A – Z
32 entries
The glossary
- Agitation station
- The wash-line stage where a rotating spray head cleans the bottle wall through a full rotation. The station that separates a real line from a pressure washer.
- Buttress thread
- An asymmetric thread profile with one steep flank and one shallow one, used on the S60x6 IBC outlet. Seals against a flat gasket face, not on the thread flanks.
- Caged composite IBC
- The standard intermediate bulk container: an HDPE bottle inside a galvanised tubular steel cage on a pallet. Five parts, each of which fails differently.
- CIP
- Clean-in-place. Cleaning a vessel without disassembling it, usually via a spray ball. Possible in stainless IBCs, not in composite ones.
- Condemned
- Our fourth grading outcome, and not a grade. A unit that failed a critical inspection point and will be rebottled or sent to material recovery — never sold as Grade C.
- Crazing
- Fine surface cracking of HDPE, usually caused by solvent attack. Propagates under stress and is a critical grading failure. Visible only against a light.
- Deadhead
- Miles a truck travels empty. The quiet emissions villain of container logistics. Ours runs at 13.6% and our dispatcher takes it personally.
- Diversion rate
- The share of inbound mass that avoids landfill. Ours was 99.4% in 2024. We count incineration as disposal, not diversion.
- Dry-and-sniff
- The final wash-line check: a human opens the lid and smells the container. No instrument beats a trained nose at commercially relevant concentrations.
- Food history
- A written record showing every cargo a container has held was food-contact. Cannot be created after the fact at any price.
- Gaylord
- A large corrugated bulk box, roughly 900 to 1,100 lb when filled with HDPE regrind. Our unit of sale for recovered resin.
- Grade A / B / C
- Our three sale grades. A is washed and like new, B is sound with cosmetic wear, C is non-potable water service only. Nineteen inspection points decide which.
- HDPE
- High-density polyethylene. The bottle material. Excellent with aqueous chemistry, poor with ketones, aromatics and chlorinated solvents.
- Hydrostatic test
- A pressure test using liquid, required for certain design types under 49 CFR 178.801 before a UN marking may be applied.
- IBC
- Intermediate bulk container. Anything between a drum and a tank — in practice, 120 to 793 gallons.
- ISPM 15
- The international standard requiring heat treatment and stamping of wooden packaging for export. The reason we suggest plastic or composite pallets.
- Leak test
- An air-pressure hold test performed on every unit that leaves our yard. Around 6% of units entering the test cell fail, almost always at a gasket.
- Maximum permitted gross mass
- A field on the UN marking stating the heaviest the filled container may be. For regulated cargo the marking governs, not your arithmetic.
- NPT
- National Pipe Taper. A tapered pipe thread that seals on its flanks with tape or dope. Not interchangeable with S60x6, despite being a similar diameter.
- Odour fixation
- When compounds dissolve into the polymer wall rather than sitting on the surface. Permanent. The reason we refuse units that held essential oils.
- Pooling
- An arrangement where we own the containers and you use them. Maximises trips per container, which is the only metric that genuinely matters.
- Prior cargo declaration
- The written statement of what a container has held. Our absolute condition of purchase since 2010, and the price of entry for any grade.
- Rebottling
- Dropping a new HDPE bottle into a reclaimed, straightened steel cage and pallet. Keeps two thirds of the mass in service.
- Reclaim skid
- Our three-stage water recovery system: settling, bag filtration, carbon polish. Returns 86% of wash water to the line.
- Regrind
- Granulated, washed, dewatered HDPE flake recovered from bottles beyond reuse. Sold by the gaylord to moulders and compounders.
- S60x6
- The standard IBC outlet thread: 60 mm nominal, 6 mm pitch, buttress profile. Seals against a flat gasket face.
- Stress whitening
- Chalky pale patches at a bottle's lower corners indicating mechanical overload. Permanent, and a reliable sign of a shorter remaining life.
- Toll washing
- We clean and certify containers you continue to own. The cheapest way to run a closed loop without permitting your own wash bay.
- Trips per container
- The number of service journeys a container makes before retirement. Divides the entire embodied impact. The whole game.
- Ullage
- Head space left above a fill for thermal expansion. Usually 5 to 10%. The difference between a sealed bottle and a deformed one on a hot trailer.
- UN 31HA1/Y
- The marking on a composite IBC approved for liquids in packing groups II and III. Each character is a specific legal claim about the container.
- Wash record
- The document stating chemistry, concentration, temperature, cycle and operator for a unit's wash. Ships with every order.
