Built in the Norristown shop

What a retired tote becomes when it refuses to retire.

Some containers fail the wash line but are structurally perfect. Granulating them recovers a third of their value. Cutting, plumbing and welding them into something else recovers nearly all of it — so that is what we do with several hundred a year.

Short answer

We fabricate rain harvesting systems, raised planters, aquaponics beds, wash stands, livestock waterers, fire-suppression caddies and mobile fuel stations from retired IBC totes in our Norristown, PA shop. Food-contact products are built exclusively from totes with a documented edible prior-contents history.

Built per year: ≈ 600 units
Lead time: 5–12 business days
Custom work: Yes, from a sketch
Food-contact stock: Edible prior only

Work order · 90-second form

Commission a build

Describe what you want — or link a photo of something you saw — and the shop will price it.

The catalogue

Eight things worth more than a bale of flake.

All built on 275 or 330 gallon frames, all forkliftable, all repairable, all eventually recyclable when they finally do give up.

Rain harvesting system

Tote on a welded steel stand, first-flush diverter, mosquito-screened inlet, overflow bulkhead, 3/4" GHT tap and an opaque UV cover. Gangs together in threes for 825 gallons.

Raised planter bed

Tote cut horizontally into two beds, drainage ports, cage retained as a trellis frame, food-grade stock only. A pair from one container.

Aquaponics bed

Cut-top grow bed over an intact sump, bulkhead fittings, bell siphon, cage-mounted lighting rail. Food-grade stock only.

Wash-down station

Tote, 12 V or 120 V pump, hose reel, spray gun, lockable cage door and a drip tray. Popular with landscapers and mobile detailers.

Livestock waterer

Insulated tote, float valve, stainless drink cups, cage reinforced against cattle. Freeze kit optional and recommended.

Fire-suppression caddy

Tote, pump, 100 ft hose reel, forkliftable skid. Bought by campgrounds, sawmills and rural contractors.

Mobile fuel / DEF station

Poly or steel tote on a skid with a filter, meter and dispensing nozzle. Fuel builds use steel bins only.

Dust-suppression skid

Tote, engine-driven pump, boom spray bar, mounted for a pickup bed or a forklift. Standard kit on demolition sites.

Rainwater, specifically

275 gallons off 400 square feet of roof, per inch of rain.

The arithmetic is generous: one inch of rainfall on 1,000 square feet of roof yields roughly 600 gallons. Two totes ganged together fill from a single moderate storm in most of southeastern Pennsylvania, and Norristown averages about 45 inches of rain a year.

What people get wrong is the small stuff — no first-flush diverter, so the first filthy runoff goes straight in; an unscreened inlet, so you breed mosquitoes; a clear bottle in full sun, so you grow algae; and no drain-down plan, so the bottle splits in January.

Our harvesting build solves all four, and the full how-to is free reading whether you buy from us or weld your own.

Rainwater harvesting guide Winterising guide

Roof catchment yield — gallons per inch of rainfall
Roof area	Per 0.5 in	Per 1 in	Per 2 in	Totes filled per 1 in
400 sq ft	125 gal	249 gal	498 gal	0.9
800 sq ft	249 gal	498 gal	997 gal	1.8
1,200 sq ft	374 gal	748 gal	1,496 gal	2.7
2,000 sq ft	623 gal	1,247 gal	2,493 gal	4.5
5,000 sq ft	1,558 gal	3,116 gal	6,233 gal	11.3

Upcycling questions

Safety, legality, custom work.

Upcycled goods — FAQ

Are upcycled IBC products safe for growing food?

The ones we build for that purpose are, because we build them only from totes with a documented edible prior-contents history. An aquaponics bed or a vegetable planter from this shop started life holding juice concentrate or food-grade oil, never a surfactant. We will not build a food-contact product from an industrial tote, and you should be suspicious of anyone who will.

Can I collect rainwater in an IBC tote in Pennsylvania?

Yes. Pennsylvania has no restriction on residential rainwater harvesting, and the state actively encourages it through stormwater management programmes; some municipalities offer credits. Keep the system non-potable, screen every opening against mosquitoes, use an opaque or covered tote to stop algae, and fit a first-flush diverter so the dirtiest roof runoff never enters the tank.

Do you build custom items to order?

Routinely — that is most of the shop's work. Cut, weld, plumb, paint, plumb again. Send a sketch or a photo of something you saw and we will price it. Common one-offs: livestock waterers, wash-down stations, dust-suppression skids, portable dunk tanks, brine mixers and mobile bee-yard water carts.

