330 gallon IBC totes: specs and recycling

Specifications

Container Exchanger gives the 330 gallon tote as 48 inches long, 40 wide and 53 tall, made of high-density polyethylene in a galvanized steel cage, and says empty totes can be stacked three high and full ones two high. The specifications page at ibctanks.com says it equals six 55 gallon drums, or 1.5 pallets.

The residue limit, worked out

At water weight 0.3% of 330 gallons is 0.99 gallons or 8.3 pounds. The depth test on a 48 by 40 floor gives about 8.3 gallons per inch, the same as for a 275, because the floor is the same.

How it recycles

Like the 275: the bottle to regrind, the cage to a rebottler or to steel. See recycling for the three lanes, and the 275 gallon page for the smaller tote.

Seven inches taller on the same floor

The 330 gallon tote shares the 275’s 48 by 40 inch base and adds seven inches of height, which is the whole difference in volume. A taller bottle and a taller cage make it heavier to lift and a little harder to tip, and the fill cap sits higher, so a dipstick needs to be longer.

Container Exchanger says empty totes can be stacked three high and full ones two high. Ibctanks.com says four high when empty. The difference is a site rule and a tote rule; follow the stricter one.

Reading the heel on this size

Because the floor is the same, the depth test is the same as for a 275. Only the weight test changes with capacity.

Where you will meet this size

The 330 is the other common size beside the 275. A site with both should count them separately in a request. Clearing a dock or yard gives a tally to copy.

A sizing note for planners

On a 48 by 40 floor, six 330 gallon totes make a layer on a standard pallet pattern. That does not mean they stack six high; full totes stack two high. For a yard planner, the figure that matters is floor area, which is 13.3 square feet per tote.

The 330 beside the 275

The 330 shares the 48 by 40 inch base of the 275 and is seven inches taller. If your site has both, stack them apart and count them separately in a request, since the residue limit and the volume differ.