Capacity
calculator.
Once you know the volume and the weight, tell us the quantity and we will quote the delivered cost.
Three questions, one tool: how much is in there, what does it weigh, and will the truck take it. Pick a tote size and a product, drag the fill level, and you get gallons, litres, gross shipped weight and how many units fit inside a 43,500 lb legal payload. The cutaway on the right fills as you drag.
Net product weight 2,295 lb. Gallon and litre figures assume a straight-walled bottle; the real bottle tapers at the shoulder, so treat anything above 95% as nominal and always leave headspace for thermal expansion.
How the numbers are derived
Volume is nominal capacity scaled linearly by fill percentage. Weight is gallons × 8.345 × specific gravity + tare, using the standard density of water at 60 °F. Units per payload is the 43,500 lb legal payload of a typical 53-foot dry van divided by gross unit weight, floored to a whole number.
The one simplification worth knowing about: the linear scaling assumes a straight-walled bottle. Real bottles taper at the base and the shoulder, so readings below about 10% and above about 92% of height overstate volume slightly. In the middle band — which is where almost all real measurements happen — the error is under 3%.
Specific gravity reference
| Product | Specific gravity |
|---|---|
| Diesel / heating oil | 0.85 |
| Ethanol | 0.79 |
| Vegetable / olive oil | 0.92 |
| Water | 1.00 |
| Milk | 1.03 |
| Propylene glycol | 1.04 |
| Liquid fertiliser (28-0-0) | 1.28 |
| Brine, saturated NaCl | 1.18 |
| Latex paint | 1.25 |
| Corn syrup (42 DE) | 1.38 |
| Molasses | 1.42 |
| Sulphuric acid, 93% | 1.84 |
Leave headspace. Always.
Thermal expansion of water is about 0.3% from 60 °F to 100 °F. Hydrocarbons are three to four times that. A brim-filled tote in direct summer sun will push product out of the cap vent, and if the cap is sealed rather than vented it will instead bulge the bottle against the cage and permanently deform it. Two percent minimum, five percent outdoors.
Gallons per inch
- 275 gal
- ≈5.9 gal / in
- 330 gal
- ≈6.2 gal / in
- 550 gal
- ≈8.6 gal / in
- Valid band, 275
- 4 – 40 in from base
Measuring in practice
- Use a clean dipstick through the 6-inch opening, not a tape.
- Measure to the liquid surface, not the wet line — it climbs.
- Take the reading with the tote on level ground.
- For repeat measurement, fit an external sight tube — $88 and far more reliable.
How many trucks?
The load planner answers the freight half of the question, including which constraint binds.
Cube-bound: the floor fills first. You are carrying only 6,500 lb of a 43,500 lb allowance, which is exactly why empties should never move LTL if you have more than ten.
Calculator questions
How accurate is a fill-height estimate?
Within two or three percent through the straight-walled middle band of the bottle, which runs from roughly 4 inches above the base to 40 inches on a 275 gallon unit. Near the base and near the shoulder the bottle tapers and a linear estimate overstates the volume. For custody-transfer accuracy you need a flow meter or a scale, not a dipstick.
Why does the calculator say 275 gallons is 264?
Because it is. A '275 gallon' tote is a 1,000 litre tote, and 1,000 litres is 264.2 US gallons. The calculator uses nominal capacity by design: it is the number you can actually use, and planning on the 288-gallon brim figure is how product ends up on the floor on a warm afternoon.
Can I use this to work out freight?
The gross weight it returns is exactly what a carrier will bill on, and the units-per-payload figure tells you whether you are weight-bound or cube-bound. For the full picture use the load planner below, which accounts for floor positions and double-stacking as well as weight.
What about thermal expansion?
Water expands about 0.3% between 60 °F and 100 °F — roughly three-quarters of a gallon in a 275 gallon tote. Hydrocarbons expand considerably more, often 1% or above over the same range. Leave at least 2% headspace, and more for anything stored outdoors in summer.
How the calculator derives each number
No hidden assumptions. Here is exactly what the tool does.
- Volume
- Nominal capacity × fill percentage, scaled linearly
- Litres
- US gallons × 3.78541
- Fill height
- Nominal height × fill percentage
- Net product weight
- gallons × 8.345 × specific gravity
- Gross weight
- Net + tare for the selected format
- Units per payload
- floor(43,500 lb ÷ gross weight)
- Water density basis
- 8.345 lb/US gal at 60 °F
- Legal payload basis
- 43,500 lb, typical 53 ft dry van
The one simplification worth knowing about
The linear scaling assumes a straight-walled bottle. Real bottles taper at the base and the shoulder, so readings below about 10% and above about 92% of height overstate volume slightly. Through the middle band — where almost all real measurements happen — the error is under 3%.
For custody transfer you need a flow meter or a scale. For process control, the calculator and a dipstick are fine.
