Unit Conversion Calculations
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Distillation Unit Conversion Reference
This page provides standard conversion factors, formulas, and practical notes commonly used in distilling.
For a future live interactive tool, see HD Distillation Unit Converter.
This page is intended as a reference for:
- temperature
- volume
- mass
- length
- power and heat input
- flow rate
- pressure and vacuum
- sugar concentration scales
- alcohol strength notation
General Notes
- Use metric units wherever possible for calculations.
- Be careful to distinguish between US and Imperial volume units.
- Be careful to distinguish between mass and volume.
- Sugar volume measures such as cups are approximate and depend on packing density.
- Brix and Plato are often treated as approximately equivalent for practical hobby use, but they are not defined in exactly the same way.
Temperature
Formulas
- degrees F = (degrees C × 9 / 5) + 32
- degrees C = (degrees F − 32) × 5 / 9
Reference Table
| From | To | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| degrees C | degrees F | (C × 9 / 5) + 32 |
| degrees F | degrees C | (F − 32) × 5 / 9 |
Examples
- 28 °C = 82.4 °F
- 82 °F = 27.8 °C
- 100 °C = 212 °F
- 78.4 °C = 173.1 °F
Volume
Common Conversions
| From | To | Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| liters (L) | milliliters (mL) | multiply by 1000 |
| milliliters (mL) | liters (L) | divide by 1000 |
| liters (L) | US gallons | multiply by 0.264172 |
| US gallons | liters (L) | multiply by 3.78541 |
| liters (L) | Imperial gallons | multiply by 0.219969 |
| Imperial gallons | liters (L) | multiply by 4.54609 |
| US fluid ounces | milliliters (mL) | multiply by 29.5735 |
| milliliters (mL) | US fluid ounces | divide by 29.5735 |
| US pints | liters (L) | multiply by 0.473176 |
| liters (L) | US pints | divide by 0.473176 |
| US quarts | liters (L) | multiply by 0.946353 |
| liters (L) | US quarts | divide by 0.946353 |
| Imperial pints | liters (L) | multiply by 0.568261 |
| liters (L) | Imperial pints | divide by 0.568261 |
Practical Notes
- Always label gallons as either US or Imperial.
- Many hobby recipes and forum posts use US gallons even when other measurements are metric.
- Small collection jars are often described in mL, pints, or quarts depending on region.
Mass
Common Conversions
| From | To | Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| kilograms (kg) | grams (g) | multiply by 1000 |
| grams (g) | kilograms (kg) | divide by 1000 |
| kilograms (kg) | pounds (lb) | multiply by 2.20462 |
| pounds (lb) | kilograms (kg) | multiply by 0.453592 |
| ounces (oz) | grams (g) | multiply by 28.3495 |
| grams (g) | ounces (oz) | divide by 28.3495 |
Practical Note
Approximate sugar cup conversion sometimes used in older hobby material:
- cups of granulated sugar ≈ (kg / 0.942) × 4
This is only approximate and depends on how the sugar is measured and packed.
Length
Common Conversions
| From | To | Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| millimeters (mm) | inches | divide by 25.4 |
| inches | millimeters (mm) | multiply by 25.4 |
| centimeters (cm) | inches | divide by 2.54 |
| inches | centimeters (cm) | multiply by 2.54 |
| meters (m) | feet | multiply by 3.28084 |
| feet | meters (m) | multiply by 0.3048 |
Practical Notes
- Column diameter, hole size, plate spacing, and tube diameter are frequently discussed in both metric and Imperial units.
- The corrected meters-to-feet conversion is 1 m = 3.28084 ft.
Power and Heat Input
Common Conversions
| From | To | Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| watts (W) | kilowatts (kW) | divide by 1000 |
| kilowatts (kW) | watts (W) | multiply by 1000 |
| kilowatts (kW) | BTU/hr | multiply by 3412 |
| BTU/hr | kilowatts (kW) | multiply by 0.0002931 |
| watts (W) | BTU/hr | multiply by 3.412 |
| BTU/hr | watts (W) | multiply by 0.2931 |
Examples
- 2 kW = 2000 W = about 6824 BTU/hr
- 10,000 BTU/hr = about 2.931 kW
Practical Notes
- Electric element size is usually given in watts or kilowatts.
