US Gallons to Centiliters (gal to cL)

1 US gallon equals 378.5411784 centiliters exactly.

1 US gallon = 378.5411784 centiliters

How to convert US gallons to centiliters

To convert US gallons to centiliters, multiply the number of US gallons by 378.5411784. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply centiliters by 0.002641720524 (rounded).

centiliters = US gallons × 378.5411784

Example: 10 US gallons = 3,785.411784 centiliters.

Pints, quarts, gallons and fluid ounces differ between the US and the UK. Units are labeled 'US' or 'imperial' to avoid confusion.

About these units

US Gallon (gal)

US customaryCurrent unit

Exactly 231 cubic inches or 3.785411784 liters (128 US fluid ounces). About 17% smaller than the imperial gallon.

The US gallon is a survivor of English wine trade. Around 1706, a statute in Queen Anne's reign fixed the wine gallon at exactly 231 cubic inches, settling confusion among the competing gallons for wine, ale and corn. British colonies in North America used that wine gallon, and in 1824 Britain replaced all its gallons with a new imperial one while the United States kept the old measure. It was adopted as the legal US standard in 1836 and is still defined as exactly 231 cubic inches, or 3.785411784 liters.

That makes the US gallon about 17 percent smaller than the imperial gallon, a difference that explains why American and British fuel-economy figures cannot be compared directly. Everyday uses are milk jugs, paint cans and gasoline pumps. One gallon divides evenly into four quarts, eight pints, sixteen cups and 128 fluid ounces. A gallon of water weighs a little over 8 pounds, an easy figure to remember when loading a car with water jugs.

1 US gallon = 3.785411784 liters (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Gallon; NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8: conversion factors for volume

Centiliter (cL)

Metric (SI)Current unit

One hundredth of a liter (10 mL). Used on drink labels across Europe.

Centi- means one hundredth, so a centiliter is 0.01 liter, which is 10 milliliters or 10 cubic centimeters. Among the liter's smaller multiples it is the one that suits glassware: it indicates the capacity of drinking glasses and small bottles, and shot-sized servings of alcohol are often 3 cL.

The unit sits between the milliliter, used for medicine and small packaging, and the deciliter, which is ten times larger at 10 cL. The figure used here is exactly 0.01 liter. Because 1 cL is 10 cubic centimeters, a 33 cL container holds 330 mL, and three such measures of 3 cL come to 9 cL. Ten centiliters make one deciliter.

1 centiliter = 0.01 liters (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Litre; Wikipedia: Metric prefix

Related conversions

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