Cubic Feet to Liters
Convert cubic feet (ft³) to liters (L). Both measure capacity and volume, and the conversion comes up in cooking, chemistry, fuel work.
The Formula
``
liters = cubic feet × 28.316846592
cubic feet = liters × 0.0353146667215
`
One cubic feet is 28.3168 liters, and one liter is 0.035315 cubic feet.
Conversion Table
| Cubic Feet | Liters |
|---|---|
| 1 ft³ | 28.3168 L |
| 2 ft³ | 56.6337 L |
| 5 ft³ | 141.5842 L |
| 10 ft³ | 283.1685 L |
| 25 ft³ | 707.9212 L |
| 50 ft³ | 1,415.84 L |
| 100 ft³ | 2,831.68 L |
| 500 ft³ | 14,158.42 L |
| 1,000 ft³ | 28,316.85 L |
The Other Direction
| Liters | Cubic Feet |
|---|---|
| 1 L | 0.035315 ft³ |
| 2 L | 0.070629 ft³ |
| 5 L | 0.176573 ft³ |
| 10 L | 0.353147 ft³ |
| 25 L | 0.882867 ft³ |
| 50 L | 1.7657 ft³ |
| 100 L | 3.5315 ft³ |
| 500 L | 17.6573 ft³ |
| 1,000 L | 35.3147 ft³ |
What Each Unit Is
Cubic Feet (ft³) — the volume of a cube one foot on each side, or 28.3168 litres. The imperial volume unit for freight, appliances and ventilation.
Liters (L) — exactly one cubic decimetre, or 0.001 cubic metres. A metric volume defined for trade; briefly redefined against the kilogram before reverting in 1964.
A Sense of Scale
A domestic fridge is 18–25 ft³- Airflow is rated in cubic feet per minute
- A large drink bottle is 2 L
- A car fuel tank is 45–60 L
- A bath holds about 80 L
Doing It in Your Head
Multiply by 28. That is off by 1.12% — close enough to judge a
distance, a weight or a price, and not close enough to sign off on a drawing.
Exact Mental shortcut 283.1685 L 280 L 2,831.68 L 2,800 L
Precision
The factor 28.316846592 is rounded. For engineering work carry more digits than the table above, and round only at the end — rounding at each step compounds.
In Code
`javascript
const cubicFootToLiter = (value) => value * 28.316846592;
``
Where This Conversion Comes Up
- Cooking
- Chemistry
- Fuel
- Beverages
- Medicine
How Many Decimals Do You Need?
Rounding the factor costs accuracy, and how much depends on the factor. Converting 137 ft³ with the factor truncated at each decimal place:
| Decimals kept | Factor | 137 ft³ becomes | Error |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 28 | 3,836 | 1.1189% |
| 1 | 28.3 | 3,877.1 | 0.0595% |
| 2 | 28.32 | 3,879.84 | 0.0111% |
| 3 | 28.317 | 3,879.43 | 0.0005% |
| 4 | 28.3168 | 3,879.4 | 0.0002% |
The right number of significant figures is set by your input, not by the converter. If you measured cubic feet to three significant figures, the answer in liters is only good to three — writing more digits claims precision the measurement never had.