Why bother upcycling instead of recycling?

Because granulating a container into flake recovers maybe a third of the value embodied in it, while cutting a window in it and turning it into a raised bed recovers nearly all of it. Recycling is the correct last resort. Upcycling is a better second-to-last one, and it keeps the material in a useful shape for another decade or two.

Custom fabrication

Cut, weld, plumb, paint — the shop takes sketches and returns finished units.

Open

For growers

Fertigation, nutrient dosing, orchard spray mixing and rainwater capture.

Open

Where upcycling fits

Loop six of seven, between rebottling and granulation.

Open

Two stained and weathered used IBC totes in a yard, showing discoloured bottles and worn labels

The yard

Sound frames that failed the wash line

By the numbers

The figures behind this page.

≈600: units built a year; From containers that failed the wash line but not the frame
35%: of new-unit burden recovered; Against 34% for granulation — and another decade of use
5–12: business days; Most builds; repeats run faster
0.9%: of intake goes this route; Loop five of seven

Reference

The detail, in full.

Roof catchment yield — sizing a rain system
Roof area	0.5 in rain	1 in rain	2 in rain	Annual at 45 in
400 sq ft	125 gal	249 gal	498 gal	11,200 gal
800 sq ft	249 gal	498 gal	997 gal	22,400 gal
1,200 sq ft	374 gal	748 gal	1,496 gal	33,600 gal
2,000 sq ft	623 gal	1,247 gal	2,493 gal	56,100 gal
3,500 sq ft	1,090 gal	2,182 gal	4,363 gal	98,200 gal
5,000 sq ft	1,558 gal	3,116 gal	6,233 gal	140,200 gal

What a single-tote rain system actually costs
Component	Cost	Skippable?
IBC tote, Grade C, non-toxic prior	$60–$95	No
Welded steel stand, 24 in	$240	Use blocks instead
First-flush diverter, 5–8 gal	$45–$80	Never
Inlet and overflow mesh	$12	Never
Overflow bulkhead and pipe	$35	No
UV cover	$45	Only if the bottle is black
Outlet adapter with shut-off	$18	No
Manifold kit per extra tank	$65	Single-tank only
Complete build from our shop	from $420	—

Received wisdom, examined

Four things people believe that are wrong.

“Any tote will do for a planter.”

Not for anything you will eat. Food-contact builds come from containers with a documented edible prior-contents history, and the record comes with the product. Be suspicious of anyone who does not make that distinction.

“Rainwater harvesting is restricted in Pennsylvania.”

It is not. The state has no restriction on residential collection and actively encourages it through stormwater programmes; some municipalities offer credits against stormwater fees for installed capacity.

“Connect tanks at the top.”

Bottom-to-bottom, always. Top connections make a cascade — tank one fills completely before tank two receives anything, and you can only draw usable head from the tank the takeoff is on.

“Upcycling is just recycling with extra steps.”

Granulating recovers about 34% of the burden of a replacement container. Cutting a window in it and giving it another decade recovers 35% and keeps the material in a useful shape rather than reducing it to flake.

Asked and answered.

Further questions

Will you build from my sketch?

A drawing, a napkin sketch or a phone photograph of something you saw. Most of the shop's work starts that way. We come back with a build description, a price and a lead time — and quite often a simpler route to the same result.

How do I stop mosquitoes and algae?

Mosquitoes need standing water and a way in; deny the way in with fine mesh over the inlet, overflow and every vent, checked each spring. Algae needs light; deny it with a black UV-stabilised bottle, an opaque cover or permanent shade. Both are trivial at build stage and extremely annoying afterwards.

What happens when the tote eventually fails?

On our builds the pump, strainer, boom or plumbing unbolt and move to a new container for the cost of consumables. The dead tote comes back here, gets granulated, and the cage goes to a mill. That is the argument for building on a container rather than buying a moulded unit.

Go deeper

Twelve reference sheets, because you should not have to ask us for a number.

Specifications, grading definitions, prices, thread standards, flow rates, weights, gasket selection, wash chemistry, freight limits, circular-route arithmetic, failure modes and conversions. Open what you need; none of it is gated and none of it changes depending on who is asking.

Container specs16 rows

Every dimension for the two sizes that make up 93% of the market.

