Bulk bags, FIBCs, bulk totes - call them what you will - are usually sized to contain one ton or metric ton of dry bulk solid material.
However, we've seen bulk bag payloads as small as a few hundred pounds and as big as 5,000 lb and more. That being said, you may be surprised at how often we are asked the size of 'standard' bulk bags - as if there is only one size.
The fact that bulk solids have different bulk densities - usually expressed in pounds per cubic foot - means that for a bulk bag to contain a specific weight it has to be sized accordingly. For a given weight, a bulk bag filled with a lower bulk density product will be bigger than one filled with a higher bulk density product.
That means that bulk bags end up being whatever size is required to contain the weight of product you want to package. I.e. there is no 'standard' size!
Here's the basic procedure to size a bulk bag:
- Determine the method by which your bulk bags will be shipped: truck, rail, shipping container, etc. This will determine the maximum width and depth of the bulk bag (and the pallet size if you're using them - you don't have to!).
- Once the base dimensions have been determined calculate the bag volume required to hold the payload and then calculate the height using the known cross sectional area of the bag (base x width).
So, remember that there is no such thing as a 'standard' size bulk bag and that yours needs to be sized to your specific requirements. Any reputable bulk bag vendor will be able to quickly determine the right size bag for your application - and then test it with your actual product to fine tune their calculations.
