gallon | |
---|---|
General information | |
Unit of | Volume |
Symbol | gal |
Conversions (imperial) | |
1 imp gal in ... | ... is equal to ... |
SI units | 4.54609 L |
US customary units | ≈ 1.200950 US gal |
US customary units | ≈ 277.4194 in3 |
Conversions (US) | |
1 US gal in ... | ... is equal to ... |
SI units | 3.785411784 L |
Imperial units | ≈ 0.8326742 imp gal |
Imperial units | 231 in3 |
US dry gallon | ≈ 0.859367 US dry gal |
The gallon is a unit of volume in British imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use:
There are two pints in a quart and four quarts in a gallon. Different sizes of pints account for the different sizes of the imperial and US gallons.
The IEEE standard symbol for both US (liquid) and imperial gallon is gal, [2] not to be confused with the gal (symbol: Gal), a CGS unit of acceleration.
The gallon currently has one definition in the imperial system, and two definitions (liquid and dry) in the US customary system. Historically, there were many definitions and redefinitions.
There were a number of systems of liquid measurements in the United Kingdom prior to the 19th century. [3]
The British imperial gallon (frequently called simply "gallon") is defined as exactly 4.54609 dm3 (4.54609 litres). [4] It is used in some Commonwealth countries, and until 1976 was defined as the volume of water at 62 °F (16.67 °C) [5] [6] whose mass is 10 pounds (4.5359237 kg). There are four imperial quarts in a gallon, two imperial pints in a quart, and there are 20 imperial fluid ounces in an imperial pint, [4] yielding 160 fluid ounces in an imperial gallon.
The US liquid gallon (frequently called simply "gallon") is legally defined as 231 cubic inches, which is exactly 3.785411784 litres. [7] [8] A US liquid gallon can contain about 3.785 kilograms or 8.34 pounds of water at 3.98 °C (39.16 °F), and is about 16.7% less than the imperial gallon. There are four quarts in a gallon, two pints in a quart and 16 US fluid ounces in a US pint, which makes the US fluid ounce equal to 1/128 of a US gallon.
In order to overcome the effects of expansion and contraction with temperature when using a gallon to specify a quantity of material for purposes of trade, it is common to define the temperature at which the material will occupy the specified volume. For example, the volume of petroleum products [9] and alcoholic beverages [10] are both referenced to 60 °F (15.6 °C) in government regulations.
Since the dry measure is one-eighth of a US Winchester bushel of 2,150.42 cubic inches, it is equal to exactly 268.8025 cubic inches, which is 4.40488377086 L. [11] The US dry gallon is not used in commerce, and is also not listed in the relevant statute, which jumps from the dry pint to the bushel. [12]
As of 2021, the imperial gallon continues to be used as the standard petrol unit on 10 Caribbean island groups, consisting of:
All 12 of the Caribbean islands use miles per hour for speed limits signage, and drive on the left side of the road.
The United Arab Emirates ceased selling petrol by the imperial gallon in 2010 and switched to the litre, with Guyana following suit in 2013. [26] [27] [28] In 2014, Myanmar switched from the imperial gallon to the litre. [29]
Antigua and Barbuda has proposed switching to selling petrol by litres since 2015. [30] [19]
In the European Union the gallon was removed from the list of legally defined primary units of measure catalogue in the EU directive 80/181/EEC for trading and official purposes, effective from 31 December 1994. Under the directive the gallon could still be used, but only as a supplementary or secondary unit. [31]
As a result of the EU directive Ireland and the United Kingdom passed legislation to replace the gallon with the litre as a primary unit of measure in trade and in the conduct of public business, effective from 31 December 1993, and 30 September 1995 respectively. [32] [33] [34] [35] Though the gallon has ceased to be a primary unit of trade, it can still be legally used in both the UK and Ireland as a supplementary unit. However, barrels and large containers of beer, oil and other fluids are commonly measured in multiples of an imperial gallon.
