The tall one

330 gallons: same floor, seven more inches, 20% more product.

If your process moves enough liquid to empty one before it goes off, the 330 is the more efficient container in every way that matters — fewer handles, fewer connections, fewer deliveries. Just measure your headroom first.

Short answer

A 330 gallon IBC tote is 48" × 40" × 53", 148 lb empty, ≈2,900 lb full of water, holding 1,249 litres. It shares the 275 gallon footprint but stands 7" taller, giving 20% more capacity per pallet position and per forklift move.

Dimensions: 48" × 40" × 53"
Capacity: 330 gal / 1,249 L
Tare / gross: 148 lb / 2,900 lb
Per 53' van: 40

Work order · 90-second form

Price 330 gallon totes

Include your ceiling height and rack beam spacing so the supplier can confirm the 330 fits.

Head to head

275 versus 330, on the numbers that decide it.

275 vs 330 gallon IBC — direct comparison
Metric	275 gallon	330 gallon	Difference
Capacity	275 gal / 1,041 L	330 gal / 1,249 L	+20%
Footprint	48" × 40"	48" × 40"	identical
Height	46"	53"	+7"
Two-high stack height	92"	106"	+14"
Tare weight	130 lb	148 lb	+14%
Gross with water	2,425 lb	2,900 lb	+20%
Per 53' van (empty, 4 high)	96	80	−17%
Full totes per legal van load	17	14	−18%
Gallons per legal van load	4,675	4,620	≈ equal
Handling events per 10,000 gal	37	31	−16%

Where it bites

Three places the extra seven inches costs you.

All three are measurable in advance, and all three surprise somebody every month.

Rack beam openings

Two 330s stacked is 106" plus beam depth — you need a clear opening near nine feet. Plenty of warehouses have 96" openings that take a double-stacked 275 and refuse a 330 outright.

Box truck door headers

A typical 26-foot box truck door header sits around 90". A 330 on a pallet jack, with the jack lifting it three inches, is 56" — fine. But stacked on a liftgate, it is not, and the tote comes back.

Gravity-feed geometry

Seven more inches of head pressure sounds helpful and mostly is, but it also means the outlet sits higher off the floor. Check that your drum pump riser, dosing skid inlet or catch tank still lines up.

330 gallon questions

Fit, value, stacking.

330 gallon IBC — FAQ

What is the difference between a 275 and a 330 gallon IBC tote?

Height, and only height. Both sit on a 48 by 40 inch footprint; the 275 is 46 inches tall and the 330 is 53 inches. You get 55 more gallons — 20% more product — for the same floor space and the same forklift move. What you lose is seven inches of clearance, which matters under racking, in box trucks with low door headers and when stacking two high.

Is a 330 gallon tote better value than a 275?

Per gallon of capacity, often yes — you get 20% more volume per container and per forklift move. Per gallon of product actually used, it is only better if you genuinely consume 330 gallons before the material degrades. Buying a bigger container to hold the same amount of liquid for longer is a false economy.

How many 330 gallon totes fit on a truck?

Forty in a 53-foot dry van stacked two high, or 20 on the floor. Weight governs once they are full: twenty 330s of water is 58,000 lb, which is a legal payload but leaves nothing for anything else. In practice about 14 full 330s of water fit within a typical legal van payload.

Do 330 gallon totes stack on 275s?

No. Never mix sizes in a stack. The cage load paths are designed to transfer through matching corner posts, and a mismatched stack puts the upper unit's weight onto panel members that are not rated to take it. Segregate by size in the rack and in storage.

The 275 gallon tote

The standard, in full specification.

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Weight chart

Every size at every fill level, plus trailer loading arithmetic.

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Storage & stacking

Load limits, floor ratings and the failure modes worth inspecting for.

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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

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Next step

Reusing a tote avoids making a new one.

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