Convert gallons to quarts
A gallon holds four quarts, and that figure is the same in the US liquid, imperial and US dry systems. Enter a number of gallons and the quarts appear as you type. A can marked 5 gal holds 20 quarts, and a 55-gallon drum holds 220 quarts.
How many quarts are in a gallon?
A gallon holds four quarts. To turn gallons into quarts, multiply by four: quarts = gallons × 4. Five gallons come to 20 quarts, and twelve gallons to 48 quarts.
That four applies in every system where the gallon exists. The NIST tables print “4 quarts = 1 gallon” once under US liquid measure and again under British measures of capacity[1]. You get the quart figure straight away, and the system only decides how many litres that volume comes to.
The units themselves differ in size: the US gallon is 3.785 litres and the imperial gallon 4.546 litres. For the litre value, use the gallons to litres converter, where the Gallon type switch covers all three measures.
What is a gallon, and what is a quart?
The gallon is the parent unit of US liquid measure. The quart, the pint, the cup and the fluid ounce are its successive parts, so each of them takes its size straight from the gallon.
Three gallons are in use today and each has its own capacity. The US gallon is exactly 231 cubic inches, which works out at 3.785411784 litres[1]. The imperial gallon is 4.54609 litres and was defined as the volume of ten pounds of water. The third, the US dry gallon, is 4.405 litres; it measured grain in the United States until the 1990s and is no longer used[2]. Litres into the quarts of each system go through the litres to quarts converter.
The quart is a quarter of a gallon, and that is exactly what its name says: the Latin quartus means “fourth”. British law still puts it that way. Schedule 1 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985 gives the gallon as 4.54609 cubic decimetres and the quart, in as many words, as a quarter of a gallon. Both now sit in Part VI of that schedule, among units that may appear in UK trade only as supplementary indications next to the metric figure[3].
Gallons to quarts conversion table
| Gallons | Quarts | Litres (US measure) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 gal | 2 qt | 1.89 l |
| 1 gal | 4 qt | 3.79 l |
| 1.5 gal | 6 qt | 5.68 l |
| 2 gal | 8 qt | 7.57 l |
| 2.5 gal | 10 qt | 9.46 l |
| 3 gal | 12 qt | 11.36 l |
| 3.5 gal | 14 qt | 13.25 l |
| 4 gal | 16 qt | 15.14 l |
| 4.5 gal | 18 qt | 17.03 l |
| 5 gal | 20 qt | 18.93 l |
| 6 gal | 24 qt | 22.71 l |
| 7 gal | 28 qt | 26.50 l |
| 8 gal | 32 qt | 30.28 l |
| 9 gal | 36 qt | 34.07 l |
| 10 gal | 40 qt | 37.85 l |
| 11 gal | 44 qt | 41.64 l |
| 12 gal | 48 qt | 45.42 l |
| 13 gal | 52 qt | 49.21 l |
| 14 gal | 56 qt | 53.00 l |
| 15 gal | 60 qt | 56.78 l |
| 16 gal | 64 qt | 60.57 l |
| 17 gal | 68 qt | 64.35 l |
| 19 gal | 76 qt | 71.92 l |
| 20 gal | 80 qt | 75.71 l |
| 25 gal | 100 qt | 94.64 l |
| 27 gal | 108 qt | 102.21 l |
| 30 gal | 120 qt | 113.56 l |
| 40 gal | 160 qt | 151.42 l |
| 42 gal | 168 qt | 158.99 l |
| 50 gal | 200 qt | 189.27 l |
| 55 gal | 220 qt | 208.20 l |
What containers labelled in gallons hold in quarts
| Container | Gallons | Quarts | Litres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milk jug from a US grocery store | 1 gal | 4 qt | 3.79 l |
| Jerrycan for fuel | 5 gal | 20 qt | 18.93 l |
| Latching storage tote | 6.75 gal | 27 qt | 25.55 l |
| Starter aquarium | 10 gal | 40 qt | 37.85 l |
| Large latching storage tote | 16.5 gal | 66 qt | 62.46 l |
| Workshop tote | 27 gal | 108 qt | 102.21 l |
| Domestic water heater | 40 gal | 160 qt | 151.42 l |
| Barrel of crude oil | 42 gal | 168 qt | 158.99 l |
The gallon and the quart in three measuring systems
| Measuring system | Gallon | Quart | Quarts per gallon |
|---|---|---|---|
| US liquid | 3.785 l | 0.946 l | 4 |
| Imperial (British) | 4.546 l | 1.137 l | 4 |
| US dry | 4.405 l | 1.101 l | 4 |
Which number formats does this converter handle?
