Totes vs. drums, at length
The full comparison including labour, spill risk and storage.
Product 07 · The other containers
Drums &
bulk containers
Not every job needs a thousand litres. The same wash line and the same grading discipline apply to our drum stock, and drums remain the cheapest reusable container per gallon on the yard.
Order desk
Price drums & bulk containers
Quantity and delivery ZIP are what move the price. Tell us those and the grade you think you need, and we will confirm or talk you down to something cheaper.
The short answer
We stock reconditioned 55, 30 and 15 gallon poly and steel drums in both open-head and tight-head configurations, plus corrugated pallet boxes and rigid bulk bins. Drums run $18–$95. They beat totes on price per unit and lose to totes on price per gallon — the crossover is around 200 gallons of throughput per delivery.
- 55 gal poly open-head with lever ring — the workhorse of the drum row
- 55 gal tight-head with 2" and 3/4" bungs for pumped transfer
- Steel drums, lined and unlined, for solvents and fuels
- Bulk bins and pallet boxes for dry goods and scrap
Drum or tote? The honest arithmetic
This gets decided on feel far too often. The maths is straightforward and it usually points at totes sooner than people expect.
| 55 gal poly drum | 275 gal IBC tote | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical reconditioned price | $28–$55 | $105–$219 |
| Cost per gallon of capacity | $0.51–$1.00 | $0.38–$0.80 |
| Units per 53' trailer | 192 (4 per pallet, 48 pallets) | 26 single / 52 double |
| Gallons per trailer | ≈ 10,560 | ≈ 14,300 double stacked |
| Handling | Drum dolly, one person | Forklift, always |
| Empty storage footprint | Nests poorly, stacks 2 high | Stacks 3 high empty |
| Decanting | Pump or tip | Gravity valve, no equipment |
The tipping point in practice: if you move less than about 200 gallons per delivery, or you have no forklift, buy drums. Above that, or if you decant frequently, the tote wins on labour alone — a valve and a bucket beats a drum pump every single time.
Open head or tight head
- Open head (removable lid with a lever or bolt ring): anything viscous, anything solid, anything you need to scoop, and anything you will clean out. Sealing is by gasket and clamp, so it is good but not shipping-grade for aggressive liquids.
- Tight head (fixed top with 2" and 3/4" bungs): pumped liquids, shipping, anything that must not be opened casually. Cleaning is harder because you cannot get inside.
- Steel unlined: solvents, fuels, oils. Not for water or anything acidic — it will rust from the inside.
- Steel lined (epoxy or phenolic): mild chemistry and food applications; the lining is the whole product and a scratched lining is a scrapped drum.
- Poly: water, acids, caustics, detergents. Not for aromatic or chlorinated solvents.
?Common questions
Questions people actually ask
Are your drums food grade?
Some are. The same rule applies as with totes: food grade means a documented edible prior content, and the ones that qualify are usually ex-syrup, ex-brine or ex-oil. Ask and we will tell you exactly what is in the row that week.
Do you buy used drums back?
Yes, in quantity. Drums are lower value per unit than totes so the economics need volume — roughly 40 units to make a pickup worthwhile, or bring them to the yard any size load.
What about pallet boxes and bulk bins?
We carry them intermittently as they come through. They are excellent for dry goods, scrap and parts handling, and they collapse for storage. Ask what is in stock rather than assuming.
»Keep reading
Sell us your empties
Drums and totes both. We collect across Texas.
Pumps, bungs and drum fittings
Everything that goes in the top of a drum.