The 275 gallon workhorse
48 by 40 by 46 inches, 126 pounds empty, 2,420 pounds full. The container that most of this industry is built around.
- Sheet
- 93
- Revision
- 2026-10
- Scale
- 1:1
- Drawn at
- Peoria IL
Everything about the 275
The most common intermediate bulk container in North America, and the one we handle most. If somebody says 'tote' without qualifying it, this is what they mean.
- Nominal capacity
- 275 gal / 1040 L
- Actual fill capacity
- 275 gal to the fill line; ~290 gal brim-full
- Footprint
- 48 × 40 in (1219 × 1016 mm)
- Height
- 46 in (1168 mm)
- Empty weight
- 126 lb typical (113–138 lb by pallet type)
- Filled weight (water)
- 2,420 lb
- Bottle wall
- 60–70 mil natural HDPE, UV stabilised
- Cage
- Galvanised tubular steel, 10–12 bar
- Outlet
- S60x6 buttress, 2" butterfly valve standard
- Top opening
- 6" buttress cap, vented or solid
- UN design type
- 31HA1 (composite IBC for liquids)
- Stack rating
- 3 high empty, 2 high filled on rated units
| Fill level | Volume | Product weight (water) | Gross weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 275 gal | 2,294 lb | 2,420 lb |
| 3/4 | 206 gal | 1,718 lb | 1,844 lb |
| 1/2 | 138 gal | 1,151 lb | 1,277 lb |
| 1/4 | 69 gal | 575 lb | 701 lb |
| Empty | 0 | 0 | 126 lb |
How many fit, and where
| Equipment or space | Empty | Filled | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 53' dry van | 40 single / 80 double | 20 | Filled loads are weight-limited |
| 53' flatbed | 48 | 20 | Tarped, corner boards required |
| 26' box truck | 18 | 8 | Liftgate available |
| 20' sea container | 18 (double stacked) | 10 | Blocked and braced |
| 40' sea container | 40 (double stacked) | 20 | Export documentation needed |
| Standard pallet rack bay | 2 per bay | 2 per bay | Specify 60 in+ beam opening |
- A full 275 weighs more than a ton — check your forklift capacity at the extended fork position, not the rated one.
- Double stack empties cage-post to cage-post only. Bottle-on-bottle deforms the lower sump permanently.
- The 48 × 40 footprint matches a GMA pallet, so the container fits any standard rack position.
- Four straps per row minimum for transport. Corner boards stop strap cut-through on galvanised tube.
Questions people actually ask about the 275
Will a 275 gallon tote fit through a standard doorway?
Not on its pallet — the 48 inch width beats a 32 or 36 inch door. Through a double door or roll-up, yes. People do remove the cage and walk the bottle through, which works and voids any UN rating permanently.
How much does an empty 275 weigh?
About 126 lb with a composite pallet. Full steel pallets push it to roughly 138 lb; some plastic pallets drop it to 113 lb.
Can two people move an empty one?
Slide it, yes. Lift it, no — and the cage edges will remind you. Use a pallet jack.
How much does it hold really?
275 gallons to the moulded fill line, closer to 290 brim-full. Never fill past the line: liquids expand and the headspace is deliberate.
What is the standard valve?
A 2" butterfly on an S60x6 buttress outlet. Ball valves are an upgrade worth having if you throttle flow.
What a 275 can and cannot hold
HDPE handles an enormous range of chemistry and fails at a narrow, well-defined slice of it. This is the short version of the chart we keep by the intake pad.
| Product | HDPE bottle | Gasket | Vent needed? | Reuse after? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water, brine, de-icer | Excellent | EPDM | No | Yes, indefinitely |
| UAN and liquid fertiliser | Excellent | EPDM | No | Yes, Grade B |
| Caustic soda to 50% | Excellent | EPDM | No | Yes, dedicated |
| Sulphuric acid to 70% | Good | EPDM / Viton | No | Yes, dedicated only |
| Sodium hypochlorite | Good | EPDM | Yes, mandatory | Yes, dedicated |
| Hydrogen peroxide under 35% | Good, passivated | EPDM | Yes | No — new bottles only |
| Glycol and surfactants | Excellent | EPDM | No | Yes, stains permanently |
| Vegetable oil, glycerine | Excellent | Viton | No | Yes, after hot caustic |
| Mineral and motor oil | Excellent | Viton | No | Yes, after hot caustic |
| Aromatic solvents | Poor | Viton | — | No — use stainless |
| Chlorinated solvents | Poor | Viton | — | No — use stainless |
| Diesel and off-road fuel | Fair | Viton | Yes | Non-potable duty only |
- The failure mode with solvents is absorption into the wall, not a hole. The container looks perfect and is permanently unsuitable for product service.
- Temperature is the hidden variable. HDPE softens progressively above about 120°F and deforms under its own contents well before it melts.
- UV is the other one. A natural bottle outdoors crazes at the corners within two or three summers; an opaque wrap or shade roughly triples that.
- Oxidisers want virgin, passivated bottles. This is one of the five cases where we will tell you to buy new.
What actually ends a 275's career
| Cause | Share of retirements | Repairable? | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valve or gasket failure | 41% | Yes, bench job | $6–24 |
| Pallet damage | 13% | Yes, re-deck | $18–32 |
| Cage out of square | 12% | Yes, on a jig | Labour only |
| Bottle crazing or split | 11% | Rebottle | $74–96 |
| Label residue, unreadable placard | 10% | Yes, de-label | Labour only |
| Absorbed odour | 7% | Sometimes | Varies |
| Perforating cage rust | 4% | Cage swap | $14–26 |
| Nothing — straight to wash | 2% | — | — |
One-trip or new
Fresh test date, virgin resin, premium price. Fine for food, oxidisers and export.
Prime reuse
Washed, inspected and re-released repeatedly. The most productive phase and where most of our Grade A and B stock sits.
Rebottle candidate
Bottle tiring, cage and pallet sound. A new bottle resets the clock for roughly half the price of a new container.
Repurpose
No longer suitable for product duty. Rain harvester, planter, hopper, storage locker — another decade of useful work.
Recover
134 lb of HDPE to regrind, 60 lb of steel to a mill, pallet recovered. Nothing in a hole.