[Rhodes22-list] A pint is a pound the world around - more or less, at least in the US

[Peter Nyberg]

Tom’s number for the weight of a gallon of water didn’t sound right to me, so I Googled it.  The internet says that a gallon of water weighs about 8.3 pounds, and as we know, the internet is never wrong.

I’ve always interpreted the saying in the subject of this post in a couple of ways:
   
1) The number of ounces (weight) in a pound is the same as the number ounces (fluid) in a pint (that is, 16).  This is true in the US, but not ’the world around’.

2) The weight of 16 fluid ounces or water (a US pint) is about a pound.  This is not exactly true, but generally close enough in most settings outside of a laboratory. A gallon then, consisting of 8 pints would weigh about 8 pounds.

The internet also says that Hank is right about the weight of gas ( a quick glance at search results shows weights ranging from 6.1 to 6.6 pounds per gallon) .  I never would have guessed that weight difference between water and gas was so wide.

Peter Nyberg
Coventry, CT
s/v Silverheels (1988/2016) 
     


> On May 18, 2021, at 3:37 PM, Tom Van Heule <tom.vanheule at intrinsicprograms.com> wrote:
> 
> Well I know water is 7.4.... and fuel floats... But thanks for the
> clarification!!!
> 
> On Tue, May 18, 2021, 1:40 PM Hank <hnw555 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Actually, 6 gals is about 36 lbs as gas is about 6 pounds per gallon.