A / SPECIFICATION
Reference
Dimensions, fittings and seat materials
The three tables people actually need before ordering. Full versions, with pallet footprints, metric conversions and sixty-plus cargo entries, live in the size guide.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2| Capacity | Litres | Footprint | Height | Tare | Gross (water) | Stack loaded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 275 gal | 1,041 | 48 × 40 in | 46 in | ≈140 lb | ≈2,435 lb | 2 high |
| 330 gal | 1,249 | 48 × 40 in | 53 in | ≈155 lb | ≈2,905 lb | 2 high |
| 350 gal | 1,325 | 48 × 40 in | 56 in | ≈165 lb | ≈3,075 lb | 2 high |
| 120 gal | 454 | 40 × 32 in | 38 in | ≈95 lb | ≈1,095 lb | 2 high |
| 180 gal | 681 | 42 × 36 in | 42 in | ≈115 lb | ≈1,616 lb | 2 high |
| 550 gal | 2,082 | 60 × 48 in | 60 in | ≈240 lb | ≈4,830 lb | 1 high |
B / FITTINGS
What threads onto it
Fittings, threads and seat materials
| Fitting | Size | Seals by | Seat options | Typical service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S60x6 butterfly valve | 2 in | Flat gasket face | EPDM, Viton, PTFE | The standard IBC outlet |
| S70x6 butterfly valve | 2 in | Flat gasket face | EPDM, Viton | European and some 330 gal units |
| 2 in NPT ball valve, poly | 2 in | Thread flanks + tape | EPDM, Viton | Retrofits, metered dispensing |
| 2 in NPT ball valve, stainless | 2 in | Thread flanks + tape | PTFE | Solvents, pressure, hot cargo |
| 3 in butterfly valve | 3 in | Flat gasket face | EPDM, Viton | Viscous cargo, high flow |
| 6 in fill cap | 6 in | Gasketed lid | EPDM, silicone | Vented or solid — choose deliberately |
| Camlock adapter, type C | 1.5 / 2 in | Cam arms + gasket | Buna, Viton | Repeated connect / disconnect |
| Bulkhead tap | 3/4 in | Both-side gaskets | Brass, poly | Rain kits, site water |
| Material | Good with | Avoid with | Temperature | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPDM | Water, acids, caustics, brine, ag-chem | Oils, fuels, aromatics | -40 to 250 °F | Low |
| Viton (FKM) | Solvents, oils, fuels, aromatics | Ketones, amines, hot steam | -15 to 400 °F | High |
| Nitrile (NBR) | Oils, diesel, greases, hydraulics | Ozone, strong oxidisers | -30 to 250 °F | Low |
| PTFE envelope | Almost all chemistry, high purity | Needs very flat flange faces | -100 to 450 °F | High |
| Silicone | Food contact, wide temperature | Solvents, abrasion | -60 to 450 °F | Medium |
C / COMPATIBILITY
Will HDPE hold it?
Sixteen cargo families, rated
HDPE is brilliant at most things and hopeless at a few. Where the answer is C, we will point you at stainless rather than sell you a container that will craze.
| Cargo family | HDPE | Seat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water, potable and non-potable | A | EPDM / silicone | Food-history units for potable |
| Acids and caustics, aqueous | A | EPDM / PTFE | Vent fuming cargo |
| Liquid fertiliser, UAN, NPK | A | EPDM | SG up to 1.32 — check your lift-gate |
| Brine and chloride de-icer | A | EPDM | Hard on galvanising, kind to HDPE |
| Food syrups, oils, concentrates | A | Silicone / Viton | Documented food history only |
| Glycols | A | EPDM | Very common; SG 1.04–1.11 |
| Alcohols | A | Viton / PTFE | Flammable — bond and vent |
| Diesel and gas oil | B | Viton / NBR | Permeates slowly over long storage |
| Mineral spirits | B | Viton | Swells HDPE slowly |
| Surfactants and detergents | B | EPDM | Odour fixation risk — dedicate units |
| Latex, adhesives, water-based paint | A | EPDM | Cures if left. Wash promptly. |
| Ketones, aromatics, chlorinated solvents | C | — | Crazes HDPE. Stainless only. |
| Gasoline and low-conductivity fuels | C | — | Static risk. Steel or stainless. |
| Essential oils, flavour concentrates | C | — | Fixes into the wall permanently. Never. |
| Hydrogen peroxide above 10% | C | — | Decomposition and pressure risk |
| Dairy and hot-fill above 140 °F | C | — | Needs CIP and steam. Stainless. |
Permeation
Small non-polar molecules pass slowly through HDPE rather than attacking it. The bottle looks perfect and your cargo quietly leaves. It is a storage-duration problem: diesel for a week is fine, diesel for a year is not.
Crazing
Ketones, aromatics and chlorinated solvents cause fine surface cracking that propagates under stress. It is invisible until you hold the wall against a raking light, and it is a critical grading failure.
Odour fixation
Terpenes and some surfactants dissolve into the polymer itself rather than sitting on the surface. No wash removes them. This is why a food-grade tote has to have been a food tote from new.
