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

[Frank Goldsmith]

Those of us who are (or used to be) pilots are accustomed to using 6 lb/gal as the weight of fuel (gasoline) for light aircraft.  It’s what the FAA weight and balance handbook uses.  I had not thought about the weight of water, frankly, and like Peter, I’m a little surprised that gasoline is so much lighter. 

Frank 

> On May 18, 2021, at 4:42 PM, Peter Nyberg <peter at sunnybeeches.com> wrote:
> 
> 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.