller cannot produce the second and third, the accurate word is “clean”.
“UN rated”
Used to mean “it has a plate on it”. It should mean the container carries a valid marking, is inside its retest window, and any repair was performed by a registered reconditioner. A plate on a cage from an unregistered yard is decoration.
“Cleaned”
Used to mean anything from a hose-down to a caustic clean-in-place — two processes separated by two orders of magnitude in effectiveness. This is exactly why we publish five named wash standards and ask customers to specify one.
Questions people actually ask
+What is the difference between an IBC and a tote?
Nothing, in practice. IBC stands for intermediate bulk container, which is the regulatory term used in 49 CFR and the UN model regulations. 'Tote' is the yard word for the same object. When someone says tote in Texas they almost always mean a 275 or 330 gallon composite IBC — an HDPE bottle inside a galvanised steel cage on a pallet base.
+What does S60x6 mean on a valve or adapter?
It is a 60 mm buttress thread with a 6 mm pitch, and it is the standard outlet thread on almost every composite IBC sold in North America. It is not pipe thread. An S60x6 outlet will not accept a 2 inch NPT fitting no matter how hard you turn it — you need a buttress-to-NPT adapter, which is the single most useful ten dollars you can spend.
+Is 'food grade' a term with a fixed definition?
No, and that is the most expensive misunderstanding in this vocabulary. There is no certificate that makes a used container food grade. What exists is a defensible combination: an FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 compliant HDPE bottle, a documented history in which every prior content was edible, and a wash performed to a written standard with recorded parameters.
+What is permeation, and why does it matter more than residue?
Residue sits on the surface of the bottle and washes off. Permeation means the previous contents have migrated into the wall of the HDPE itself, where no wash can reach. A permeated bottle usually smells of its old contents when warm and may look faintly stained. Those containers cannot be made food safe — they get rebottled or recycled.
+What is the difference between tare, net and gross weight?
Tare is the empty weight of the container itself — roughly 130 lb for a 275 gallon unit and 160 lb for a 330. Net is the weight of the liquid inside. Gross is the two added together, and it is the number that matters for forklift capacity, rack beams, floor loading and trailer axle limits.
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
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.
- How-to · April 18, 2023 · 3 minS60x6 Is Not Two-Inch NPT, and That Sentence Solves Most Fitting ProblemsTwo threads that measure almost the same and will never, ever mate. Here's how to tell them apart in three seconds.
- Compliance · September 21, 2021 · 3 minReading the UN Plate on Your Cage31HA1/Y/0426/USA/M1234. Five fields, each of which tells you something you probably need.
- Buying · July 25, 2023 · 3 minBuying Used Containers Without Getting Burned: Four QuestionsFour questions, asked by email, before any money moves. The quality of the answers tells you more than the price does.
On the yard this week
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.
- 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.
+What's the difference between Grade A and food grade?
Documentation. Grade A means clean, straight and presentable. Food grade means every prior content is recorded and edible, and the unit was washed to a documented standard. A shiny tote is not a food-grade tote.
+Do you offer volume discounts?
Yes, with real steps at 10, 24 and 48 units, and again at full-trailer quantities where the freight economics change substantially.
+How do I stop algae growing in a water tote?
Block the light. Paint the bottle, wrap it, shade it or buy a pre-wrapped opaque unit. Algae needs sunlight far more than it needs nutrients.
+Who is responsible for compliance?
You are, as the offeror of the shipment. We supply containers and documentation; the determination that a given container is suitable for a given regulated material is yours. We'll give you every fact we have to make it.
+Will you take totes that held chemicals?
Most of them, with the prior contents in writing. Some chemistries permanently permeate HDPE; those units go to material recovery rather than back into service, but we'll still take them off your yard.
Speak the same language as your quote.
Name a grade, name a wash standard, name a thread. Quotes get faster and cheaper when both sides are precise.