Convert yd³ to ft³ cubic yards ↔ cubic feet Free Online Secure
Type a value in cubic yards and read it in cubic feet at once. The factor is exact by definition, the arithmetic happens in your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
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Common values — Convert yd³ to ft³ (cubic yards ↔ cubic feet)
| yd³ | ft³ |
|---|---|
| 1 | 27 |
| 2 | 54 |
| 3 | 81 |
| 5 | 135 |
| 10 | 270 |
| 20 | 540 |
| 50 | 1350 |
| 100 | 2700 |
Where these units come from
The litre has an awkward history. From 1901 it was defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water at its densest, which sounds elegant but came out at 1.000028 cubic decimetres — close enough to be confusing and far enough to spoil careful work. In 1964 the definition was abandoned and the litre became exactly one cubic decimetre, which it has been ever since. The gallon has a messier story still: the US gallon descends from the English wine gallon of 231 cubic inches, while Britain redefined its own in 1824 as the volume of ten pounds of water. Nobody reconciled the two, so a US gallon is 3.785411784 litres and an imperial gallon 4.54609 — about a fifth larger. The gallon, pint, cup, fluid ounce and spoons on this page are the US ones.
Where you meet them
Millilitres and litres run through daily life almost invisibly: bottles, fuel, paint, dosage, the capacity of a kettle. Cubic metres belong to water bills, concrete, shipping and the air a ventilation system has to move. Cubic centimetres name engine displacement, cubic feet appear in freight and in appliance capacities, and cups and spoons live almost entirely in recipes — which is exactly where the difference between a US cup and a metric one quietly ruins a cake.
Questions people ask
Where is the cubic yard used?
For bulk materials in the United States and Britain: concrete, soil, sand and gravel are sold by the cubic yard. It is 27 cubic feet, or exactly 764.554857984 litres, so a cubic yard is about three quarters of a cubic metre. A common mistake is to treat it as three cubic feet, when it is three feet in each direction.
Where are cubic feet used?
In the United States for natural gas billing, refrigerator and freezer capacity, and the interior volume of shipping containers, and worldwide for airflow, where fans are rated in cubic feet per minute. A cubic foot is exactly 28.316846592 litres, so a small fridge of 4 cubic feet holds about 113 litres.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
Bales, bunkers and grain carts: cubic yards into cubic feet on the farm
A large round hay bale measures five feet by six. A silage bunker is planned in cubic yards. A grain cart is sold by the bushel, and a manure spreader is rated at ten yards. On a farm, three different volume units can appear in a single conversation about the same field. To convert yd³ to ft³, multiply by 27: 1 yd³ is 27 ft³, 10 yd³ is 270 ft³ and 46 yd³ is 1,242 ft³. The calculator above multiplies as you type, and the sections below show how the factor works for bales, feed, grain and compost.
You will find the rule with worked examples, a short profile of each unit, a comparison, practical cases from farming and a note on the slips to avoid. The arithmetic runs in your browser, and what you enter is not sent anywhere.
How to convert yd³ to ft³: multiply by 27
The rule
A yard is three feet, and a cubic yard is three feet on each of three sides, so it holds 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 cubic feet. To convert yd³ to ft³, multiply the number of yards by 27. So 3 yd³ is 81 ft³, 12 yd³ is 324 ft³ and 0.25 yd³ is 6.75 ft³. To go back, divide the cubic feet by 27.
Worked examples
A manure spreader of 10 yd³ holds 270 ft³. A feed mixer wagon of 22 yd³ holds 594 ft³. A grain cart of 46 yd³ holds 1,242 ft³. A compost windrow of 92.6 yd³ holds 2,500 ft³, and a silage bunker of 889 yd³ holds 24,000 ft³.
Why 27 and not 3
Each of the three dimensions is three times longer in yards than in feet, and volume multiplies all three. People who use 3 end up nine times too small, and in a feed plan that error means running short of silage in the middle of winter.
