Grain bin capacity calculator: how much will it hold?
Put in the bin diameter and sidewall height. This works out the bushels it holds, the tonnes of your crop, and what a peaked top or hopper bottom adds.
Grain piles at roughly 20 to 30 degrees. Only used when peaked.
Only used with a hopper bottom.
Grain settles in tall bins, often a few percent. Leave at 0 if unsure.
How bin capacity is worked out
A round bin is a cylinder, so the levelled volume is π × radius² × sidewall height. A 24 foot bin with 20 foot sidewalls holds 3.1416 × 12² × 20 = 9,048 cubic feet.
Bin capacity is quoted in US bushels of 1.2445 cubic feet, so that bin holds about 7,270 bushels levelled. Grain peaked at 25 degrees adds a cone on top, ⅓ × π × radius² × peak height, which is another 678 bushels here. A hopper bottom adds a cone underneath in the same way.
Tonnes come from the crop's standard bushel weight. 7,270 bushels of wheat at 60 pounds is about 198 tonnes. Canola at 50 pounds fills the same space with fewer tonnes, which is why the same bin holds less canola by weight.
Questions
How many bushels are in a 24 foot bin?
A 24 foot bin with 20 foot sidewalls holds about 7,270 bushels levelled at the eaves, and roughly 7,950 with grain peaked at 25 degrees. Taller sidewalls add about 364 bushels per foot.
Why does the same bin hold fewer tonnes of canola than wheat?
Bins are measured by volume. A bushel of canola weighs 50 pounds and a bushel of wheat 60, so the same space holds about a sixth less canola by weight.
What bushel does bin capacity use?
Bin capacity is quoted in US bushels of 1.2445 cubic feet. That is a volume measure, separate from the weight bushels used in grain contracts, which is why tonnes are worked out from each crop's bushel weight.
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