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.

Reference

Four bases.
The one nobody
thinks about.

The pallet base is the least glamorous part of an IBC and the one that decides whether the tote survives a lease road, a washdown bay or an export shipment.

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

The short answer

Composite bases — a steel frame with a moulded plastic deck — are the general-purpose default at about 26 lb. Steel bases at 44 lb are the toughest and the right choice for oilfield and rough handling. Plastic bases at 22 lb win in washdown and food environments. Wood bases are being phased out and are unsuitable for food service.

Need a specific base?

Tell us which base type and how many. We fit bases as part of reconditioning rather than making you buy a different tote.

We reply here, so it has to be an inbox you actually read.

US or Canadian number, 10 digits. We format it as you type.

Two-letter code or full name — checked against your postal code.

5-digit US ZIP, or a Canadian postal code like K1A 0B1.

Plain text only. Links can't be submitted through this form.

No phone number required from us — we work by email and we answer fast. Fields marked * are required.

From the yard

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.
Tote wash line under a canopy with a recycling sign reading clean, recondition, reuse, spraying a used IBC tote
The wash pad. Every unit gets a named standard, and the water goes back round.

Comparison

Four bases side by side

Pallet base comparison
BaseConstructionWeightBest for
Composite baseSteel frame with moulded plastic deck26 lbGeneral industrial and food service — the most common base we sell.
Steel baseFully welded galvanized steel44 lbOilfield, coastal and any application where the tote gets moved constantly.
Plastic baseMoulded HDPE, no steel22 lbFood, pharmaceutical and washdown environments.
Wood baseHardwood deck on steel frame38 lbDomestic industrial use only. Increasingly rare and being phased out.

26 lb

Composite base

Steel frame with moulded plastic deck

Strengths

  • Lightest of the three
  • Won't rot, won't splinter
  • Four-way forklift entry

Weaknesses

  • Deck can crack under point loading
  • Less rigid than full steel

Best for: General industrial and food service — the most common base we sell.

44 lb

Steel base

Fully welded galvanized steel

Strengths

  • Strongest option
  • Survives rough handling and lease roads
  • Fully recyclable as one stream

Weaknesses

  • Heaviest
  • Corrodes in coastal and chemical service
  • Adds freight weight

Best for: Oilfield, coastal and any application where the tote gets moved constantly.

22 lb

Plastic base

Moulded HDPE, no steel

Strengths

  • No corrosion, ever
  • Easy to sanitise
  • Lightest freight weight

Weaknesses

  • Lowest load rating
  • Can deform in sustained heat
  • Fewer available in the used market

Best for: Food, pharmaceutical and washdown environments.

38 lb

Wood base

Hardwood deck on steel frame

Strengths

  • Cheap
  • Easy to repair with a hammer

Weaknesses

  • Absorbs product and water
  • ISPM-15 heat treatment required for export
  • We do not resell wood-base totes for food service

Best for: Domestic industrial use only. Increasingly rare and being phased out.

Selection

Match the base to the environment

Almost every base failure we see is an environment mismatch rather than a manufacturing problem.

Base selection by environment
EnvironmentRecommendedAvoidWhy
General warehouseCompositeWoodComposite is light, durable and cheap to replace
Food & beverage plantPlastic or compositeWoodWashdown, sanitation and no absorption
Oilfield / lease roadsSteelPlasticConstant rough handling; plastic decks crack
Coastal / marineComposite or plasticSteelSalt air attacks steel quickly
Chemical storageComposite or plasticSteelCorrosion under spill exposure
Cold storagePlasticWoodNo moisture absorption, no freeze damage
Outdoor ranch / farmSteel or compositeWoodGround contact rots wood in a season
Export shipmentSteel, composite or plasticWoodISPM-15 heat treatment required for wood

The wood problem

Wood-base IBCs were common for decades and are steadily disappearing, for reasons that are all obvious once listed.

Wood absorbs. Spilled product, wash water and rain all soak into the deck and stay there, which makes the base a reservoir for whatever the tote last held and a substrate for biological growth. That alone disqualifies it from food service, and we do not resell wood-base units into the food lane at all.

Wood also carries a regulatory burden. ISPM-15 requires heat treatment and marking for wood packaging crossing international borders, which is an entire compliance exercise that simply does not exist for the other three materials.

Its virtues are real but small: it is cheap, and a damaged deck can be repaired with a hammer and a board. For domestic industrial use where neither absorption nor export matters, a sound wood base is perfectly serviceable. It is just the worst of the four options at almost everything else.

Changing a base

On most composite IBC designs the base can be changed during reconditioning or rebottling. If your application requires plastic for washdown or steel for rough handling, specify it on the order — it is much cheaper than buying a different tote, and it keeps a serviceable unit in circulation instead of rejecting it over a component.

Four-way entry

All four base types provide four-way forklift and pallet-jack entry, which is one of the reasons the IBC format works at all. If you encounter a two-way base, it is either a damaged unit or a specialty design — treat it with suspicion.

Questions people actually ask

+Which pallet base should I choose?
Composite for general industrial and food service — it's the default for good reason. Steel for oilfield, coastal and anywhere the tote gets moved constantly. Plastic for washdown and food environments. Wood only if you have no alternative, and never for food.
+Why are you phasing out wood-base totes?
Wood absorbs product and water, it harbours biological growth, it splinters into whatever is around it, and it needs ISPM-15 heat treatment for export. It's cheap and easy to repair, and those are the only two things it has going for it.
+Does the pallet type affect the price?
Modestly. Steel bases cost more and add about 18 lb of freight weight over composite. Plastic bases are scarcer in the used market so they carry a small premium of their own.
+Can the pallet base be changed?
On most designs, yes — it's a standard part of reconditioning and rebottling. If your application demands a specific base, tell us and we'll fit it rather than making you buy a whole different tote.

Related

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

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.
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.

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.

+How many totes fit on a truck?
Twenty on the floor of a 48-foot flatbed or dry van, regardless of whether they're 275s or 330s. Forty if they're empty and double-stacked.
+How much does a full 275 gallon tote weigh?
About 2,425 lb with water. With liquid fertilizer it's about 3,130 lb, and with 93% sulfuric acid it's over 4,300 lb. Always calculate from your product's density.
+What are standard IBC tote dimensions?
48 inches long by 40 inches wide — one standard pallet position — with height varying by capacity: 46 in for 275 gallons, 53 in for 330, 56 in for 350.
+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.
+How high can I stack totes?
Empty, three high indoors on a level floor. Full and static, two high on matched pallets and improved level ground. In transit, never stack full totes.

Specify the base on your order.

It costs almost nothing to ask for and it decides whether the tote lasts five years or fifteen in your environment.

Get a quoteBack to the size chart