Hi, does anyone know how i can work out how many litres of soil are in a ton? B&Q do a 125ltr bag and a ton dumpy bag but i have no way of working out what is cheaper... Any help will be much appreciated :-)

On Fri, 13 May 2011 18:24:47 +0000, Bennewby
wrote:


Hi, does anyone know how i can work out how many litres of soil are in a
ton? B&Q do a 125ltr bag and a ton dumpy bag but i have no way of
working out what is cheaper... Any help will be much appreciated :-)

The density of soil and compost varies considerably according to the
composition (soil with much sand will be denser than organic compost),
how compact it is and the water content (wet compost is denser than
dry).

You don't make it clear that the two sources you are considering are
the same material so that is another possible source of error in
comparison. In general bulk supply is cheaper per unit than material
in bags, often much cheaper.

I have not seen bags as large as 125 l. Can you lift it? If so put
it on the bathroom scales.

As a *rough* guide a ton of soil will be about 600-700 litres.

What is a 'dumpy bag'?

David

On Fri, 13 May 2011 18:24:47 +0000, Bennewby
wrote:


Hi, does anyone know how i can work out how many litres of soil are in a
ton? B&Q do a 125ltr bag and a ton dumpy bag but i have no way of
working out what is cheaper... Any help will be much appreciated :-)

Compost contains no soil. Compost is all organic, it will in short
order decay... whatever small amount of mineral dust remains is so
negligible one can say zero. Under ideal conditions (no erosion) the
composting organic matter on a lush forest floor takes 100 years to
produce one inch of topsoil.

Hi David,
I'm thinking i will just stick to the 125ltr bag as i can lift it and its easier to move around but just for the record a dumpy bag is what you would get a ton of gravel etc delivered in.

I was so confused abouit it and like you say it depends on the density and moisture content etc. I have a lot of pots to fill and my sister has a raised bed so the idea was to share the cost and share the soil/compost (not sure what the difference is lol) I am VERY new to gardening.

This website is a great help though.

Thanks
Ben

On Sun, 15 May 2011 10:45:20 +0000, Bennewby
wrote:


'David Hare-Scott[_2_ Wrote:
;921318']On Fri, 13 May 2011 18:24:47 +0000, Bennewby
wrote:
-

Hi, does anyone know how i can work out how many litres of soil are in
a
ton? B&Q do a 125ltr bag and a ton dumpy bag but i have no way of
working out what is cheaper... Any help will be much appreciated :-)-

The density of soil and compost varies considerably according to the
composition (soil with much sand will be denser than organic compost),
how compact it is and the water content (wet compost is denser than
dry).

You don't make it clear that the two sources you are considering are
the same material so that is another possible source of error in
comparison. In general bulk supply is cheaper per unit than material
in bags, often much cheaper.

I have not seen bags as large as 125 l. Can you lift it? If so put
it on the bathroom scales.

As a *rough* guide a ton of soil will be about 600-700 litres.

What is a 'dumpy bag'?

David

Hi David,
I'm thinking i will just stick to the 125ltr bag as i can lift it and
its easier to move around but just for the record a dumpy bag is what
you would get a ton of gravel etc delivered in.

If you can lift it easily either you have mighty thews and should be
on the Olympic weightlifting team or it is a *very* light fluffy mix
that may not be suitable on its own for potting and raised beds. Did
you put it on the scales?


I was so confused abouit it and like you say it depends on the density
and moisture content etc. I have a lot of pots to fill and my sister has
a raised bed so the idea was to share the cost and share the
soil/compost (not sure what the difference is lol) I am VERY new to
gardening.


There isn't the faintest chance of one 125l bag filling "lots of pots"
and a raised bed. Do your sums again and work out how many bags you
will need and the cost, you may find the dumpy bag much better value.

This website is a great help though.


This isn't a web site, you are getting this from Usenet.

