A gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds.
A gallon is eight cups (1/2 quart), so it will weigh a little more than 2 pounds, which makes sense because you have to add the weight of the container and then subtract the perfect fluid weight. But it’s not like people are just lifting gallons out of containers with nothing in them, so how much does a gallon weigh? It depends on what you’re holding it in. A wet towel weighs less than an empty bucket – that’s why gravity matters to physics!
Approximately 8.34 pounds.
A gallon is equal to approximately 3.785 liters, which will generally weigh somewhere between 6 and 8 lbs., depending on the atmospheric conditions and temperature at the time of its production. This weight will vary based on water purity (surface area-to-volume ratio) as well as the amount of dissolved solids remaining in the water (surface tension).
If you’re talking about the old units like pounds, gallons typically weigh between 8.3 and 8.5 pounds per gallon.
Most people will not know the answer to this question. Water volume (in gallons) equals the weight (in pounds) of water, so a gallon of water is 8 pounds. Now consider what you would do if that were 8 pounds of lead – or 8 pounds of iron shavings – or even 8 pounds of dental fillings! This quantity shouldn’t be taken lightly–8 lbs in 2 pints = 16 quarters = 64 ounces = 3.3 liters. Heck, one gallon is over 10% your body weight (168½lbs for me).
It’s actually very difficult to measure the weight of a gallon of water because it would require you to take into account a variety of factors, including: temperature, pressure, the volume and weight of any gases dissolved in the water (such as oxygen or carbon dioxide), and how pure (as a percentage) the water is. The density will also depend on whether there are bubbles clogging up space inside. Anywhere from 8-25 pounds I reckon…
The weight of water varies based on temperature and pressure. Assuming that the water is a liquid at room temperature, without taking atmospheric pressure into account, then it would weigh 8.35 kilograms or just over 19.5 pounds per gallon (3264 grams).