Specific gravity for fifty common bulk liquids
| Product | SG | Product | SG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acetone | 0.79 | Latex paint | 1.25 |
| Ethanol, anhydrous | 0.79 | Liquid fertiliser 28-0-0 | 1.28 |
| Methanol | 0.79 | Liquid fertiliser 32-0-0 | 1.32 |
| Gasoline | 0.74 | Corn syrup 42 DE | 1.38 |
| Toluene | 0.87 | High-fructose corn syrup | 1.40 |
| Diesel / heating oil | 0.85 | Molasses | 1.42 |
| Kerosene | 0.82 | Phosphoric acid 75% | 1.58 |
| Mineral oil | 0.88 | Sodium hydroxide 50% | 1.53 |
| Vegetable oil | 0.92 | Sulphuric acid 93% | 1.84 |
| Olive oil | 0.92 | Hydrochloric acid 32% | 1.16 |
| Used cooking oil | 0.92 | Nitric acid 68% | 1.41 |
| Soybean oil | 0.92 | Sodium hypochlorite 12% | 1.17 |
| Linseed oil | 0.93 | Hydrogen peroxide 35% | 1.13 |
| Water | 1.00 | Calcium chloride brine | 1.29 |
| Milk | 1.03 | Potassium carbonate solution | 1.40 |
| Beer | 1.01 | Urea solution 32% (DEF) | 1.09 |
| Wine | 0.99 | Antifreeze, 50% glycol | 1.07 |
| Propylene glycol | 1.04 | Glycerin | 1.26 |
| Ethylene glycol | 1.11 | Maple sap | 1.01 |
| Fruit juice concentrate | 1.25 | Maple syrup | 1.33 |
| Apple cider | 1.05 | Honey | 1.42 |
| Vinegar 5% | 1.01 | Liquid egg | 1.04 |
| Brine, saturated NaCl | 1.18 | Compost tea | 1.00 |
| Pickling brine | 1.10 | Digestate / slurry | 1.02 |
| Soy sauce | 1.20 | Drilling mud | 1.20 – 2.00 |
Where a range is shown, use the top of it. Where your product is a solution, the concentration drives the figure and your supplier's technical data sheet is the authority — these are orientation values.
How much to leave, and why
| Situation | Headspace | 275 gal max fill | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indoors, stable temperature, water-like | 2% | 259 gal | Thermal expansion plus vapour space for the cap |
| Indoors, hydrocarbon or solvent | 4% | 253 gal | Three to four times the expansion coefficient of water |
| Outdoors, summer, any product | 5% | 251 gal | 60 °F to 100 °F swing |
| Outdoors, hydrocarbon, summer | 7% | 246 gal | Both effects together |
| Anything that off-gasses | 5% plus a vented cap | 251 gal | Hypochlorite, peroxide, fermenting product |
| Going into a freeze | 10% | 238 gal | Water expands ≈9% on freezing |
| Unheated storage over winter | Drain, or 10% | 238 gal | As above; draining is safer |
What happens if you ignore it
With a vented cap, product pushes out of the vent on the first warm afternoon. With a sealed cap, the bottle bulges against the cage lattice and takes a permanent set — pillowing between the bars, a distorted shoulder, and in bad cases a cage pushed out of square from the inside, which writes off both halves at once.
Every February we take in a recognisable wave of exactly that failure from units filled to the shoulder the previous autumn. Nine percent is not a rounding error.
Detailed questions
Why does the calculator say 275 gallons is 264?
Because it is. A '275 gallon' tote is a 1,000 litre tote, and 1,000 litres is 264.172 US gallons. The calculator uses nominal capacity by design: it is the number you can actually use, and planning on the 288-gallon brim figure is how product ends up on the floor.
How accurate is a fill-height estimate?
Within two or three percent through the straight-walled middle band — roughly 4 to 40 inches on a 275. Near the base and the shoulder the bottle tapers and a linear estimate overstates. For custody-transfer accuracy you need a flow meter or a scale.
Can I use the gross weight figure for a freight quote?
Yes — that is exactly what a carrier bills on, and the units-per-payload figure tells you whether you are weight-bound or cube-bound. For the complete picture use the load planner, which accounts for floor positions and double-stacking as well as weight.
Does temperature change the volume figure?
Marginally, and in the direction that matters. Water expands about 0.3% from 60 to 100 °F, so 264 gallons loaded cold becomes about 265 gallons warm. Hydrocarbons are three to four times that. The calculator works at 60 °F, which is why the headspace guidance exists.
What if my product is a slurry or has solids?
Use the bulk specific gravity of the mixture rather than the liquid phase, and ask your supplier for it. Slurries also settle, which means a dipstick reading in the upper band may be measuring mostly liquid while the mass is concentrated low — for anything that settles, weigh it.
Can I calculate for a partially emptied tote?
Yes, that is the primary use. Drag the fill slider to the measured height percentage and the tool gives the remaining volume and the current gross weight — which is what you need for a part-load freight calculation or a stock count.
Why does the units-per-payload figure matter?
Because it tells you how much trailer you are wasting. Eighteen filled water totes hit the payload using 18 of 26 floor positions — eight positions ride empty and there is nothing to be done about it. With corn syrup it is 13 units and 13 wasted positions. That is the arithmetic that decides whether you ship filled or ship empty and fill on site.
Is there a version I can print or keep?
The page prints cleanly, and if you tell us the product and the format we will send the full table by email for your own records. Several customers keep a printed fill table laminated by the filling point, which is more practical than a phone at a wet workstation.
Got your numbers?
Send the quantity and your postal code and we will turn them into a delivered price.