Rebottled IBC totes: a new bottle in a used cage
A rebottled tote has a brand new HDPE bottle in a used, certified steel cage. The bottle has never held anything, and the cage has done its time, so a buyer gets a clean inner surface for less than a new tote.
01What this grade is
Rebottling is what a reconditioner does with a good cage and a bad bottle. The old bottle comes out. A new one goes in, and the cage is inspected and certified again. The result is a tote whose plate and frame are used and whose inner surface is not. It is the usual grade for repeat chemical fills.
Because the cage is reused, a rebottled tote often carries an older UN plate than its bottle suggests. Read the retest date, which the rebottler resets when it certifies the tote, and the manufacture date, which may be years older.
02What to look at
| Part | What you should see |
|---|---|
| Bottle | New, with no scuffs and no smell |
| Cage | Used: scuffs and paint chips are fine, bends and broken welds are not |
| Plate | An old manufacture date and a recent test mark |
| Valve | New or reconditioned, turning a quarter turn |
03What it fits and what it rules out
| Fits | Rules out |
|---|---|
| Repeat chemical fills by blenders and distributors | A buyer who needs a new cage and a new plate date |
| A product change where the old bottle would carry residue | Fuel in a plastic bottle: gasoline never, and diesel only in a listed IBC |
| Food and flavour uses, with a documented record from the rebottler | Nothing further |
04Which way it trades here
Buyers ask for it far more than plants post it. A reconditioner’s output is the main supply, so the desk matches NEED tickets against sellers who have rebottled lots.
Plants that rebottle in-house, or have a service do it, sometimes post a lot as HAVE.
05What to put on the ticket
- Size and count
- The retest date range you will accept
- The product you will fill, so the desk can ask the seller about the bottle’s resin
06What is replaced and what is reused
Rebottling puts a new high-density polyethylene bottle into a used, inspected cage. The expensive and long-lived part, the galvanized steel cage with its forklift pockets and its plate, is kept. The bottle, which is the part that touched the last product, is new. Buyers who refill with a chemical like the grade because the contact surface has no history.
Because the cage is the part with a plate, it is the part to inspect. Bent bars, rusted welds and a plate that is missing or unreadable matter, and the marking should show the new bottle’s test date and the original design code. A 31HA1 code means a composite IBC with a plastic inner receptacle and a steel outer packaging, which is what a rebottled tote remains.
A closed-loop lease uses only totes that a customer used before and had washed or rebottled. An open-loop one lets the origin be flexible. A rebottled tote from the desk can fit either, so say which the buyer needs.
?Questions on this page
What is a rebottled IBC tote?
A brand new HDPE bottle in a used, certified steel cage.
Is rebottled better than reconditioned?
It starts cleaner. Reconditioned costs less and suits a buyer who refills the same product.