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Grain elevators and steel bins beside a field in Downey, Iowa
Handy tools

Grain bin & silo capacity calculator

How many bushels will it hold, and how much is in it now? Enter your bin's size and the grain's test weight to get bushels and tons, full and at today's level.

Your bin or silo

Across the inside of the bin. Common farm bins run from about 15 to 60 ft.

Straight sidewall only - from the floor (or the top of the hopper) to the eaves.

0 for a flat-bottom bin.

Eaves to the peak, for a peaked (full-cone) fill. Enter 0 for level-full at the eaves.

From your scale ticket or elevator. The standard is 56 lb/bu for corn, 60 for wheat and soybeans, 32 for oats - the starting number is only an example.

Measured up the sidewall from the floor or the top of the hopper (level it out first - from outside the bin). Leave the example to see a part-full bin.

Your estimate

15,147 bubushels when full
424.1 tonsof grain when full
6,816 buin it now
45%
Walls
16,965 ft³
Hopper cone
0 ft³
Roof peak
1,885 ft³
Grain in now
8,482 ft³ · 45% full
Room left
8,331 bu
Link to this bin

How we work it out

  • Walls: π × radius² × wall height.
  • Hopper and roof: each a cone, π × radius² × height ÷ 3.
  • Bushels and tons: cubic feet ÷ 1.2445 (one US bushel is 2,150.42 cubic inches) = bushels; bushels × test weight ÷ 2,000 = tons. Metric: m³ × bulk density = tonnes.

An estimate for a round bin with a level surface (and a full cone into the roof when full). Real capacity depends on the angle of repose, moisture, compaction (often a few percent more in big bins), the exact shape and the manufacturer's rating - check the bin's capacity plate or the maker's chart. Never enter a bin to measure: flowing or bridged grain can trap a person in seconds; measure from outside, and lock out unloading equipment. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. Need other units? Try the farm unit converter; words like bushel are in the farm words glossary.

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