A quick sanity test
The number of cubic feet must be 27 times the number of cubic yards. If it is only three times larger, you used the length factor.
The cubic yard
A cube three feet on each side
The cubic yard is the common US unit for bulk material: manure, compost, topsoil, feed and bedding. Spreader and mixer-wagon specifications often list it, and machinery dealers sell on it.
Where it appears
Equipment brochures, compost permits and bulk deliveries.
The cubic foot
A cube twelve inches on each side
The cubic foot is the smaller unit, used for bales, bins, silage densities and bagged feed. Many farm calculations, such as pounds per cubic foot, are written in it.
Where it appears
Bale specifications, silage density figures and feed rations.
Cubic yards against cubic feet
One cubic yard holds 27 cubic feet, so a 10 yd³ spreader carries 270 ft³ and a bunker of 889 yd³ holds 24,000 ft³. Because the cubic foot is the smaller unit, its numbers are larger. A farmer who sees 24,000 in a feed plan and 889 on a bunker drawing is looking at the same quantity.
The factor is exact, with no rounding, because both units come from the same foot. The only trap is using 3 in place of 27.
Where the conversion shows up
Hay bales
A large round bale of 5 feet in diameter and 6 feet long has a volume of about 118 ft³, which is 4.36 yd³. A big square bale of 3 by 3 by 8 feet is 72 ft³ or 2.67 yd³, and a small square bale of 14 by 18 by 36 inches is 5.25 ft³ or 0.19 yd³. A loft that holds 100 yd³ takes 2,700 ft³, or about 23 large round bales. To compare shed space and bales, use the “convert yd³ to ft³” calculation step.
Silage bunkers
A bunker of 100 by 30 feet and an average height of 8 feet holds 24,000 ft³, or 889 yd³. Packed silage weighs about 40 to 45 pounds per cubic foot as fed, so a full bunker carries roughly 500 short tons. Feed planners start in feet, since density is quoted per cubic foot, and finish in yards to compare with a drawing.
Grain bins and carts
A bin of 10,000 bushels holds 12,445 ft³, which is 461 yd³, because a bushel is 1.2445 ft³. A grain cart of 1,000 bushels carries 1,244.5 ft³, or 46 yd³. The three units reveal the scale of a harvest without changing it.
Manure spreaders
A tractor-drawn spreader of 10 yd³ holds 270 ft³. A large tank spreader of 20 yd³ holds 540 ft³. A dairy with 200 cows that each produce about 2.4 ft³ of manure a day makes roughly 480 ft³, almost 18 yd³, every day. Spreader capacity is quoted in yards while storage and daily production are logged in feet, so the “convert yd³ to ft³” calculation step shows how many loads a day to expect.
Greenhouse media
A greenhouse bench of 4 by 30 feet filled with 4 inches of growing medium uses 40 ft³, or 1.48 yd³. A grower with 50 benches needs 74 yd³, which is 2,000 ft³. Growing media come in bales of 3.8 ft³ and in bulk loads of 50 yd³, so a nursery balances both and checks costs per cubic foot.
Water troughs and tanks
A livestock tank of 8 by 3 by 2 feet holds 48 ft³, or 1.78 yd³, of which about 70 per cent is water, around 250 gallons. A herd of 40 animals drinking 15 gallons a day uses 600 gallons, which is 80 ft³. Gallons, cubic feet and yards all show up in a single stock-water plan.
Root cellars and potato storage
A potato store of 40 by 60 feet with a pile height of 8 feet holds 19,200 ft³, or 711 yd³. At a density of about 40 pounds per cubic foot, that is 768,000 pounds, or 384 short tons. Storage managers watch ventilation in cubic feet per minute per ton, so the volume and the weight both matter.
Manure storage lagoons
A manure lagoon of 150 by 100 feet with an average depth of 10 feet holds 150,000 ft³, which is 5,556 yd³. In gallons that is about 1.12 million. Permits specify storage days, which depend on daily production in cubic feet, so the farm records need all three units.
