Master reference

Every IBC size, every dimension, one very large table.

The chart the rest of this industry keeps behind a contact form. Capacities, footprints, heights, tare and gross weights, bottle weights, stack ratings and how many fit on a truck — plus the arithmetic you need to not overload a trailer.

Short answer

The standard IBC tote is 275 gallons on a 48" × 40" footprint, 46" tall, 130 lb empty and ≈2,425 lb full of water. The 330 gallon shares the footprint at 53" tall. Sizes run from 110 to 550 gallons; full chart below.

Standard footprint: 48" × 40"
Most common size: 275 gal
Sizes charted: 8
Per 53' van: 48 units

Work order · 90-second form

Check a size against your space

Put your doorway, ceiling or trailer constraint in the message and the supplier can confirm what fits.

The master chart

Eight sizes, measured rather than repeated.

Composite IBCs vary a little between manufacturers. These are typical working figures for freight planning and racking — good to within a couple of percent for any name-brand container.

IBC tote master size chart — capacity, dimensions, weight, stacking and truck counts
Capacity	Litres	Length	Width	Height	Tare	Gross (water)	Bottle	Stack full	Per 53' van	Typical duty
110 gal	416 L	40"	48"	28"	78 lb	995 lb	22 lb	2 high	96	Low-headroom dosing, lab and pilot batches
120 gal	454 L	40"	48"	30"	82 lb	1,072 lb	24 lb	2 high	96	Van-body delivery routes, tight cellars
180 gal	681 L	40"	48"	38"	98 lb	1,600 lb	30 lb	2 high	60	Half-height duty, mezzanine storage
220 gal	833 L	40"	48"	42"	112 lb	1,952 lb	34 lb	2 high	48	European-spec lines, some ag chemistry
275 gal	1,041 L	40"	48"	46"	130 lb	2,425 lb	40 lb	2 high	48	The North American workhorse — the most common size
330 gal	1,249 L	40"	48"	53"	148 lb	2,900 lb	48 lb	2 high	40	Fewer handles per gallon; same footprint
350 gal	1,325 L	46"	48"	55"	168 lb	3,080 lb	54 lb	1 high	30	Oversize composite, specialist chemistry
550 gal	2,082 L	52"	46"	74"	540 lb	5,120 lb	stainless	1 high	24	Stainless bulk transfer and blending

Go deeper

Five reference pages under this one.

Each of these is a full reference page, not a product blurb.

The 275 gallon tote

Dimensions, weights, fill math, freight counts and why this size took over North America.

Open

The 330 gallon tote

Same footprint, seven inches taller, 20% more product per handle — and where that bites.

Open

Dimensions & weight chart

Empty, part-full and full weights at every fill level, plus trailer loading arithmetic.

Open

Valves & fittings chart

S60x6, S100x8, NPT, camlock, GHT — every thread, adapter and flow rate.

Open

Pallets & cage types

Steel, composite, plastic and wood bases; cage grid patterns and what each tells you.

Open

Storage & stacking guide

Load limits, floor requirements, UV protection and the failure modes to look for.

Open

Fitting it in

Will it go through the door?

The three constraints that catch people out, in the order they catch them.

Doorway width

A 275 gallon tote is 48" on its long axis and 40" on its short one. A standard 36" commercial door will not pass it. A 42" double leaf will, on the short axis, with the pallet jack angled. Measure the narrowest point of the whole route, not just the door.

Ceiling and rack height

Two 275s stacked is 92" plus pallet clearance. Two 330s is 106". Add your rack beam and you are past 9 feet — which is why some warehouses stack 275s and single-stack 330s.

Floor loading

Two full 275s on one footprint is 4,850 lb over 13.3 square feet — about 365 lb per square foot. Slab-on-grade handles it easily; a mezzanine or a suspended floor may not. Check before you rack.

Sizing questions

Capacity, weight, fit.

For the vocabulary, see the IBC glossary.

Size chart — FAQ

What size is a standard IBC tote?

The North American standard is 275 gallons (1,041 litres) on a 48 × 40 inch footprint, 46 inches tall, weighing about 130 lb empty and 2,425 lb full of water. The 330 gallon unit shares the same footprint at 53 inches tall. Together those two sizes account for the overwhelming majority of containers in circulation in the United States.