- Gas burners are often described in BTU/hr.
- When comparing heat inputs, always make sure you are comparing the same effective delivered power.
Flow Rate
Common Conversions
| From | To | Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| mL/min | L/hr | multiply by 0.06 |
| L/hr | mL/min | multiply by 16.6667 |
| L/min | L/hr | multiply by 60 |
| L/hr | L/min | divide by 60 |
| US pints/hr | L/hr | multiply by 0.473176 |
| L/hr | US pints/hr | divide by 0.473176 |
| US gallons/hr | L/hr | multiply by 3.78541 |
| L/hr | US gallons/hr | divide by 3.78541 |
| mL/min | US fluid oz/min | divide by 29.5735 |
| US fluid oz/min | mL/min | multiply by 29.5735 |
Practical Notes
- Product takeoff rate is commonly discussed in mL/min or L/hr.
- Cooling water flow is often discussed in L/min or L/hr.
- Some legacy hobby tools describe collection rate in pints/hr.
Pressure and Vacuum
Common Conversions
| From | To | Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| atmospheres (atm) | kPa | multiply by 101.325 |
| kPa | atmospheres (atm) | divide by 101.325 |
| bar | kPa | multiply by 100 |
| kPa | bar | divide by 100 |
| psi | kPa | multiply by 6.89476 |
| kPa | psi | divide by 6.89476 |
| mmHg | kPa | multiply by 0.133322 |
| kPa | mmHg | divide by 0.133322 |
| inches Hg | kPa | multiply by 3.38639 |
| kPa | inches Hg | divide by 3.38639 |
Practical Notes
- This is most useful for pressure-capable systems, vacuum distillation discussions, and gauge/manometer interpretation.
- Atmospheric pressure at sea level is about 101.325 kPa, 1 atm, or 14.696 psi.
Sugar Concentration Scales
Specific Gravity (SG) to degrees Plato
degrees Plato = 258.6 / ((1 / (SG − 1)) + 0.8796)
Degrees Plato to Specific Gravity (SG)
SG = 1 + (Plato / (258.6 − (0.8796 × Plato)))
Practical Brix Note
In practical hobby distilling and brewing, Brix and Plato are often treated as approximately equivalent over common wash strengths.
For a rough practical approximation:
- degrees Brix ≈ degrees Plato
If you want greater precision in a live tool, Brix and Plato can be calculated separately, but for most hobby wash-strength discussions they are close enough for routine use.
Sugar + Water Estimate
For:
- sugar mass = x kg
- total volume = y liters
the legacy calculator estimated:
- SG = ((258.6 + (87.96 × x / y)) + √(66874 + (7736.96 × x² / y²) + (57947 × x / y))) / 517.2
- degrees Plato = (x × 100) / (y × SG)
- liters of water required = (y × SG) − x
Notes
- degrees Plato = weight percentage sugar in total solution
- example: 20° Plato = 200 g sugar per 1 kg of solution
- SG is dimensionless and should usually be reported to at least three decimal places
Alcohol Strength
Common Relationships
| From | To | Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| ABV | US proof | multiply by 2 |
| US proof | ABV | divide by 2 |
Practical Notes
- US proof = 2 × ABV
- Example: 40% ABV = 80 proof (US)
- Historical UK proof scales differ from US proof and should be treated as legacy notation unless specifically needed.
What This Page Does Not Cover
This page is a reference for unit conversions and related scales.
It does not replace specialized calculators such as:
- proofing and dilution calculators
- hydrometer temperature correction calculators
- refractometer correction calculators
- packed reflux column calculators
- heat-up time calculators
- alcohol yield calculators
Those are better handled as separate tools.