Miles per imperial gallon is used as the primary fuel economy unit in the United Kingdom and as a supplementary unit in Canada on official documentation. [36] [37] [38]
Other than the United States, petrol is sold by the US gallon in 13 other countries, and one US territory:
The latest country to cease using the gallon is El Salvador in June 2021. [45]
Both the US gallon and imperial gallon are used in the Turks and Caicos Islands (due to an increase in tax duties which was disguised by levying the same duty on the US gallon (3.79 L) as was previously levied on the Imperial gallon (4.55 L)) [46] and the Bahamas. [47] [48]
In some parts of the Middle East, such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, 18.9-litre water cooler bottles are marketed as five-gallon bottles. [49]
Both the US liquid and imperial gallon are divided into four quarts (quarter gallons), which in turn are divided into two pints, which in turn are divided into two cups (not in customary use outside the US), which in turn are further divided into two gills. Thus, both gallons are equal to four quarts, eight pints, sixteen cups, or thirty-two gills.
The imperial gill is further divided into five fluid ounces, whereas the US gill is divided into four fluid ounces, meaning an imperial fluid ounce is 1/20 of an imperial pint, or 1/160 of an imperial gallon, while a US fluid ounce is 1/16 of a US pint, or 1/128 of a US gallon. Thus, the imperial gallon, quart, pint, cup and gill are approximately 20% larger than their US counterparts, meaning these are not interchangeable, but the imperial fluid ounce is only approximately 4% smaller than the US fluid ounce, meaning these are often used interchangeably.
Historically, a common bottle size for liquor in the US was the "fifth", i.e. one-fifth of a US gallon (or one-sixth of an imperial gallon). While spirit sales in the US were switched to metric measures in 1976, a 750 mL bottle is still sometimes known as a "fifth". [50] [51]
The term derives most immediately from galun, galon in Old Norman French, [52] but the usage was common in several languages, for example jale in Old French and gęllet (bowl) in Old English. This suggests a common origin in Romance Latin, but the ultimate source of the word is unknown. [53]
The gallon originated as the base of systems for measuring wine and beer in England. The sizes of gallon used in these two systems were different from each other: the first was based on the wine gallon (equal in size to the US gallon), and the second one either the ale gallon or the larger imperial gallon.
By the end of the 18th century, there were three definitions of the gallon in common use:
The corn or dry gallon is used (along with the dry quart and pint) in the United States for grain and other dry commodities. It is one-eighth of the (Winchester) bushel, originally defined as a cylindrical measure of 18+1/2 inches in diameter and 8 inches in depth, which made the bushel 8 in × (9+1/4 in)2 × π ≈ 2150.42017 cubic inches. The bushel was later defined to be 2150.42 cubic inches exactly, thus making its gallon exactly 268.8025 in3 (4.40488377086 L); in previous centuries, there had been a corn gallon of between 271 and 272 cubic inches.
The wine, fluid, or liquid gallon has been the standard US gallon since the early 19th century[ citation needed ]. The wine gallon, which some sources relate to the volume occupied by eight medieval merchant pounds of wine, was at one time defined as the volume of a cylinder 6 inches deep and 7 inches in diameter, i.e. 6 in × (3+1/2 in)2 × π ≈ 230.907 06 cubic inches. It was redefined during the reign of Queen Anne in 1706 as 231 cubic inches exactly, the earlier definition with π approximated to 22/7.
Although the wine gallon had been used for centuries for import duty purposes, there was no legal standard of it in the Exchequer, while a smaller gallon (224 cu in) was actually in use, requiring this statute; the 231 cubic inch gallon remains the US definition today.
In 1824, Britain adopted a close approximation to the ale gallon known as the imperial gallon, and abolished all other gallons in favour of it. Inspired by the kilogram-litre relationship[ citation needed ], the imperial gallon was based on the volume of 10 pounds of distilled water weighed in air with brass weights with the barometer standing at 30 inches of mercury (14.7345 pound-force per square inch) and at a temperature of 62 °F (17 °C).
In 1963, this definition was refined as the space occupied by 10 pounds of distilled water of density 0.998859 g/mL weighed in air of density 0.001217 g/mL against weights of density 8.136 g/mL (the original "brass" was refined as the densities of brass alloys vary depending on metallurgical composition), which was calculated as 4.546091879 L to ten significant figures. [5]
The precise definition of exactly 4.54609 cubic decimetres (also 4.54609 L, ≈ 277.419433 in3) came after the litre was redefined in 1964. This was adopted shortly afterwards in Canada, and adopted in 1976 in the United Kingdom. [5]
Historically, gallons of various sizes were used in many parts of Western Europe. In these localities, it has been replaced as the unit of capacity by the litre.