The two sizes that are 93% of the market
Attribute	275 gallon	330 gallon
Capacity	275 gal / 1,041 L	330 gal / 1,249 L
Footprint	48" × 40"	48" × 40"
Height	46"	53"
Tare weight	125–135 lb	140–155 lb
Gross, water	≈2,425 lb	≈2,900 lb
Max gross mass	2,800 lb	3,300 lb
Bottle mass	38–45 lb HDPE	45–52 lb HDPE
Cage + base mass	≈55 lb steel	≈62 lb steel
Stack, full	2 high	2 high
Stack, empty	4 high	4 high
Two-high stack height	92"	106"
Per 53′ van, volume	48	40
Per 53′ van, weight-limited	17 full	14 full
Fill opening	6" vented or solid	6" vented or solid
Discharge	2" butterfly, S60x6	2" butterfly, S60x6
Forklift entry	4-way	4-way

Grading standard10 rows

Our written definitions — the same ones printed on every quote.

Our written grading standard, in one table
	Grade A	Grade B	Grade C	Food grade
Wash	Documented	Documented	Rinse only	Documented + sanitise
Bottle	Clear–translucent	Light haze permitted	Heavy staining	Clear, odour-free
Odour	None	Faint, product-typical	May be present	None
Prior contents	Documented, benign	Documented	May be absent	Edible only, documented
Cage	Square, no node rust	Sound, cosmetic dings	Cosmetic damage OK	Sound
Gasket	New	New	As-is	New, FDA EPDM
Leak test	Passed, recorded	Passed, recorded	Not tested	Passed, recorded
Food contact	Only if food prior	No	Never	Yes
Price band, 275 gal	$165–$225	$110–$165	$60–$95	$225–$300
Share of our sales	18%	58%	17%	7%

2026 price bands8 rows

Published rather than extracted through a contact form.

2026 Mid-Atlantic price bands, 275 gallon
Type	Single unit	Pallet (4+)	Truckload (48)	Lead time
Grade C as-is	$60–$95	$56–$88	$52–$78	1–2 days
Grade B washed	$110–$165	$102–$152	$95–$140	1–3 days
Grade A rinsed	$165–$225	$153–$208	$140–$190	1–3 days
Food grade	$225–$300	$210–$278	$195–$260	2–5 days
Rebottled	$250–$340	$236–$316	$220–$295	3–7 days
New composite	$420–$560	$400–$530	$380–$500	5–15 days
Cage only	$35–$65	$32–$60	$30–$55	1–3 days
We pay you for empties	$15–$85	$20–$85	$28–$85	Collection ≤2 weeks

Threads & flow9 rows

Measured on our own line: full tote of water, vented lid, valve open.

Threads, adapters and gravity flow
Fitting	Specification	Initial flow	Time to empty 275 gal	Typical use
3" butterfly	3" flange, PP body	128 gpm	3.5 min	Batch dumping, viscous
2" butterfly	S60x6 outlet, EPDM seat	70 gpm	6.5 min	Standard discharge
2" camlock	S60x6 → 2″ male cam	62 gpm	7.2 min	Pump and transfer hose
2" NPT	S60x6 → 2″ male NPT	58 gpm	7.9 min	Rigid dosing plumbing
1" camlock	S60x6 → 1″ male cam	22 gpm	19.6 min	Drum filling, controlled
3/4" GHT	S60x6 → garden hose	9 gpm	45.8 min	Irrigation, wash-down
1/2" spigot	S60x6 → spigot	4 gpm	105 min	Hand filling, troughs
S60x6	60 mm OD, 6 mm pitch buttress	—	—	Modern standard outlet
S100x8	100 mm OD, 8 mm pitch	—	—	Legacy / EU — use a bushing

Weights by product10 rows

gallons × 8.34 × specific gravity + tare. The number people skip.

Gross weight by product — the calculation people skip
Product	SG	275 gal gross	330 gal gross	Stack?
Ethanol	0.79	1,940 lb	2,310 lb	Yes
Diesel / fuel oil	0.85	2,080 lb	2,480 lb	Yes — steel bin only
Vegetable oil	0.92	2,240 lb	2,670 lb	Yes
Water	1.00	2,425 lb	2,900 lb	Yes
Latex emulsion	1.05	2,540 lb	3,040 lb	With care
Brine 23%	1.20	2,880 lb	3,450 lb	No
Liquid fertiliser 28-0-0	1.28	3,065 lb	3,670 lb	No
Corn syrup 42 DE	1.33	3,180 lb	3,810 lb	No — partial fill
Sulphuric acid 50%	1.40	3,340 lb	4,000 lb	Partial fill
Sodium hydroxide 50%	1.52	3,615 lb	4,335 lb	Partial fill

Gasket selection10 rows

The cheapest decision in the specification, and the one most often wrong.

