275 Gallon IBC Totes	Food Certified IBC Totes	IBC Tote Accessories

You can find fairly good, old, used, food and non-food grade totes, but what you might get is less-life totes with possibly environmental or leaking issues costing extra to repair and maintain and are likely to be short lived with rust and dents. If you want the best for your family, plants or project long term, buy a new food grade tote and you will not be sorry or disappointed and your tote will have a resale value in the future.

You might need a few tote accessories like a garden hose adapter, overflow fitting, and uv protective cover. And, a rainwater collection system or water source.

You will need a base for the tote. The base should be 40" x 48". The height of the base matters in natural gravity psi and comfortability to access the water faucet without constant bending. The tote placed on the edge of a raised porch can work as well. We have built two types of tote bases that work very nicely:

• BLOCKS: Several 6" x 8" x 16" concrete blocks stacked to desired height with three 2" x 6" x 48" pressure treated boards on top of the 3 rows of concrete block. Concrete blocks are fast and do not require any drilling, sawing, or deck screws, but are heavy to handle and can be more expensive than a wooden built frame depending on how high you need to go. One row for 8" height requires 9 concrete blocks, two rows for 16" requires 18, three rows for 24" requires 27 blocks and so on. Cost adds up quickly to about $50.


• WOOD: A pressure treated wood base with 4" x 6" x 24" legs and 2" x 6" frame (40" x 48"). One 4" x 6" x 8' pressure treated wooden post can be cut into four 2 foot legs. This option requires four 2" x 6" x 8" pressure treated boards and one 6" x 4" x 8" pressure treated post for a whopping total of about $50 plus screws $10.

We have seen tote bases for sale on Amazon or you can place the tote on a raised porch or any raised surface or truck or trailer, all options will work just fine.

A tote that is food grade should be labeled "Food Grade" or "USP" (United States Pharmacopeia) and the content should be lableled (NOP) National Organic Program indicating food grade.

Very Important About IBC Totes

DO NOT risk poisoning someone or damaging your plants by purchasing a cheap low cost IBC tote which most likely contained hazardous chemicals or totes from an unknown source or totes which have had their original contents label removed or have been "reconditioned"! ONLY verified Food Grade IBC totes are BPA free and safe for showers, storing human or animal drinking water, and rainwater collection for edible fruits and vegetables, herbs and other plants.

WARNING: All totes are required by the FDA to provide a fixed label indicating manufacturer, date filled, grade, and shipping content. If you find a tote without a label, toxic liquid was likely stored in the container or the container is many years old or both. Not good for humans or pets and not good for plants. Not a good decision to purchase or use a tote without a food grade label for human, animal or plant consumption or purpose!