About

The Decaliter (dal) is a metric unit of volume equal to 10 liters. While not common in everyday consumer goods, it remains a standard trade unit in specific industries such as agriculture, grain trading, and winemaking in Europe. Conversions between Liters and Decaliters are physically simple but computationally prone to decimal placement errors during manual logging. This tool eliminates that risk for apprentices and professionals. It provides an instant, bidirectional conversion and highlights industry-standard container sizes to assist with inventory estimations in cellars and warehouses.

Formulas

The metric prefix "deca-" denotes a factor of 10. The conversion logic involves shifting the decimal point one place.

V_dal = V_L10

V_L = V_dal × 10

Reference Data

Volume (Liters)	Volume (Decaliters)	Industry Context
1 L	0.1 dal	Standard Bottle (approx)
5 L	0.5 dal	Large Demijohn
10 L	1.0 dal	Base Unit Definition
20 L	2.0 dal	Jerrycan
50 L	5.0 dal	Small Keg
100 L	10.0 dal	Hectoliter Base
225 L	22.5 dal	Bordeaux Barrique
228 L	22.8 dal	Burgundy Piece
300 L	30.0 dal	Hogshead
500 L	50.0 dal	Puncheon
1000 L	100.0 dal	IBC Tote

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The spelling "decaliter" is standard in US English, while "dekaliter" (symbol dal) is often seen in international scientific contexts. They represent the exact same volume of 10 liters.

Historically, wine production involves volumes too large for single liters but too precise for hectoliters (100L). The decaliter allows for manageable double-digit numbers when measuring barrel evaporation (angel's share) or small blending adjustments.

You cannot convert mass directly to volume without knowing the density. For water, 1 decaliter weighs approximately 10 kilograms. For wine or oil, the weight varies slightly.

The official SI symbol is "dal". You may occasionally see "daL", but "dal" is the preferred notation to avoid confusion with deciliters (dL), which are 1/10th of a liter.