About

Volume conversion is notoriously prone to error due to conflicting regional standards sharing identical names. The most dangerous ambiguity exists between the US Customary system and the British Imperial system. For instance, a US Gallon is 3.785 liters, whereas an Imperial Gallon is 4.546 liters - a 20% discrepancy that can be catastrophic in chemical engineering, aviation refueling, or international logistics. Furthermore, culinary measurements vary significantly; an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, while a standard US tablespoon is approximately 14.8 ml.

This utility addresses these inconsistencies by maintaining a massive, high-precision database of over 80 distinct volumetric units. It explicitly distinguishes between US Liquid, US Dry, and Imperial variants to prevent contamination of data. The tool is engineered for professionals requiring high-fidelity conversions for tasks ranging from laboratory micro-dosing (microliters) to industrial shipping (TEU containers) and petroleum management (Oil Barrels). The integrated visualizer provides immediate feedback on scale, rendering the liquid volume against standardized container references.

Formulas

All conversions are executed by normalizing the input value to a base unit (cubic meters) using high-precision floating-point factors, then projecting to the target unit. The general formula for volume V is:

V_out = V_in × f_inf_out

Where f is the conversion factor relative to 1 cubic meter (m³). For complex non-linear standards like US Dry volumes versus Liquid volumes, the specific statutory definitions are applied. For example, the relationship between a US Gallon and a Cubic Inch is exact:

1 US gal ≡ 231 in³

Reference Data

Unit System	Unit Name	Symbol	Metric Equiv (ml)	Relation to Liter
Metric (SI)	Microliter	μL	0.001	10^-6 L
Metric (SI)	Milliliter	ml	1	0.001 L
Metric (SI)	Liter	L	1000	1 L
Metric (SI)	Cubic Meter	m³	1000000	1000 L
US Liquid	Fluid Ounce	fl oz	29.5735	≈ 1/34 L
US Liquid	Cup (Customary)	cup	236.588	≈ 0.24 L
US Liquid	Pint	pt	473.176	≈ 0.47 L
US Liquid	Gallon	gal	3785.41	3.785 L
Imperial (UK)	Fluid Ounce	fl oz	28.4131	0.028 L
Imperial (UK)	Pint	pt	568.261	0.568 L
Imperial (UK)	Gallon	gal	4546.09	4.546 L
Culinary	Cup (Metric)	cup	250	0.25 L
Culinary	Tablespoon (AU)	tbsp	20	0.02 L
Industrial	Oil Barrel	bbl	158987	≈ 159 L

Frequently Asked Questions

The "Cup" is the most ambiguous unit in history. A US Customary Cup is 236.6 ml. A US Legal Cup (for nutrition labeling) is 240 ml. A Metric Cup (used in AU, NZ, CA, UK) is 250 ml. A Japanese Cup is 200 ml. Using the wrong definition can alter liquid ratios by over 20%. This tool offers all these variants explicitly.

They are unrelated systems. The US Liquid Pint (≈ 473 ml) is derived from the Gallon. The US Dry Pint (≈ 551 ml) is derived from the Bushel. Dry units are used for agricultural produce (berries, grain) and are roughly 16.36% larger than their liquid counterparts.

Extremely accurate. The standard Oil Barrel (bbl) is defined as exactly 42 US Gallons. This equals 158.987 Liters. Note that a "Beer Barrel" in the US is 31 Gallons, and a "Dry Barrel" is 105 Dry Quarts. This tool selects the Petroleum Barrel standard by default under Industrial units.

Yes. The database includes mathematical volumes like Cubic Centimeters (cm³ or cc), Cubic Inches (in³), and Cubic Feet (ft³). These are essential for engineering and shipping calculations.