Gasket and wetted-part selection
Product family	Gasket	Valve body	Container	Avoid
Water, brine, glycol	EPDM	Polypropylene	Poly IBC	—
Dilute acids	EPDM	Polypropylene	Poly IBC	Brass, carbon steel
Caustics	EPDM	Polypropylene	Poly IBC	Aluminium
Alcohols under 20% ABV	EPDM	Polypropylene	Poly IBC	—
Alcohols over 20% ABV	Viton	Stainless	Stainless bin	Poly bottles
Vegetable and mineral oils	Viton	Polypropylene	Poly IBC	EPDM gaskets
Fuels, diesel, kerosene	Viton	PP or stainless	Steel bin	Poly bottles
Aromatic solvents	Viton	Stainless	316L bin	All poly parts
Food ingredients	EPDM (FDA)	PP (FDA)	Food-grade poly	Non-FDA elastomers
Flavour, essence, botanical	Viton	Stainless	316L bin	Poly bottles

Wash cycles8 rows

The cycle follows the residue. A default cycle is how you get a clean-looking tote that smells.

Wash cycle by residue class
Residue	Cycle	Temp	Chemistry	Water	Cost	Outcome
Water-soluble benign	Cold triple rinse	Ambient	None	22 gal	$18–$28	Grade A/B
Sugars, syrups	Hot caustic + sanitise	148–156 °F	1.5% NaOH	45 gal	$35–$55	Food grade if prior allows
Proteins	Hot caustic + sanitise	150–158 °F	2% NaOH	48 gal	$40–$58	Food grade if prior allows
Oils, fats	Degrease + hot rinse	135–150 °F	Alkaline surfactant	52 gal	$45–$70	Grade A/B
Surfactants	Extended rinse + defoam	Ambient–120 °F	Defoamer	40 gal	$30–$48	Grade B only
Latex, emulsions	Mechanical + strip	125–140 °F	Alkaline	50 gal	$50–$75	Grade B/C
Acids, caustics	Neutralise + rinse	Ambient	Counter-agent	35 gal	$32–$50	Grade B
Unknown	Triple rinse, downgrade	Ambient	None	22 gal	$20–$30	Grade C only

Freight limits8 rows

Volume capacity and weight capacity are different numbers, and weight wins.

What fits on what — volume and weight limits
Vehicle	Full, 2 high	Weight-limited full	Empty, 4 high	Liftgate
53′ dry van	48	17	96	No
48′ flatbed	40	17	80	No
26′ box truck	24	8	48	Yes
16′ box truck	12	5	24	Yes
Sprinter van	4	2	8	Yes
20′ sea container	20	17	40	No
40′ sea container	42	17	84	No
Drop trailer, 53′	48	17	96	No

Circular routes7 rows

Ranked by burden avoided. Landfill is not on the list.

The seven circular routes, ranked by burden avoided
#	Route	CO₂e avoided	Water avoided	% of new-unit burden	Share of intake
1	Reuse as-is after rinse	88 kg	190 gal	100%	60.9%
2	Wash and return to service	83 kg	163 gal	94%	22.3%
3	Rebottle	55 kg	118 gal	62%	6.0%
4	Salvage cage for another unit	36 kg	76 gal	41%	3.0%
5	Upcycle into a built product	31 kg	66 gal	35%	0.9%
6	Granulate to HDPE regrind	30 kg	62 gal	34%	6.9%
7	Landfill	0 kg	0 gal	0%	0%

Failure modes8 rows

What actually retires a container and where each one goes afterwards.

What actually retires a container, and whether it is fixable
Failure	Where it starts	Share of retirements	Fixable?	Route
Bottle stress cracking	Base radius	41%	No	Granulate bottle, keep cage
Freeze split	Mid-height, at the old liquid line	16%	No	Granulate bottle, keep cage
Contamination beyond wash	Absorbed into the wall	14%	No	Granulate bottle, keep cage
Bottle deformation	Whole wall, from overfill or heat	11%	No	Rebottle
Cage node corrosion	Welded intersections, corner columns	10%	Sometimes	Mill the steel
Missing prior-contents record	Paperwork, not the container	8%	No	Grade C only
Base rail damage	Fork pockets	—	Yes, on steel	Repair or replace base
Gasket failure	Outlet and lid seals	—	Always	Replace, $4

Delivery corridors7 rows

If you sit on a route we already run, small loads become viable.