D / ORDERING
Commercial terms, up front
Lead times, minimums and what happens when it goes wrong
Discovering these at invoice stage is nobody's idea of a good relationship, so they are published.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Minimum order | One unit. No account minimum, no membership. |
| Stock lead time | Grade A and B 275 gal usually ship the same week |
| Rebottled lead time | 2–3 weeks, built to order in bay D |
| Food-grade lead time | 1–3 weeks when stock exists; supply-dependent |
| Full truckload | 45 on a 48 ft flat, 48 in a 53 ft van, 90 empties double-stacked |
| Payment, first order | Prepay by ACH or card |
| Payment, established | Net 30 on credit approval |
| Grade guarantee | Regrade or replace, our freight both ways, 14 days |
| Leak warranty | 30 days from delivery, normal atmospheric service |
| Cancellation | Free until the truck is loaded |
| Returns | 14 days on unused stock units, freight at your cost |
| Sales tax | Indiana resale certificates and out-of-state equivalents accepted |
E / GRADING
A grade is a promise, not a mood
How every unit is scored
We publish the whole system because a grade without written criteria is just an opinion with a price tag. Nineteen points, fixed thresholds, one card per unit, seven years on file.
| # | Point | Critical? |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Prior cargo declaration — present, written, specific | Yes |
| 02 | Residual liquid — any volume at all | Yes |
| 03 | Odour after wash — fixed odour by trained nose | Yes |
| 04 | Bottle corner stress whitening | No |
| 05 | Interior scoring you can feel | No |
| 06 | Interior crazing — fine surface cracking | Yes |
| 07 | Bottle bulge or deformation | Yes |
| 08 | Wall thickness at the thinnest point | Yes |
| 09 | Dome port condition and flange flatness | No |
| 10 | Outlet threads — cross-threading, chipping | Yes if crossed |
| 11 | Valve function, full open and close | No, replaceable |
| 12 | Gasket condition — compression set, bloom | No, replaceable |
| 13 | Cage squareness along the top rail | No, pressable |
| 14 | Cage weld integrity at tube intersections | Yes |
| 15 | Cage coating and galvanising loss | No |
| 16 | Pallet condition — cracked feet, rot, corrosion | No, replaceable |
| 17 | Forklift pocket integrity | No |
| 18 | UN marking legibility and date | No, re-markable |
| 19 | Leak test under our procedure | Yes |
F / END OF LIFE
Reuse first, recycle last
What happens when the container is finally finished
Every unit that arrives is assessed down this list, in this order. 99.4% of incoming mass avoided landfill in 2024, and reuse plus repair accounted for over three quarters of it.
| Step | Outcome | Share of mass | Cost to us |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Reuse as is — wash and redeploy | 63.9% | 11 gal of mostly reclaimed water |
| 02 | Repair and reuse — valve, gasket, pallet, cage | 11.4% | Parts and bench time |
| 03 | Rebottle — new bottle, reclaimed steel | 9.6% | A new bottle, two thirds of mass retained |
| 04 | Upcycle — rain kits, grow beds, wash stations | 3.2% | Fabrication time |
| 05 | Material recovery — HDPE regrind, steel, wood | 11.3% | Grinding, washing, drying energy |
| 06 | Residual to licensed disposal | 0.6% | Sludge, gasket rubber, fasteners, laminates |
G / PITFALLS
Learned the expensive way
Five mistakes that cost people money
Not hypothetical. Each of these has arrived in our inbox, usually more than once.
Ordering a 330 without measuring the ceiling
A 275 and a 330 share a footprint; the 330 is seven inches taller. Two 330s stacked is 110 inches against 96 for two 275s, and most sprinkler regimes want eighteen inches of clearance below the deflector. That seven inches is frequently the whole margin.
Forcing an NPT fitting into an S60x6 port
Both are roughly two inches, so it bites and feels tight. It is not sealing, it is chewing the buttress thread. The joint weeps two days later, usually in transit, and cross-threading is one of the few faults that condemns an otherwise perfect bottle.
Reusing a flange gasket
A gasket is a one-use part the moment it has taken a compression set. Reusing one is the cause of most 'the new valve still leaks' emails we get. They cost a couple of dollars. Keep a box at the fill point.
Specifying a solid lid on a tote that sees sun
Sealed container, rising temperature, nowhere for the expansion to go. The bottle bulges between the cage bars and does not fully return. A vented lid is the cheapest risk control in this industry.
Ignoring specific gravity
A full 275 of water is 2,435 lb. The same tote of UAN 32 is 3,168 lb, and a 330 is 3,785 lb. Plenty of lift-gates are rated at 2,500 or 3,000 lb, and the rating assumes a centred load.
Plain language
If a supplier will not define a term, be suspicious.
Ask us to define anything. We will, in one line.