| What you type | What the converter shows | How we read it |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5 | 10 qt | The point is the decimal separator, so this is two and a half gallons. |
| 2,5 | 10 qt | A comma followed by one digit is a European decimal comma, so we read it as two and a half. |
| 1,500 | 6000 qt | Three digits after the comma mark a thousands separator, so we count one thousand five hundred gallons. The note “Read as 1500. If you meant 1.5, type 1.5.” appears under the field. |
| 1.500 | 6 qt | A single point is always read as the decimal point, so this is one and a half gallons. The note “Read as 1.5. If you meant 1500, type 1500.” appears under the field. |
| 1 500 | 6000 qt | A space between the thousands is skipped, so this is one thousand five hundred gallons as well. |
| 3/4 | 3 qt | We convert a fraction with a slash directly, so it doesn’t need to become 0.75 first. |
| 1½ | 6 qt | A ½ character copied from a recipe or a label is added to the number in front of it. |
| 5 gal | 20 qt | A unit pasted along with the number is ignored, and we convert the value alone. |
How do you convert gallons to quarts?
The whole calculation is one multiplication, and the four steps below also cover the cases where the number of gallons is not round.
Read the number of gallons from your source
On an American label it stands next to gal or next to the word gallon. A British source usually adds imperial or UK, and then the gallon is the one holding 4.546 litres.Multiply that number by four
Three gallons come to 12 quarts. Seven gallons come to 28 quarts. Twenty gallons come to 80 quarts. The converter does the multiplication as you type, so the result appears with no button to press.Multiply a fraction of a gallon the same way
Half a gallon is two quarts, a quarter of a gallon is one quart, and 3.5 gallons come to 14 quarts. The field takes fractions written with a point or with a slash, for instance 3.5 or 3 1/2.Read the result in quarts, or split it into gallons and quarts
Ten and a half gallons come to 42 quarts, which is also ten gallons and two quarts. The US model packaging regulation allows both forms: the remainder may be given in the next smaller unit or as a fraction of the largest[4].
Why does an American package carry two figures?
A US consumer package states its contents in two systems at once, in US customary units and in SI. The model packaging and labelling regulation has required both since 14 February 1994. It also forbids rounding that overstates the contents, so packers round down: a gallon is 3.785 litres, yet the label beside 1 GAL reads 3.78 L, and beside 1 QT it reads 946 mL[4].
The regulation also sets the temperature at which the declared volume is measured, and the figure depends on the goods. The default is 68 °F, which is 20 °C. Petroleum products and distilled spirits are measured at 60 °F, about 15.6 °C. For refrigerated food the regulation gives 40 °F, and for malt beverages 39.1 °F[4].
Convert other units to Quarts
Sources
- NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C — General Tables of Units of Measurement — National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Gallon — Wikipedia
- Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1 — legislation.gov.uk
- NIST Handbook 130, Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulation — National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Barrel (unit) — Wikipedia
Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.
Content last reviewed: · written and checked by the Arteon team
Frequently asked questions about gallons and quarts
What does qt mean on an American label?
Qt stands for quart. Labels use gal for the gallon, pt for the pint and fl oz for the fluid ounce alongside it.
How many pints, cups and ounces does a gallon hold?
A US gallon is 8 pints, 16 cups and 128 fluid ounces[1]. An imperial gallon also splits into 8 pints and holds 160 imperial ounces, because an imperial pint counts 20 of them rather than 16. The step between cup and pint alone is handled by the cups to pints converter. For cup sizes in millilitres, use the cups to millilitres converter.
What is the difference between a liquid quart and a dry quart?
Capacity and purpose. A liquid quart is 0.946 litres and measures liquids. A dry quart is 1.101 litres, and the US packaging regulation calls for dry measure when the goods in the package are dry[4]. Both split their own gallon into four, and the whole series of dry measures is described on the quarts to gallons converter.
Is a quart roughly a litre?
A US quart is 0.946 litres, 54 millilitres short of a litre. An imperial quart is 1.137 litres, 137 millilitres over it. On a single package that difference is small. Across twenty quarts, the capacity of a jerrycan, it comes to more than a litre.
How many quarts are in a barrel of oil?
A barrel is 42 US gallons, which comes to 168 quarts and 158.99 litres. Pennsylvania oil producers set that size: around 1866 they began selling crude by the gallon, and in 1872 their association adopted the 42-gallon barrel as the standard[5].
Have a question or a suggestion?
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