Stacking IBC totes safely

01What the sources say

They differ on empty stacks, which is the reason to read the plate. Many totes can ride two high in transit, which effectively doubles the payload on a trailer’s floor.

02Reading it

The stacking test load is the weight the design was tested to carry on top of it, in kilograms, stamped on the plate. Compare it with the maximum gross mass of the tote above. If the plate is unreadable, treat the tote as unstackable until you can show otherwise.

A full 275 gallon tote holds 2,294 pounds of water before the tote itself, and a full 330 holds 2,752. Those are the loads that sit on the one below when you stack full ones.

03Practical rules

• Stack on a level, firm floor.
• Stack like on like: same footprint, cages aligned.
• Stack no higher than the lowest plate allows.
• Do not stack a damaged cage or a tote with a leaking valve.
• Keep stacks clear of doors and sprinklers.

04Stacking in trucks

A trailer’s count depends on the height and on stacking. The totes-per-truck guide shows how the figures are built and why the desk counts a load from the plate, not from a rule of thumb.

+More in Guides

• Reading the UN plateEvery mark on an IBC's UN plate explained: 31HA1, packing group letter, manufacture date, stacking test load and maximum gross mass.
• Totes per truckHow 275 and 330 gallon totes load on a 53-foot trailer, single and double stacked, and how loads are counted on a ticket.
• 275 gallonThe 48 by 40 by 46 inch tote: footprint, weight and how it loads.
• 330 gallonSame footprint, seven inches taller: specs and where it trades.
• RCRA emptyWhat 40 CFR 261.7 says about empty totes over 119 gallons, when a triple rinse is required, and what that means before a tote is sold.
• Three-state rulesWhich agency handles empty containers and rinse water in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, kept apart state by state.
• Retest datesThe 2.5-year leakproofness test, the 5-year internal inspection, and what an out-of-date tote is still good for.
• Dimensions and weightsFootprint, height, capacity and empty and full weights for 275 and 330 gallon totes, with gallons, liters, pounds and kilograms checked.
• 275 vs 330How a 275 and a 330 gallon tote differ in height, capacity and use, and which one a plant, a farm or a gardener should ask for.
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