Spreadsheet formulas
Put cubic yards in column A and use =A2*27 in column B. For the reverse, use =B2/27. A third column dividing by the size of a bale or load gives a count. Label each unit in the header, because a column of numbers without units looks the same whether it is in yards or in feet.
Rounding and precision
The factor 27 is exact, so no digits are lost. 0.37 yd³ is 9.99 ft³, which you would round to 10. In farm records round to the nearest cubic foot for bales and to the nearest cubic yard for bunkers, and keep the bushel count to the nearest ten.
A mental shortcut
Multiply by 30 and take away three times the original number. For 20 yd³, 600 minus 60 gives 540 ft³. For 8 yd³, 240 minus 24 gives 216 ft³. The method is exact, and it takes seconds in the head while standing in a barn.
A picture to keep in mind
Picture a cube of one yard, three layers high, with nine one-foot boxes in each layer. That makes 27 boxes. A big square bale of 72 ft³ is less than three of these cubes. If your “convert yd³ to ft³” calculation answer does not look about 27 times bigger, repeat the calculation.
Reference ladder
1 yd³ is 27 ft³. 2 yd³ is 54 ft³. 5 yd³ is 135 ft³. 10 yd³ is 270 ft³. 20 yd³ is 540 ft³. 50 yd³ is 1,350 ft³. 100 yd³ is 2,700 ft³. 1,000 yd³ is 27,000 ft³. A ladder like this helps check a feed plan quickly.
Checking by reversing
To check any convert yd³ to ft³ result, divide it by 27 and see whether you arrive back at the start. If 8 yd³ became 216 ft³, then 216 divided by 27 gives 8. A second test is the size of the number: the cubic feet figure must be 27 times larger.
Total mixed ration wagons
A feed mixer wagon of 22 yd³ holds 594 ft³. At a ration density of about 20 to 25 pounds per cubic foot, a full wagon carries roughly 12,000 to 15,000 pounds. A herd that needs 60,000 pounds a day demands about five loads. Capacity is in yards, density in pounds per cubic foot, and the nutritionist needs both to be consistent.
Feed bunks and storage bins
A commodity bin of 6 by 6 by 8 feet holds 288 ft³, which is 10.7 yd³. A set of four such bins holds 42.7 yd³. At a density of 45 pounds per cubic foot of ground grain, one bin contains 12,960 pounds. Capacity listings use feet, delivery tickets use tons, and purchases of bulk bins use yards.
Tractor loaders
A loader bucket of 1 yd³ carries 27 ft³. A larger one of 2.5 yd³ carries 67.5 ft³. Filling a 10 yd³ spreader takes ten buckets of the smaller size or four of the larger. Dealers state bucket sizes in either unit, so a farmer comparing two machines uses the “convert yd³ to ft³” calculation step to compare them.
Wood chips for heating
A farm that heats a barn with wood chips stores 50 yd³ of material, which is 1,350 ft³. At 15 pounds per cubic foot of dry chips, the pile weighs 20,250 pounds, about 10 short tons. Boiler specifications use energy per ton or per cubic foot, so both units are needed to schedule deliveries.
Silage bags
A silage bag of 10 feet in diameter and 200 feet long contains about 15,700 ft³, which is 582 yd³. At 40 pounds per cubic foot it holds roughly 314 short tons. Bag makers state length and diameter, so farmers compute the volume in feet and convert to yards to compare with a bunker.
Farm shows and sales
Auction catalogues list bins and wagons by capacity in bushels, cubic feet or cubic yards depending on the maker. A wagon of 750 bushels is 933 ft³, or 34.6 yd³. When bidders compare two lots listed in different units, the “convert yd³ to ft³” calculation step helps them decide which one is bigger.
Compost windrows
A triangular windrow 10 feet wide, 5 feet high and 100 feet long contains 2,500 ft³, which is 92.6 yd³. A farm composting 5,000 yd³ a year handles 135,000 ft³, about 370 ft³ a day. State permits specify yards of material, while turning machines report capacity in cubic feet per hour, so operators convert regularly.
