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What This Calculator Returns
The Cylinder Volume Calculator finds the volume, lateral surface area, and total surface area of any cylinder from two inputs: radius and height. Enter both in the same unit and all three results are returned with the formula used for each.
Volume tells you how much a cylinder can hold. Surface area tells you how much material is needed to make or coat it. These two figures are nearly always needed together — when sizing a water tank, you need to know both how many litres it holds and how much sheet metal or fibreglass it requires to fabricate. This tool returns both in one step.
The Three Formulas
Where r is the radius of the circular base, h is the height (or depth), and π is approximately 3.14159. Both radius and height must be in the same unit for the formulas to work correctly.
Example: A cylindrical water storage tank (radius 0.6 m, height 1.5 m)
Volume = π × 0.6² × 1.5 = 3.14159 × 0.36 × 1.5 = 1.696 m³ = 1,696 litres
Lateral SA = 2 × π × 0.6 × 1.5 = 5.655 m² (area of the curved wall)
Total SA = 2 × π × 0.6 × (0.6 + 1.5) = 2 × π × 0.6 × 2.1 = 7.917 m² (entire outer surface including both circular ends)
The calculator handles all three automatically. The formulas are shown here for transparency.
Water Tanks and Storage
The most searched use case for a cylinder volume calculator is water tank capacity. In India, overhead water tanks and underground sumps are almost universally cylindrical. Knowing the capacity matters for sizing a motor pump, calculating how long the stored water will last, and choosing a tank size during construction.
Converting m³ to Litres
The volume result is in cubic metres (m³) when you enter radius and height in metres. To convert to litres, multiply by 1,000. A tank with a volume of 1.696 m³ holds 1,696 litres. Standard household overhead tanks typically range from 500 to 1,000 litres; an underground sump is usually 3,000 to 10,000 litres for a family home.
Common Tank Dimensions and Their Capacities
| Diameter | Height | Approximate Capacity | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.9 m (90 cm) | 0.9 m | 573 litres | Small household overhead tank |
| 1.0 m | 1.2 m | 942 litres | Standard household overhead tank |
| 1.2 m | 1.5 m | 1,696 litres | Large household or small apartment |
| 1.5 m | 2.0 m | 3,534 litres | Underground sump, small building |
Note that these figures assume the full cylinder is used. Real tanks are filled to about 90% of their stated capacity in practice.
Other Cylindrical Objects
Industrial drums and barrels — A standard 200-litre steel drum has a radius of approximately 28.5 cm and height of 88 cm. Entering 0.285 m and 0.88 m gives a volume of 0.2247 m³ = 224.7 litres, which accounts for the slight overflow capacity above the stated 200 L fill line.
Concrete columns and pillars — A structural concrete column with a 20 cm radius and 3.5 m height has a volume of π × 0.04 × 3.5 = 0.44 m³. At a concrete density of approximately 2,400 kg/m³, the column weighs about 1,056 kg — a figure needed for structural load calculations.
Pipes and tubes — For the internal volume of a pipe (how much liquid it carries), use the inner radius and pipe length as the height. A 50 mm inner-diameter pipe (0.025 m radius) that is 10 m long holds π × 0.000625 × 10 = 0.0196 m³ = 19.6 litres of water when full.
Cylindrical food containers and packaging — The total surface area result is useful for packaging design: it tells you the total sheet material needed to construct the container, before accounting for joins, seams, and lid margins.