Liters to cubic feet
1 L = 0.0353147 ft³, derived from exact unit definitions.
| L | ft³ |
|---|---|
| 1 L | 0.0353 ft³ |
| 10 L | 0.3531 ft³ |
| 28.317 L | 1.0000 ft³ |
| 50 L | 1.7657 ft³ |
| 100 L | 3.5315 ft³ |
| 500 L | 17.6573 ft³ |
| 1,000 L | 35.3147 ft³ |
cubic feet = liters ÷ 28.316846592
= liters × 0.0353146667214886… (non-terminating)Divide by the exact 28.316846592 rather than multiplying by the truncated reciprocal. The forward factor terminates; the reverse one does not.How to convert liters to cubic feet
Divide by 28.316846592. This is mostly a space-planning conversion: you know the liquid volume in metric and you need to know what it occupies in a US-dimensioned room, trailer, container or containment area.
- Divide the litre figure by 28.316846592.
- Check the magnitude: cubic feet should be roughly litres ÷ 28.
- For a physical footprint, remember that this is the liquid volume — the container is always larger.
A 1,000-litre IBC tote
- 1000 ÷ 28.316846592 = 35.3147 ft³
- External envelope: about 1.2 × 1.0 × 1.16 m = 1.392 m³ = 49.2 ft³
1,000 L of liquid = 35.31 ft³ — but the tote occupies ≈ 49 ft³
The gap between contents and envelope is what catches people out when planning storage. Size the floor space from the cage, not the fill.
A 208-litre steel drum
- 208 ÷ 28.316846592 = 7.346 ft³
- Also 208 ÷ 3.785411784 = 54.95 US gal
208 L = 7.35 ft³ = 55.0 US gal
This is the “55 gallon drum” and the “200 litre drum”: the same container, labelled from two directions. Neither number is exactly right, which is why drum specs quote a brim capacity around 216 L.
20,000 litres into a containment area
- 20000 ÷ 28.316846592 = 706.29 ft³
- Bund floor: 20 ft × 20 ft = 400 ft²
- Wall height: 706.29 ÷ 400 = 1.77 ft ≈ 21.2 in
20,000 L = 706.3 ft³ → a 21-inch wall over 400 ft²
Add freeboard for precipitation on top of that, per 40 CFR § 112.8(c)(2), and subtract anything standing inside the bund that displaces volume.
Where the factor comes from
1 ft³ = 0.3048³ m³ = 0.028316846592 m³ exactly
= 28.316846592 L exactly
1 L = 1 ÷ 28.316846592
= 0.03531466672148859… non-terminatingThe forward direction terminates and the reverse does not, which is a general rule worth internalising: divide by the exact factor rather than multiplying by its reciprocal whenever you have the choice.Rounding
0.0353147 is exact to seven figures. 0.0353 is 0.04 % low. 0.035 is 0.89 % low — over 6 ft³ on a 20,000-litre calculation, which is enough to matter when you are sizing a bund wall.
FAQ
How many cubic feet are in a liter?
0.0353146667214886… ft³, a non-terminating decimal. It is cleaner to divide by 28.316846592, which is exact.
How many cubic feet is a 1,000-litre IBC?
The liquid is 35.31 ft³. The tote itself occupies roughly 49 ft³ including the cage and pallet — use the larger figure for floor planning.
Is a 200-litre drum the same as a 55-gallon drum?
Effectively yes, and neither label is exact. The common steel drum holds about 208 litres, which is 55.0 US gallons or 7.35 cubic feet, with brim capacity a little higher.
Can I use 0.035 as a shortcut?
Only for rough estimates. It runs 0.89 % low, which is over six cubic feet on 20,000 litres — meaningful if you are sizing containment.
Sources and standards
Every factor on this page is traced to the document that defines it. Where a value is exact, it is exact because the cited standard makes it so — not because we rounded it well.
- Refinement of Values for the Yard and the Pound — Federal Register Doc. 59-5442 (24 FR 5348, 1 July 1959)National Bureau of Standards; scan hosted by NOAA's National Geodetic Surveyhttps://www.ngs.noaa.gov/PUBS_LIB/FedRegister/FRdoc59-5442.pdfThe International Yard and Pound Agreement, signed by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Fixes the yard at exactly 0.9144 m, from which the inch follows as exactly 25.4 mm. Every inch-to-metric volume factor on this site descends from this one page.
- The International System of Units (SI), 9th edition (SI Brochure)Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM)https://www.bipm.org/en/si-brochure-9The defining document for the SI, maintained by the treaty organisation that owns the definitions. The litre is exactly one cubic decimetre — 10⁻³ m³ — and is a unit accepted for use with the SI rather than an SI unit itself.
- Special Publication 811, Appendix B.8 — Factors for Units Listed AlphabeticallyNational Institute of Standards and Technologyhttps://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811/nist-guide-si-appendix-b-conversion-factors/nist-guide-si-appendix-b8NIST's master table of conversions into SI. Factors printed in boldface are exact by definition rather than measured or rounded — which is how you tell a defined unit from an approximated one.
- 40 CFR § 112.8(c)(2) — Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan requirements for onshore facilitiesU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, via the electronic Code of Federal Regulationshttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-112/subpart-B/section-112.8Requires secondary containment sized for the entire capacity of the largest single container, plus sufficient freeboard to contain precipitation. Note that the rule itself does not state “110 %” — that is a common design convention layered on top of the regulatory floor.
Every linked source above was retrieved and checked on 2026-09-02. Factors quoted as exact are exact by definition in the cited document, not rounded by us.