Bedding and shavings
A compressed bale of pine shavings may hold 8 ft³ before it is opened, and the loose volume can be two or three times that. A barn using 3 yd³ of bedding a week uses 81 ft³, or about 10 such bales. Suppliers who sell by the cubic yard and those who sell by the bale compare prices only after the numbers are put on a common footing.
Seed and fertiliser hoppers
A drill with a seed box of 40 ft³ holds 1.48 yd³. A fertiliser spreader of 5 yd³ holds 135 ft³. At a bulk density of 60 pounds per cubic foot, that is 8,100 pounds of material. Machine makers give hopper capacity in cubic feet, but fertiliser dealers deliver in tons or yards, so the numbers must be linked through density.
Sand for dairy cow beds
Some dairies bed cows on sand. A free stall of 4 by 8 feet with a bed 8 inches deep takes 21.3 ft³, or 0.79 yd³. A herd of 500 cows needs about 395 yd³ to fill the stalls, and a top-up of 2 inches a month adds 99 yd³. Sand is bought by the yard and tracked in the barn by the cubic foot, so the “convert yd³ to ft³” calculation step is routine.
Grain trucks and trailers
A grain trailer of 1,000 bushels carries 1,244.5 ft³, or 46 yd³. A semi hopper trailer may hold 1,150 to 1,250 ft³ of grain. A farmer hauling 30,000 bushels to the elevator needs 30 trailer loads of 1,000 bushels. Elevators weigh trucks, so volume is only an estimate until the scale confirms it.
Grain storage and moisture
A bin of 461 yd³ stores 12,445 ft³ of grain, or 10,000 bushels. A drop in test weight changes the mass of the bin but not its volume. Wet grain takes more energy to dry and swells slightly, so a farm manager checks that the cubic feet and the bushels in the records agree before ordering fans or burners.
Orchards and mulch
An orchard with 1,000 trees, each mulched with 0.25 yd³, uses 250 yd³, or 6,750 ft³. A 3-inch layer around a single tree at 4 feet diameter takes 3.1 ft³. The order is placed by the yard, but workers measure each tree's mulch with a bucket in cubic feet, so a conversion translates between the office and the field.
More values for convert yd³ to ft³
A longer list of conversions
If the value you need is not in the first list, these further conversions may be close enough to read off directly:
- 0.1 yd³ = 2.7 ft³
- 0.5 yd³ = 13.5 ft³
- 3 yd³ = 81 ft³
- 4 yd³ = 108 ft³
- 7 yd³ = 189 ft³
- 15 yd³ = 405 ft³
- 20 yd³ = 540 ft³
- 75 yd³ = 2,025 ft³
- 200 yd³ = 5,400 ft³
- 500 yd³ = 13,500 ft³
- 2,000 yd³ = 54,000 ft³
- 10,000 yd³ = 270,000 ft³
Common slips when you convert yd³ to ft³
Multiplying by 3
3 is the length factor. For volume use its cube, 27.
Dividing instead of multiplying
The cubic foot is the smaller unit, so the number must grow. If 8 yd³ became 0.3, you divided.
Confusing capacity with load
A spreader rated at 10 yd³ is heaped or struck level, depending on the maker. The actual load may differ by 15 per cent or more.
Short answers
How many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?
27.
How do I convert yd³ to ft³?
Multiply by 27.
How many cubic yards are in a cubic foot?
0.037037.
How much is 8 yd³ in cubic feet?
216 ft³.
Does my number leave my device?
No, the calculation runs in your browser.
More pages and a wrap-up
For other volume conversions see Convert yd³ to m³, Convert L to ft³, Convert in³ to ft³, Convert ft³ to L, Convert km to mi, Convert mi to km, Convert °C to °F, Convert °F to °C, Convert km/h to Mach. The reverse direction is Convert ft³ to yd³.
In short, a “convert yd³ to ft³” calculation means multiplying by 27 and writing the unit beside the answer. Your number is computed locally, with no account and no upload.