Why do 275 and 330 gallon totes share a footprint?

Because the footprint is a pallet, and pallets are standardised for material handling, not for volume. 48 × 40 inches is the GMA pallet standard, which means both sizes rack, stack, forklift and load onto a 53-foot trailer identically. The extra 55 gallons comes entirely from height — which is why a 330 sometimes will not fit where a 275 will.

How many IBC totes fit on a truck?

A 53-foot dry van takes 48 units of 275 gallons stacked two high, or 40 units of 330 gallons. A 48-foot flatbed takes 40 with strapping. A 26-foot box truck takes 20 to 24 with a liftgate. Empty totes nest differently and go four high, so a van of empties can carry 96. Weight, not volume, becomes the limit once you load liquid: 48 full water totes is over 58 tons, far past any legal limit.

How much does an IBC tote weigh?

Empty, a 275 gallon composite runs 125–135 lb; a 330 runs 140–155 lb. Full of water, add 8.34 lb per gallon: about 2,425 lb gross for a 275 and 2,900 lb for a 330. For a heavier product, multiply gallons by the specific gravity — a 1.4 SG chemical puts a 275 gallon tote at roughly 3,340 lb gross, past the rated 2,800 lb maximum, which is exactly the mistake that collapses a stack.

Can you stack IBC totes two high when full?

Composite IBCs are generally rated to stack two high loaded, provided both units are undamaged, the cages are square, the load is centred and the floor is level. Stack empties four high. Never stack across mixed sizes, never stack on uneven ground, and never stack a unit whose cage shows corrosion at the weld nodes. Full stacking guidance is on our storage and stacking page.

275 gallon

A 275 gallon composite IBC tote on a 48 by 40 inch base

IBC reference · on every page

Reference sheets for the numbers people ask about most.

Specifications, grade descriptions, thread standards, weights, gasket selection, freight limits and conversions. Open what you need; none of it is gated.

Container specs14 rows

Typical dimensions for the two common composite sizes. Check the plate on a specific unit.

The two common composite IBC sizes
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
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

Grade descriptions6 rows

How grades are commonly described. Ask each supplier for their own written definition.

Common used-tote grade descriptions (definitions vary by supplier)
	Grade A	Grade B	Grade C
Cleaning	Washed or rinsed	Washed	Rinsed or as-is
Bottle	Clear to translucent	Light haze permitted	Staining likely
Odour	None	Faint, product-typical	May be present
Prior contents	Known, benign	Known	May be unknown
Cage	Square, little rust	Sound, cosmetic dents	Cosmetic damage
Typical use	Clean-water and general storage	Industrial and agricultural	Non-potable water, waste, rough duty

Threads & adapters9 rows

The outlet thread decides which adapter you need.

Threads and adapters
Fitting	Specification	Typical use
3" butterfly	3" flange, PP body	Batch dumping, viscous liquids
2" butterfly	S60x6 outlet, EPDM seat	Standard discharge
2" camlock	S60x6 → 2″ male cam	Pump and transfer hose
2" NPT	S60x6 → 2″ male NPT	Rigid plumbing
1" camlock	S60x6 → 1″ male cam	Controlled filling
3/4" GHT	S60x6 → garden hose	Irrigation, wash-down
1/2" spigot	S60x6 → spigot	Hand filling
S60x6	60 mm OD, 6 mm pitch buttress	Common modern outlet thread
S100x8	100 mm OD, 8 mm pitch	Older or European valves — 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 selection9 rows

General guidance only. Confirm compatibility with the product's SDS and your supplier.

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
Flavour, essence, botanical	Viton	Stainless	316L bin	Poly bottles

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

Conversions10 rows

The arithmetic that comes up daily.

Common conversions for IBC totes
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

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 — a never-filled interior on a reused frame.
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.
Reuse: Putting a container back into service instead of making a new one. It avoids the materials and energy a new container would need.

Full glossary

How quotes work

IBC Totes PA is a referral service. Send a request through the form and a partner supplier in our network follows up with pricing and availability for your area of Pennsylvania.

Request a quote

Next step

Reusing a tote avoids making a new one.

Request a quote Sell your empties