330 Gallon IBC Tote dimensions

Nominal rating versus real geometry

A tank's name is a trade label. Its geometry is a measurement. On a IBC tote these two numbers are related but not equal, and knowing which one you are quoting matters whenever the figure ends up on an invoice, a permit or a purchase order.

Rated 330 gal. Computed from the dimensions in the table above: 330.0 gal. The label and the geometry agree to within half a percent here, which usually means the published dimensions were themselves derived from the rating rather than measured independently.

Densities are the reference values tabulated on our methodology page, near 60–70 °F. Real fluids vary with temperature, grade and composition — a 10 °F swing moves a hydrocarbon density by roughly 0.4 %. Add the empty vessel weight to get a gross figure.

Handling, stacking and what the marking tells you

Read the UN marking before you trust the label. It records the design type, the packing group, the rated capacity in litres, the maximum gross mass and the date of manufacture — and for a regulated shipment it also carries a periodic retest date. A cage stencilled '275 gallon' tells you what it was sold as; the marking tells you what it is approved for.

Gross mass is the constraint people hit first. A full tote of anything water-like is well over a tonne before the pallet, which puts it beyond many hand pallet trucks and most mezzanine floors. Check the forklift rating and the floor, not just the doorway.

Stack only to the marked stacking test load, only on level ground, and only with the lower tote full — a part-filled bottle deflects under load and the cage is not the structural element people assume it is.

The standards behind this container

Intermediate bulk containers used for regulated materials are built, marked and periodically retested under 49 CFR Part 178, Subpart N. The UN marking moulded into the bottle and stamped on the cage records the design type (a caged plastic tote is a composite IBC), the packing group it is approved for, the rated capacity in litres, the maximum gross mass, and the date of manufacture. That marking is the authoritative capacity — a '275 gallon' label on the cage is a trade name.

IBCs also carry a retest interval. An out-of-date tote may be perfectly serviceable for water in a yard and unusable for a regulated shipment, and the marking is where you check.

Where totes are stored outdoors at a facility subject to the SPCC rule, 40 CFR § 112.8(c)(11) treats them as portable containers requiring secondary containment sized for the largest single container plus freeboard for precipitation.

For depth-by-depth volumes on this tank, use the inch-by-inch chart; for a different set of dimensions, the dip chart generator will build one.

Sources and standards

The geometry on this page is computed, not copied. These are the documents that define the units it is expressed in and the codes that govern a IBC tote in service.

1. 49 CFR Part 178 — Specifications for Packagings (Subpart N: Intermediate Bulk Containers)U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, via the electronic Code of Federal Regulationshttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-178Design, construction, marking and periodic retest requirements for IBCs. The UN marking moulded into a tote's bottle records its design type, packing group, test date and rated capacity — read it before trusting a nominal gallon figure.
2. Handbook 44, Appendix C — General Tables of Units of MeasurementNational Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commercehttps://www.nist.gov/document/2026-nist-handbook-44-appendix-cThe legal-metrology reference for U.S. customary units. Fixes the U.S. liquid gallon at exactly 231 cubic inches and tabulates the full liquid-volume chain (minim → fluid dram → fluid ounce → gill → pint → quart → gallon).
3. 40 CFR § 112.8(c)(2) — Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan requirements for onshore facilitiesU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, via the electronic Code of Federal Regulationshttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-112/subpart-B/section-112.8Requires secondary containment sized for the entire capacity of the largest single container, plus sufficient freeboard to contain precipitation. Note that the rule itself does not state “110 %” — that is a common design convention layered on top of the regulatory floor.
4. Methodology — the partial-fill formulas and liquid densities used on this sitetankvolumecalc.comhttps://tankvolumecalc.com/methodology/Every chart value here comes from a closed-form partial-fill formula, not interpolation: circular segments for cylinders, a piecewise obround model for 275/330 heating-oil tanks, and scaled spherical caps for dished heads. Densities and their bases are tabulated there.
5. Special Publication 811, Appendix B.8 — Factors for Units Listed AlphabeticallyNational Institute of Standards and Technologyhttps://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811/nist-guide-si-appendix-b-conversion-factors/nist-guide-si-appendix-b8NIST's master table of conversions into SI. Factors printed in boldface are exact by definition rather than measured or rounded — which is how you tell a defined unit from an approximated one.

Every linked source above was retrieved and checked on 2026-09-02. Factors quoted as exact are exact by definition in the cited document, not rounded by us.