MATHEMATICS

[INQUISITOR63]

How do you calculate the litres of oil in a tank from the dimensions of width and length and height of oil level and hence the current volume of the tank.
This was no problem to me in school days but memory is shortened when you get older. Also I think you would need to know the SG of heating oil as well .... best of luck and let me know your calculations please ..

[rojash]

WxLxH in metres gives volume in litres

[The Builder]

roj ............ shouldn't that be ....... WxLxH x 1000?

[rojash]

Oops! You're right Mr B

[jd_here]

I just dip it, and if it needs filling, I fill it!

[theprof]

Yes, it should The Builder as WxLxH gives the tank capacity in cubic metres not litres. There are 1000 litres in each cubic metre. See the following link:

http://www.commercial...uk/pages.php?pageid=2

I would add that if you have domestic heating oil in mind for volumetric calculations, the SG can vary due to variations in the quantities and types of distillates in the mix, so don't take the figure of 0.82 mentioned in the link too literally.

[vascop]

Since a litre is a 1000 cubic centimetres, if the dimensions are in centimetres then the capacity in litres is (W x L x H)/1000
So if W=20 cms, L=50 cms and H=80 cms the capacity in litres is
20 x 50 x 80/1000 = 80,000/1000=80 litres
So rojash your formula is wrong.
If the dimensions are in metres then rojash's solution gives the capacity a thousand times too small and so I agree with the Builder.

[New Judge]

And the SG of the liquid is irrelevant.


Litres are units of volume. A litre of water is the same as a litre of mercury. They have a different mass, but the same volume.

[theprof]

New Judge, the SG of the liquid may be far from irrelevant.

It should be noted that the OP does not state in his question precisely why he/she considers that the SG may be relevant.

Let's give due consideration to the fact that it's possible the OP required the SG in order to calculate the total mass of the tank including the heating oil. Whilst this may not be the case, you should concede that it is at least a possibility in the absence of further information and give it the consideration it deserves. Under these circumstances, the SG is of considerable importance.

A litre of water is not the same as a litre of mercury unless you remove the full stop at the end of the word mercury in your post and replace it with a semi-colon.

[DTCwordfan]

weight version is 0.84 per litre if using diesel heating oil, .82 if it is kerosene.

[THECORBYLOON]

A litre was defined in terms of 1kg of water under specified condtions but the new definition of 1,000cc means its a wee bit less than it used to be.

[theprof]

It depends on the composition DTcrosswordfan.

Many years ago when I was a student taking my first chemistry degree, I worked in the lab of a major UK Oil Refinery. The refinery produced "heating oil" and it left the refinery in tankers en route to customers. Hourly production samples were taken of all distillates produced and heating oil was deemed satisfactory if it fell within a certain SG range. There is no set SG for it as it's in essence a very crude mix of a number of distillates.

See the SG quoted in Section 9 on the following link as you should see that the same applies nowadays.

http://www.celticfueloils.co.uk/kerosene/

[sandyRoe]

If a 1000 litre oil tank was filled with water would it then weigh a metric tonne? How much lighter would it be if filled with oil?

[DTCwordfan]

though you are right y quoted numbers are what Shell and Exxon uses for conversions. .74 for super gasoline, .72 for regular, .54 for LPG (recognising that this is a mix of C3 and C4), .9 for Fuel Oil, .86 for Marine Diesel.

[DTCwordfan]

the contents would weigh approx 820 to 840kg Sandy depending on the diesel to kero ratio.....

[DTCwordfan]

and for the pedants at 15 degrees C and one atmos.

[THECORBYLOON]

Sandy, 1000L of water is about 28g less than a tonne.

[theprof]

DTCrosswordfan, whilst the figures you quote may well be the figures provided by Exxon and Shell, they are not those of heating oil. Kerosine for example is used as "heating oil" and is a very rough mix of C9-C16 hydrocarbons in no specific proportions. Therefore a precise SG for kerosene cannot exist. I think you may have misunderstood the purpose of the figures provided.

[theprof]

Incidentally, why should there be a diesel to kero ratio? Heating Oil is not necessarily a mix of the two.

The fact that you are aware that we are discussing a mix in an unspecified, potentially variable proportion confirms that must be aware that a specific SG cannot be assigned to that mix.

[theprof]

Oops typo there. It should read:

"The fact that you are aware that we are discussing a mix in an unspecified, potentially variable proportion confirms that you must be aware that a specific SG cannot be assigned to that mix".

[rov1100]

Unlike a petrol tank the oil delivery driver usually fills it up to about 5" from the top. Moral is: if you have a 1000 litre tank don't initially order 1000 litres.