Volume | Definition | Inverted volume (gal/cu ft) | Weight as water at 62 °F (17 °C) (pounds/gal) | Cylindrical approximation | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(cu in) | (dm3) | Diameter (in) | Height (in) | Volume rel. error (%) | |||
Current gallons | |||||||
231 | 3.785411784 | Statute of 5 Queen Anne UK wine gallon Standard US gallon | 7.48 | 8.33 | 7 | 6 | 0.04 |
268.8025 | 4.40488377086 | Winchester, statute of 13 & 14 William III Corn gallon US dry gallon | 6.43 | 9.71 | 18.5 | 1 | 0.00001 |
≈ 277.4194 | 4.54609 | Standard imperial gallon | ≈ 6.23 | 10 | 5+2/3 | 11 | 0.0002 |
Historic gallons | |||||||
216 (Roman unciae) | ≈ 3.53961 | Roman congius | 8 | 7.8 | 5 | 11 | 0.01 |
224 | ≈ 3.67070 | Preserved at the Guildhall, London (old UK wine gallon) | 7.71 | 8.09 | 9 | 3.5 | 0.6 |
264.8 | ≈ 4.33929 | Ancient Rumford quart (1228) | 6.53 | 9.57 | 7.5 | 6 | 0.1 |
265.5 | ≈ 4.35077 | Exchequer (Henry VII, 1497, with rim) | 6.51 | 9.59 | 13 | 2 | 0.01 |
266.25 | ≈ 4.36306 | Ancient Rumford (1228) | |||||
271 | ≈ 4.44089 | Exchequer (1601, E.) (old corn gallon) | 6.38 | 9.79 | 4.5 | 17 | 0.23 |
272 | ≈ 4.45728 | Corn gallon (1688) | |||||
≈ 277.2026 | ≈ 4.54254 | Statute of 12 Anne (coal gallon) = 33/32 corn gallons | 6.23 | 10 | |||
≈ 277.274 | ≈ 4.54370 | Imperial gallon, as originally determined in 1824 | 6.23 | 10 | |||
≈ 277.4195 | 4.546091879 | Imperial gallon as re-determined in 1895 and defined in 1963 | ≈ 6.23 | 10 | |||
278 | ≈ 4.55560 | Exchequer (Henry VII, with copper rim) | 6.21 | 10.04 | |||
278.4 | ≈ 4.56216 | Exchequer (1601 and 1602 pints) | 6.21 | 10.06 | |||
280 | ≈ 4.58838 | Exchequer (1601 quart) | 6.17 | 10.1 | |||
282 | ≈ 4.62115 | Treasury (beer and ale gallon pre-1824) | 6.13 | 10.2 |
United States customary units form a system of measurement units commonly used in the United States and most U.S. territories, since being standardized and adopted in 1832. The United States customary system developed from English units that were in use in the British Empire before the U.S. became an independent country. The United Kingdom's system of measures evolved by 1824 to create the imperial system, which was officially adopted in 1826, changing the definitions of some of its units. Consequently, while many U.S. units are essentially similar to their imperial counterparts, there are noticeable differences between the systems.
Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units or by various imperial or US customary units. The definition of length and height (cubed) is interrelated with volume. The volume of a container is generally understood to be the capacity of the container; i.e., the amount of fluid that the container could hold, rather than the amount of space the container itself displaces. By metonymy, the term "volume" sometimes is used to refer to the corresponding region.
In recipes, quantities of ingredients may be specified by mass, by volume, or by count.
The cubic inch is a unit of volume in the Imperial units and United States customary units systems. It is the volume of a cube with each of its three dimensions being one inch long which is equivalent to 1/231 of a US gallon.
The pint is a unit of volume or capacity in both the imperial and United States customary measurement systems. In both of those systems it is traditionally one eighth of a gallon. The British imperial pint is about 20% larger than the American pint because the two systems are defined differently. Almost all other countries have standardized on the metric system, so although some of them still also have traditional units called pints, the volume varies by regional custom.
