Containers

Twenty tubs and pails

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What is here A pail is not a jar with a bigger mouth Which changes the seal question entirely And it changes the reopening question The four with handles are the practical ones Two tight head pails The square grip containers are the fourth family Headspace in a pail is a lot of air Seven pail and tub lids are stocked And a sealing disc is the tamper answer References

12 pails and 8 tubs. Which close with a lid rather than a thread.

What is here

9 plastic round pails, 4 HDPE round tubs, 4 HDPE round tubs with handle, 2 tight head pails and 1 plastic square pail, out of 39 containers.

A pail is not a jar with a bigger mouth

It closes with a snap or press lid across its full diameter rather than with a thread, which is why 20 of our 39 have no neck finish recorded.

Which changes the seal question entirely

A threaded closure compresses a liner against a land. A pail lid seals on a gasket or an interference fit around a rim, and the two fail differently.

And it changes the reopening question

A pail lid is awkward to remove and awkward to reseat. For a product scooped daily that is a real usability cost.

The four with handles are the practical ones

A gallon of anything is heavy, and five gallons is heavier. A handle on a bulk container is the difference between usable and not.

Two tight head pails

Which have a closed top with a small opening rather than a full removable lid. For a liquid like a pet broth that is the right format and for a dry product it is not.

The square grip containers are the fourth family

4 plastic square grip containers, which pack efficiently on a pallet and in a cupboard. Square beats round for storage density.

Headspace in a pail is a lot of air

Five gallons is 18,927 mL, so a ten percent gap is nearly two litres. Which is why the slack-fill analysis matters more as the container grows.

Seven pail and tub lids are stocked

7 plastic round pail lids, 6 round tub lids, 1 metal round pail lid and 1 plastic square pail lid. Matched to the containers rather than generic.

And a sealing disc is the tamper answer

3 of 157 closures. For a bulk container sold sealed that is the element to specify by name, and the count is small.

References

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. 196 rows: 39 containers and 157 closures, and the largest-capacity shelf in this library. 950 to 18,927 mL with a median of 3,785, which is exactly one US gallon; all 37 containers with a capacity on file are over a quart, 21 are over a gallon and 5 are at five gallons. 32 HDPE and 7 PET, with no glass, polypropylene or metal. 22 white, 8 natural, 7 clear, 1 blue, 1 black. 20 tubs and pails, 10 jars, 9 bottles, and 12 of the 20 are pails. 9 plastic round pails, 5 PE wide mouth containers, 4 HDPE round tubs, 4 HDPE round tubs with handle, 4 plastic square grip containers, 3 HDPE single wall canisters, 2 tight head pails. 20 of the 39 have no neck finish recorded, which are the pails; 8 are at 110-400 and 5 at 120TT. Closures: 111 continuous thread polypropylene lids, 16 metal or aluminum CT caps, 10 dome lids, 7 plastic round pail lids, 6 round tub lids, 3 sealing discs. Liners: 46 heat induction seal, 22 F217, 22 No Liner, 21 unrecorded, 20 pressure sensitive, 10 foam, 8 Plastis standard, 8 PE foam.

Written from 21 CFR 100.100 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. That section concerns misleading containers and is not a pet food labeling guide: the guaranteed analysis, nutritional adequacy statement, feeding directions and ingredient definitions that govern a pet food label come from state feed laws and the AAFCO model regulations, which are not federal and are not described here. Our capacity field is the actual capacity of the container, which is one of the two terms in the regulation's own definition of slack-fill; the other is a property of your product.