Containers

359 containers against five codes

On this page11

What is here Mapped onto the table And 146 PET are not in the table at all Which does not make PET useless The two zeros By format The glass end is the serious end By capacity Amber for what the light would change How to shop it References

146 PET, and PET is not in the table. The most useful sentence on this shelf.

What is here

768 rows: 359 containers and 409 closures. 5 mL to 950 mL with a median of 118, and nothing above a litre.

Mapped onto the table

108 glass are G. 92 HDPE are P. 13 polypropylene are the example the PA footnote names, without the sterilization claim we cannot make. That is 213 of 359.

And 146 PET are not in the table at all

Polyethylene terephthalate is not polyethylene. For a regulated sample the largest material group on this shelf is not a listed container.

Which does not make PET useless

For a teaching exercise, a watershed survey or a botanical sample it is clear, light, tough and cheap. It is the compliance case where it has no standing.

The two zeros

No fluoropolymer and no LDPE. The FP rows and the Cryptosporidium and Giardia rows cannot be served from this shelf.

By format

194 jars and 163 bottles, plus 2 tubes. The jars serve soil and botanical samples, the bottles serve water.

The glass end is the serious end

63 glass Boston rounds and 22 glass straight sided jars. That is where the oil and grease, phenols and elemental phosphorus rows have to be served from.

By capacity

124 containers at 60 mL or under, 211 at 120 or under, 317 at 500 or under. The archetype window is 10 to 1,000 mL and for once the shelf sits inside it exactly.

Amber for what the light would change

52 amber containers. Several parameters and most stored seed care about light, and a cooler with a lid is the cheaper half of the answer.

How to shop it

Analyte first, which gives you a letter. Then check the letter against the material. Then capacity and closure. The first step is the one that cannot be undone later.

References

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. The field sampling shelf is 768 rows: 359 containers and 409 closures. 5 mL to 950 mL with a median of 118; 124 containers at 60 mL or under, 211 at 120 or under, 317 at 500 or under, and nothing above a litre. 146 PET, 108 glass, 92 HDPE, 13 PP, no LDPE and no fluoropolymer. 194 jars, 163 bottles, 2 tubes. 103 clear, 82 white, 52 amber, 34 natural. Closures: 346 continuous thread, 27 dome lids, 14 phenolic, 11 liners and sealing discs, 6 specialty.

40 CFR 136.3, Table II, "Required Containers, Preservation Techniques, and Holding Times", footnote 1: "'P' is for polyethylene; 'FP' is fluoropolymer (polytetrafluoroethylene [PTFE]; Teflon(R)), or other fluoropolymer, unless stated otherwise in this Table II; 'G' is glass; 'PA' is any plastic that is made of a sterilizable material (polypropylene or other autoclavable plastic); 'LDPE' is low density polyethylene." Footnote 2: "Except where noted in this Table II and the method for the parameter, preserve each grab sample within 15 minutes of collection." ecfr.gov

The archetype behind this shelf is ind-lab: 10 to 1,000 mL, narrow mouth, glass and HDPE, cold fill, thin, aqueous, with "reagent or sample, autoclavability and chemical resistance" as its stated reason. The capacity window fits this craft exactly, which is rare. Our catalog does not record autoclavability for any product, which matters here because Table II's PA code is defined by it.

Written from 40 CFR 136.3 Table II and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. Part 136 governs Clean Water Act compliance monitoring; it is used here for everything else as the best available statement of what a container does to a water sample, not as a rule that binds a student with a creek. Nothing on this shelf is sold precleaned or certified for regulated sampling, and no preservation chemistry is given, because that belongs to the laboratory running the analysis.