If you're planning to conserve water by catching rain in a barrel for your garden, you will want to know the barrel's capacity. A barrel's capacity or volume can be obtained quickly by using a tape measure and a standard calculator. The capacity is calculated by averaging the top, middle and bottom surface areas of the barrel, and multiplying this average by the height. Find your barrel's rain water capacity, then plan your garden's watering schedule accordingly. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Measure and note the diameter across the top of the barrel. The top and bottom of the barrel should have near-equal diameters. Calculate the outer radius by dividing the diameter by 2.
2. Measure and note the height of the barrel. Divide this height by 2 to calculate the distance halfway up the barrel. Measure and note the inner diameter across the barrel at the halfway height. Calculate the inner radius by dividing this diameter by 2.
3. Calculate the capacity of the barrel. Square the inner radius. Multiply the squared inner radius by 2. Add this value to the square of the outer radius. Divide this sum by 3. Multiply this product by the height of the barrel. Multiply this value by pi, or 3.1415, to obtain the capacity of the barrel.
Tags: capacity barrel, inner radius, Measure note, across barrel, barrel capacity, diameter across, diameter across barrel