Scheduled corridors from 800 River Rd
Corridor	Key stops	Frequency	Minimum load	Buy-back
I-76 West	Conshohocken, King of Prussia, Reading, Harrisburg	2× weekly	4 units	Yes
I-95 South	Philadelphia, Chester, Wilmington, Baltimore	2× weekly	4 units	Yes
I-95 North	Trenton, New Brunswick, Newark, Elizabeth	Weekly	6 units	Yes
NE Extension	Lansdale, Quakertown, Allentown, Bethlehem	Weekly	6 units	Yes
US-30 West	West Chester, Downingtown, Lancaster, York	Weekly	6 units	Yes
US-202 North	Doylestown, New Hope, Flemington	Weekly	4 units	Yes
Delmarva	Dover, Salisbury, Easton	Fortnightly	10 units	By arrangement

Conversions12 rows

The arithmetic that comes up daily.

Conversions used every day in this yard
From	To	Multiply by	Worked example
US gallons	Litres	3.785	275 gal = 1,041 L
Litres	US gallons	0.2642	1,000 L = 264 gal
US gallons of water	Pounds	8.34	275 gal = 2,294 lb
Pounds	Kilograms	0.4536	2,425 lb = 1,100 kg
Inches	Millimetres	25.4	48" = 1,219 mm
Cubic feet	US gallons	7.481	51 ft³ = 381 gal
Cubic yards	Cubic feet	27	1.4 yd³ = 37.8 ft³
psi	Feet of head (water)	2.31	1.7 psi = 3.9 ft
Feet of head	psi	0.433	24 in stand = 0.87 psi
gpm	Litres per minute	3.785	70 gpm = 265 L/min
kg CO₂e	Miles not driven	2.5	88 kg = 220 miles
kg CO₂e	Mature trees, one year	0.0476	88 kg = 4.2 trees

Vocabulary, in twelve lines

IBC: Intermediate bulk container — anything between a drum and a tanker, in practice 110–550 gallons on a forkliftable base.
Composite IBC: An HDPE bottle inside a welded steel cage on a pallet base. The 275 and 330 gallon workhorses.
Tare: Empty weight of the container: 125–135 lb for a 275, 140–155 lb for a 330.
Gross mass: Container plus contents. Most 275s are rated to 2,800 lb; exceed it and the bottle bulges rather than bursts.
Node: A welded intersection in the cage where load actually transfers. The correct place to inspect.
S60x6: The standard outlet thread: 60 mm OD, 6 mm pitch buttress. Hand tight only.
Prior contents: What the container last held, logged against the original label. The single most consequential fact about any used tote.
Rebottle: A new HDPE bottle fitted into an inspected existing cage — virgin interior, 38% less embodied carbon than new.
Food grade: FDA-compliant resin plus an edible-only prior history plus a documented wash. All three, together.
UN 31HA1: Marking for a composite IBC approved for liquids. Belongs to the assembly and carries a service life.
Regrind: Granulated recycled HDPE. Post-industrial IBC regrind goes to pipe, conduit, pallets — never food contact.
Avoided burden: Environmental cost that did not occur because a container was reused instead of manufactured. Not an offset.

All 58 terms

The yard, in numbers

18,412: containers returned to service, rolling 12 months
91.9%: of intake leaves as a container, not as feedstock
1.62M kg: CO₂e avoided against a new-container baseline
543,000 lb: HDPE granulated into clean regrind in 2025
318,000 lb: steel baled to a regional mill in 2025
0 yd³: container material landfilled — six consecutive years
2,600: containers on the ground at the January peak
11%: of offered loads refused, and referred on
22: people at the Norristown yard, four of them drivers
6: states served by our own trucks

Where and when

IBC Totes PA LLC
800 River Rd
Norristown, PA 19406
hello@ibctotespa.com
quotes@ibctotespa.com
No telephone line — written quotes only.

Opening hours
Mon	7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Tue	7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Wed	7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Thu	7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Fri	7:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Sat	8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Sun	Closed

Next step

Every tote we keep alive is one that never gets made.

Get a written quote Sell us your empties

What a retired tote becomes when it refuses to retire.

Eight things worth more than a bale of flake.

Rain harvesting system

Raised planter bed

Aquaponics bed

Wash-down station

Livestock waterer

Fire-suppression caddy

Mobile fuel / DEF station

Dust-suppression skid

275 gallons off 400 square feet of roof, per inch of rain.

Safety, legality, custom work.

Upcycled goods — FAQ

Custom fabrication

For growers

Where upcycling fits

The figures behind this page.

The detail, in full.

Four things people believe that are wrong.

Asked and answered.

Further questions

Related reading.

The full build guide

A real build log

Commission a build

Twelve reference sheets, because you should not have to ask us for a number.

Every tote we keep alive is one that never gets made.