David

In article ,
David Hare-Scott wrote:

Hi, does anyone know how i can work out how many litres of soil are in
a
ton? B&Q do a 125ltr bag and a ton dumpy bag but i have no way of
working out what is cheaper... Any help will be much appreciated :-)-

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/earth-soil-weight-d_1349.html

Type of Soil Approximate Weight
(lb/ft3) (kg/m3)
Loose earth 75 1200

Rammed earth 100 1600


Its bizarre that the produce manager is more important
to my children's health than the pediatrician.
- Meryl Streep
--
- Billy

Bush's 3rd term: Obama plus another elective war
Bush's 4th term: another Judas goat

America is not broke. The country is awash in wealth and cash.
It's just that it's not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the
greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks
and the portfolios of the uber-rich.
http://theuptake.org/2011/03/05/michael-moore-the-big-lie-wisconsin-is-broke/

On May 15, 6:22*pm, David Hare-Scott wrote:
On Sun, 15 May 2011 10:45:20 +0000, Bennewby



wrote:

'David Hare-Scott[_2_ Wrote:
;921318']On Fri, 13 May 2011 18:24:47 +0000, Bennewby
wrote:
-

Hi, does anyone know how i can work out how many litres of soil are in
a
ton? B&Q do a 125ltr bag and a ton dumpy bag but i have no way of
working out what is cheaper... Any help will be much appreciated :-)-

The density of soil and compost varies considerably according to the
composition (soil with much sand will be denser than organic compost),
how compact it is and the water content (wet compost is denser than
dry).

You don't make it clear that the two sources you are considering are
the same material so that is another possible source of error in
comparison. *In general bulk supply is cheaper per unit than material
in bags, often much cheaper.

I have not seen bags as large as 125 l. *Can you lift it? *If so put
it on the bathroom scales.

As a *rough* guide a ton of soil will be about 600-700 litres.

What is a 'dumpy bag'?

David

Hi David,
I'm thinking i will just stick to the 125ltr bag as i can lift it and
its easier to move around but just for the record a dumpy bag is what
you would get a ton of gravel etc delivered in.

If you can lift it easily either you have mighty thews and should be
on the Olympic weightlifting team or it is a *very* light fluffy mix
that may not be suitable on its own for potting and raised beds. *Did
you put it on the scales?



I was so confused abouit it and like you say it depends on the density
and moisture content etc. I have a lot of pots to fill and my sister has
a raised bed so the idea was to share the cost and share the
soil/compost (not sure what the difference is lol) I am VERY new to
gardening.

There isn't the faintest chance of one 125l bag filling "lots of pots"
and a raised bed. *Do your sums again and work out how many bags you
will need and the cost, you may find the dumpy bag much better value.

This website is a great help though.

This isn't a web site, you are getting this from Usenet.

David

Heh. Figuring soft drinks at 2 kilos for a 2 liter bottle
(conservative) the thought of lifting 62 of them at once (forget about
the 1 liter left-over) scares me- even allowing for the difference in
density. Mayhaps the OP found someplace to but 125 liters of Perlite?

Chris

a dumpy bag is normally one meter cube weight depends upon material/water content etc,
check size of dumpy, one cubic meter is 1,000 ltrs

Just a thought, explore the possibilities of mixing B&Q compost with a good source of 'green waste' material. Down here in Cornwall we have several good suppliers ? Its good enough to be mixed with multipurpose compost to produce containerised shrubs commercially, so should be excellent to fill raised beds and to fill your many pots (depending what your growing)
regards, Lannerman.

Many dumpy bags are supplied with 900 litres of compost rather than 1000 so you need to be sure of the volume first. As said previously, 1000 litres is equal to 1 cubic metre volume. 1000 kg is a metric ton, or 'tonne' which is not too far of an imperial ton especially when using the approximations you would have to accept here.

You would get on average about 750 litres of screened topsoil per tonne, 900 litres of enriched topsoil per tonne, 1100 to 1250 litres of general purpose compost per tonne, 600 litres clean gravel per tonne.

If it is important to you, B & Q would know the weight of a bag for logistical reasons. It might be an idea to email them and ask.