The quart is a unit of volume equal to a quarter of a gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the imperial quart of the British imperial system. All are roughly equal to one liter. It is divided into two pints or four cups. Historically, the exact size of the quart has varied with the different values of gallons over time and in reference to different commodities.
A fluid ounce is a unit of volume typically used for measuring liquids. The British Imperial, the United States customary, and the United States food labeling fluid ounce are the three that are still in common use, although various definitions have been used throughout history.
A barrel is one of several units of volume applied in various contexts; there are dry barrels, fluid barrels, oil barrels, and so forth. For historical reasons the volumes of some barrel units are roughly double the volumes of others; volumes in common use range approximately from 100 to 200 litres. In many connections the term drum is used almost interchangeably with barrel.
The tun is an English unit of liquid volume, used for measuring wine, oil or honey. Typically a large vat or vessel, most often holding 252 wine gallons, but occasionally other sizes were also used. The modern tun is about 954 litres.
English units were the units of measurement used in England up to 1826, which evolved as a combination of the Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems of units. Various standards have applied to English units at different times, in different places, and for different applications.
The cup is a cooking measure of volume, commonly associated with cooking and serving sizes. In the US, it is traditionally equal to one-half US pint (236.6 ml). Because actual drinking cups may differ greatly from the size of this unit, standard measuring cups may be used, with a metric cup being 250 millilitres.
Both the British imperial measurement system and United States customary systems of measurement derive from earlier English unit systems used prior to 1824 that were the result of a combination of the local Anglo-Saxon units inherited from Germanic tribes and Roman units.
Alcohol measurements are units of measurement for determining amounts of beverage alcohol.
Capacities of wine casks were formerly measured and standardised according to a specific system of English units. The various units were historically defined in terms of the wine gallon so varied according to the definition of the gallon until the adoption of the Queen Anne wine gallon in 1707. In the United Kingdom and its colonies the units were redefined with the introduction of the imperial system whilst the Queen Anne wine gallon was adopted as the standard US liquid gallon.
Capacities of brewery casks were formerly measured and standardised according to a specific system of English units. The system was originally based on the ale gallon of 282 cubic inches. In United Kingdom and its colonies, with the adoption of the imperial system in 1824, the units were redefined in terms of the slightly smaller imperial gallon. The older units continued in use in the United States.
A fifth is a unit of volume formerly used for wine and distilled beverages in the United States, equal to one fifth of a US liquid gallon, or 25+3⁄5 U.S. fluid ounces ; it has been superseded by the metric bottle size of 750 mL, sometimes called a metric fifth, which is the standard capacity of wine bottles worldwide and is approximately 1% smaller.
The dry gallon, also known as the corn gallon or grain gallon, is a historic British dry measure of volume that was used to measure grain and other dry commodities and whose earliest recorded official definition, in 1303, was the volume of 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of wheat. It is not used in the US customary system – though it implicitly exists since the US dry measures of bushel, peck, quart, and pint are still used – and is not included in the National Institute of Standards and Technology handbook that many US states recognize as the authority on measurement law.
The imperial and US customary measurement systems are both derived from an earlier English system of measurement which in turn can be traced back to Ancient Roman units of measurement, and Carolingian and Saxon units of measure.
A number of different units of measurement were historically used in Cyprus to measure quantities like length, mass, area and capacity. Before the Metric system, the Imperial system was used. In between 1986-1988, metric system was adopted in Cyprus.
A number of units of measurement were used in South Africa to measure quantities like length, mass, capacity, etc. The Imperial system of measurements was made standard in 1922 and the metric system was adopted in 1961.
Before that date (November 1976) the definition in the Weights and Measures Act 1963 was such that the gallon could be calculated to be 4.546 091 879 dm3 to ten significant figures... The return, in November 1976, by precise definition to what had earlier been used as an approximation for the value of the gallon (i.e. 4.546 09 dm3)...
the UK gallon (imp gal), defined in Schedule 1 of the Weights and Measures Act 1963, as the space occupied by 10 pounds of distilled water under certain conditions specified in the schedule.
In 2008—the most recent year where WTI crude oil averaged US$100 per barrel—ANGLEC paid an average of about US$4 per imperial gallon (imp gal) for diesel.
The legal units of measurement ... for economic, public health, public safety or administrative purposes ... litre