Grain Bin Calculator

What is a Grain Bin?

Grain bins or grain silo towers are vast galvanized metal tins used to store harvested grains such as soybeans, corn, and wheat. It protects your months of hard work and harvests from rodents, weather, and other destructive elements.

Most metal grain bins come in circular or cylindrical shapes, but different shapes (e.g., square and rectangular flat storage) are readily available for farm producers interested in custom designs. The round shapes are popular because they are easier to clean compared to shapes with corners.

Another common feature of grain bin designs is a piled or conical top and, sometimes, a hopper bottom. These top-fills allow the grain bin to be quickly loaded with grains through a central hatch, while the hopper bottom allows the grain bin's content to be easily emptied thanks to gravity.

How to Use The Grain Bin Calculator

Follow these steps to estimate the contents or capacity of a grain bin:

1. Select the grain bin type (round or rectangular).
2. Provide the dimensions of the grain bin:
   • For Round Bins: Enter the Diameter and Height of the bin.
   • For Rectangular Bins: Enter the Length, Width, and Height of the bin.
3. The calculator will then display the estimated Volume (in cubic feet) and Capacity (in bushels).

How to Calculate Grain Bin Capacity

The formulae to calculate the grain bin capacity for different grain bin shapes are as follows:

• Round grain bin capacity (bushels) = πR² ⋅ H ⋅ 0.7786
  Where R is the radius (Diameter / 2) and H is the height.
• Rectangle grain bin capacity (bushels) = L ⋅ W ⋅ H ⋅ 0.7786
  Where L is length, W is width, and H is height.

The conversion constant 0.7786 is used for bushels per cubic foot.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do you calculate grain bin capacity?

Depending on the shape of the grain bin, you calculate the grain bin capacity by first calculating its volume in cubic feet and converting it to bushels using a conversion factor of 0.7786 bushels per cubic foot.

How to calculate bushels in a grain bin?

To calculate the number of bushels in a grain bin, multiply the volume by the conversion constant of 0.7786 bushels per cubic foot.