Liters to Gallons
Convert liters (L) to gallons (gal). Both measure capacity and volume, and the conversion comes up in cooking, chemistry, fuel work.
The Formula
``
gallons = liters × 0.264172052358
liters = gallons × 3.785411784
`
One liter is 0.264172 gallons, and one gallon is 3.7854 liters.
Conversion Table
| Liters | Gallons |
|---|---|
| 1 L | 0.264172 gal |
| 2 L | 0.528344 gal |
| 5 L | 1.3209 gal |
| 10 L | 2.6417 gal |
| 25 L | 6.6043 gal |
| 50 L | 13.2086 gal |
| 100 L | 26.4172 gal |
| 500 L | 132.086 gal |
| 1,000 L | 264.1721 gal |
The Other Direction
| Gallons | Liters |
|---|---|
| 1 gal | 3.7854 L |
| 2 gal | 7.5708 L |
| 5 gal | 18.9271 L |
| 10 gal | 37.8541 L |
| 25 gal | 94.6353 L |
| 50 gal | 189.2706 L |
| 100 gal | 378.5412 L |
| 500 gal | 1,892.71 L |
| 1,000 gal | 3,785.41 L |
What Each Unit Is
Liters (L) — exactly one cubic decimetre, or 0.001 cubic metres. A metric volume defined for trade; briefly redefined against the kilogram before reverting in 1964.
Gallons (gal) — the US liquid gallon: exactly 3.785411784 litres. The English wine gallon of 231 cubic inches, kept by the US after Britain moved on in 1824.
A Sense of Scale
A large drink bottle is 2 L- A car fuel tank is 45–60 L
- A bath holds about 80 L
- A US milk jug is 1 gallon
- A car tank is 12–16 gallons
- US fuel economy is miles per gallon
Doing It in Your Head
Multiply by 4, then divide by 15. That is off by 0.94% — close enough to judge a
distance, a weight or a price, and not close enough to sign off on a drawing.
Exact Mental shortcut 2.6417 gal 2.6667 gal 26.4172 gal 26.6667 gal
Precision
The factor 0.264172052358 is rounded. For engineering work carry more digits than the table above, and round only at the end — rounding at each step compounds.
Watch Out For
- The UK imperial gallon is 4.546 litres — 20% larger. A "gallon" without a country attached is ambiguous, and US MPG figures look worse when read as imperial.
In Code
`javascript
const literToGallon = (value) => value * 0.264172052358;
``
Where This Conversion Comes Up
- Cooking
- Chemistry
- Fuel
- Beverages
- Medicine
How Many Decimals Do You Need?
Rounding the factor costs accuracy, and how much depends on the factor. Converting 137 L with the factor truncated at each decimal place:
| Decimals kept | Factor | 137 L becomes | Error |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.0000% |
| 1 | 0.3 | 41.1 | 13.5624% |
| 2 | 0.26 | 35.62 | 1.5793% |
| 3 | 0.264 | 36.168 | 0.0651% |
| 4 | 0.2642 | 36.1954 | 0.0106% |
The right number of significant figures is set by your input, not by the converter. If you measured liters to three significant figures, the answer in gallons is only good to three — writing more digits claims precision the measurement never had.