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Looking for an answer to how many litres are in a gallon? Easily convert between gallons and liters and gallons to quarts, using both the metric and imperial systems. This detailed guide and handy conversion tool include liquid and dry measurements.
Table of Contents
What is a gallon?
A gallon is a unit of measurement used for measuring liquid capacity. Although you may not need to use this when making certain liquid-based recipes (like a smoothie or milkshake), it’s handy to understand when using the metric or the imperial system.
How many liters in a gallon?
There are 3.785 liters in a gallon.
However, this can be different depending on the system of measurement you’re using, either the metric system or the imperial system. The imperial system can be further broken down into liquid gallons or dry gallons.
- Imperial gallon: 4.54 liters
- US liquid gallon: 3.7854 liters
- US dry gallon: 4.405 liters
The Imperial gallon
The imperial gallon (also known as the UK gallon) is used in Commonwealth countries and some Caribbean states. It is equal to 4.54609 liters or 277.42 cubic inches.
In the beginning, the Imperial gallon was equivalent to 10 pounds, which was equal to 4.54 kg of water when the temperature was 17 degrees Celsius. An Imperial fluid ounce is equal to 1/160 of the Imperial gallon.
An Imperial gallon consists of 4 quarts, and each quart has 2 pints. If you want to convert pints to Imperial fluid ounces, you’ll get 20 Imperial fluid ounces.
US liquid gallon
In a US liquid gallon, one US gallon is means 3.7854 liters or 231 cubic inches. When kept at 10 degrees Celsius, a US gallon weighs 3.78 kgs, or 8.34 pounds. The weight is almost 16.6 percent less than the Imperial gallon.
Like the Imperial gallon, US liquid gallon also contains the same amount of quart and pits. You’ll need at least 128 US fluid ounces to make one US liquid gallon.
US dry gallon
An eight of the Winchester bushels, 268.8025 cubic inches, or 4.405 liters, make a US dry gallon.
How to measure properly?
To measure correctly, you’ll need a specific measuring apparatus for dry and liquid ingredients. This can be tablespoons and teaspoons, or for larger recipes, measuring cups.
Similarly, you’ll find recipes with the ingredients in ounces, which would require a measurement in grams. To ensure complete accuracy, always use a kitchen scale.
Converting between gallons and liters
To convert gallons to liters, multiply the gallon value by 3.785411784.
However, you must also consider the type of gallon you’re using, as there are three different types (imperial gallon, dry, and liquid gallons). Once you determine which gallon measurement is required, use the following formula for conversion.
Volume given in Liters = (volume in gal) x (3.785 L/1 gal)
Quick conversions
- 1 cup = 0.236 liters
- 1 pint = 0.47 liters
- 1 quart = 1.06 liters
- 1 gallon = 3.78 liters
| Liters | Cups | Pints | Quarts | Gallons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | 2.12 | 1.06 | 0.53 | 0.13 |
| 1 | 4.23 | 2.11 | 1.06 | 0.26 |
| 2 | 8.46 | 4.22 | 2.12 | 0.53 |
| 5 | 21.15 | 10.55 | 5.30 | 1.32 |
| 10 | 42.30 | 21.10 | 10.60 | 2.64 |
How many quarts in a gallon?
There are 4 quarts in a gallon.
How many cups in a gallon?
There are 16 cups in a US gallon.
More cooking resources
- How many cups in a quart
- How many ounces in a gallon
- How many grams in a cup
- How many tablespoons in a cup
Frequently Asked Questions
A UK gallon has 4.546 liters.
A Canadian gallon has almost 4.5 liters.
An Australian gallon has 4.546.
There are 4.4 liters in a gallon of milk.
A half-gallon has 1.89 liters, and a gallon (US) has 3.78 liters.
A half gallon is equal to 1.89270589.
