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Identifying common tote makes

The reliable way to tell one maker’s tote from another’s is the marking: the maker’s name or symbol is on the cage plate and again on the bottle under 49 CFR 178.703, and the design model is on the maker’s data sheet; cage pattern, pallet and valve are clues, not proof.

Last reviewed 2026-11-14.

Why the make matters to you

Most plants care about the make for one reason: matching. If your filling station, drip trays, tote stands, valve wrenches and spare parts are set up around one design, a tote of another design can be an inch taller, drain from a valve at a different height or take a different cap wrench. Matching the make, or at least the dimensions and fittings, avoids that.

Makers' names appear on this page only to identify products. We aren't a dealer for any maker and none has endorsed this site.

Read the plate, then the bottle

The UN marking on the cage plate includes the name or registered symbol of the manufacturer (49 CFR 178.703(a)). The bottle carries its own mark with the design code, the maker's name or symbol, the country and the date of manufacture (178.703(b)(6)). On a new tote both name the same maker. If they differ, the tote has been rebottled with another maker's bottle.

Write down the full code (31HA1/Y and its specific gravity), the maker's name or symbol and any model name moulded into the bottle. With that, we can quote the same design or one with the same dimensions and fittings.

  1. UN symbol The UN packaging symbol: the tote was built to a tested, approved design.
  2. 31HA1 The design code: 31 is a rigid IBC for liquids, H a plastic inner bottle, A a steel outer cage, and 1 marks a rigid (not flexible) bottle.
  3. Y The packing groups it was tested for. Y covers Packing Group II and III. No IBC may carry a Packing Group I liquid.
  4. MM YY Month and year of manufacture. On a new tote it is this year, and the 2.5-year retest clock starts from it.
  5. USA The country that authorized the marking.
  6. Maker The manufacturer’s name or symbol, with the approval number.
  7. #### kg Stacking test load: the weight the tote may carry stacked on it.
  8. #### kg Maximum permissible gross mass: tote plus contents.
Drawn after the marking rule in 49 CFR 178.703; the weights are shown as #### because they differ by design. Composite totes also carry the month and year of the last leakproofness test and inspection.

Clues you can see from across the floor

Makers differ in cage tube shape and spacing, in how the cage is joined to the pallet, in pallet type (steel, wood, plastic or composite), in the position and style of the valve and its handle, and in the cap's size and grip. Those are useful for sorting a yard full of totes. They aren't reliable for buying, because each maker sells several designs, revises them over the years and offers options on cage, pallet and valve. We don't publish a spotter's guide of cage patterns because one would be out of date and could send you the wrong tote.

What to send us

  • A photo of the cage plate and one of the bottle's moulded marking, if you can get to it.
  • The measured height and the height of the valve outlet from the floor.
  • The valve type, size and outlet connection, and the cap size.
  • The pallet type, if your racking or conveyors care.

We quote the same make where it's available. Where another make fits your setup equally well, we say which dimensions or fittings differ, so you can decide before ordering. Composite totes are made by several large makers; Mauser, for example, lists 135, 275 and 330 gallon composite IBCs (Mauser, composite IBCs).

When your customer names a make

Some customers specify a tote by make because their unloading equipment, inspection routine or approved-container list was built around it. If your customer's spec names a make, send us the spec itself rather than our guess at what they want: the important parts are usually the UN code and rating, the valve and outlet, the gasket and the bottle grade, and the make is a short way of saying all of them at once.

Where a customer will accept equivalents, ask them to say so in writing. A tote with the same code, the same rating, the same valve size and outlet and the same gasket usually does the same job, but a customer audit will look for the paper that says it was accepted.

Spare parts

Valves, caps and gaskets are not always interchangeable between makes, even at the same nominal size. Keep a note of each tote's make and design so spare parts can be ordered to fit.

Short answers

How do I know who made my tote?
Read the maker’s name or symbol on the UN plate on the cage, and the moulded marking on the bottle.
Are all 275 gallon totes interchangeable?
They share the 48 × 40 in footprint and nominal volume, but height, valve position, cap and pallet differ by design.
Can you match the totes I already run?
Send the plate, the measured height and the fittings, and we quote the same make or one that fits the same way, naming any difference.

The totes this bears on

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Read next: Reading the UN marking, Dimensions by size, Valves and fittings.