Topic hub

Gas cylinder calculator

Find the physical internal volume of a gas cylinder shell in litres. (Stored gas at pressure is a separate calculation.)

This gas cylinder calculator measures the bottle, not the pressurised contents. Enter the cylinder's dimensions for its physical internal volume; the amount of gas stored depends on pressure and is a separate calculation.

Using the calculator

  1. Measure across the circular end — the diameter or radius.
  2. If you measured the diameter, halve it to get the radius r.
  3. Square the radius and multiply by π to get the base area.
  4. Multiply the base area by the height h: V = π r² h.
  5. Convert the result into your preferred unit above.

Worked example. Take a cylinder with a diameter of 15 cm (so a radius of 7.5 cm) and a height of 30 cm. The base area is π × 7.5² = 176.71 cm², and multiplying by the height gives a volume of about 5.30 litres (5,301 cm³ · 1.40 US gallons).

This is the physical internal volume of the cylinder body. The amount of gas stored inside depends on pressure and is a separate, much larger figure.

Every gas cylinder page

Each page below targets a specific question and opens with the calculator ready to go:

Questions people ask

What volume does a gas cylinder have?
There are two figures: the physical internal volume of the steel shell (what this tool finds, in litres) and the volume of gas it holds at pressure, which is far larger and depends on the fill pressure.
Can this tell me how much gas is inside?
Not directly — stored gas depends on pressure and temperature. This calculator gives the water-capacity-style internal volume of the cylinder body.

Explore other calculators

Tank capacity calculatorTank capacityLitres & liters calculatorLitres & litersCylinder volume calculatorCylinder volume