Liters to Pounds & Ounces Converter

How to Convert Liters to Pounds

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Since liters are a unit of volume and pounds are a unit of mass, which are different physical quantities, we need to know one more physical quantity of the ingredient or substance to convert between them. In this case, we need to account for the density of the substance whenever we do a conversion.

Therefore, to convert between liters and pounds of an ingredient or substance, we must either multiply or divide by its density, depending on which direction we are performing the conversion.

Liters to Pounds Formula

To convert a measurement in liters to pounds, multiply the volume by the density of the ingredient or material. Note that in order for this to work, the density must be in pounds per liter (lb/L).

If the density is given in grams per milliliter (g/mL), then first multiply the density by 2.2046 to convert to lb/L.

For a density given in g/mL, you can use this simple formula to convert:

pounds = liters × 2.2046 × density

Thus, the weight in pounds is equal to the volume in liters multiplied by 2.2046 times the density (in g/mL) of the ingredient, substance, or material.

For example, here's how to convert 5 liters to pounds for an ingredient with a density of 0.7 g/mL.

pounds = 5 L × 2.2046 × 0.7 g/mL = 7.7162 lb

When to Convert Liters to Pounds

Liters and pounds are both commonly used to measure cooking ingredients.

For cooking applications, most chefs suggest measuring dry ingredients by weight rather than volume to improve accuracy in the measurements.^[1] The density of dry ingredients can vary for a variety of reasons, such as compaction and clumping.

The best way to ensure an accurate conversion is to use a scale. When a scale is not available, a calculator like the one above is a good way to estimate the volume to weight conversion.

Another useful application of weight and volume conversions is chemistry. When performing chemical reactions by combining separate chemicals to produce a new chemical, one must know the exact amount of each chemical to add in order to maximize the yield of the reaction.

It is common to mix powdered chemicals with liquid, or aqueous, chemicals, and this is where it becomes very useful to convert between weights and volumes.^[2]

A third application of weight and volume conversions is when shipping freight when calculating the volumetric weight for cargo and packages. Trucks, ships, and airplanes are limited in the amount of weight or volume they can transport, so if one of those quantities is known, but the limitation is on the other, then it becomes necessary to convert between the two so as not to overload the shipping vehicle.

Keep reading to learn more about each unit of measure.

How Many Pounds Are in a Liter?

The actual weight of a liter will vary depending on the density of the material. The table below shows how many pounds of various wet and dry ingredients are in a liter.

Liter measurements converted to pounds for commonly used cooking and baking ingredients.
Volume in Liters:	Weight in Pounds of:
Volume in Liters:	Water	Milk	Cooking Oil	All Purpose Flour	Granulated Sugar
1 L	2.2046 lb	2.2708 lb	1.9401 lb	1.1662 lb	1.8637 lb
2 L	4.4092 lb	4.5415 lb	3.8801 lb	2.3325 lb	3.7274 lb
3 L	6.6139 lb	6.8123 lb	5.8202 lb	3.4987 lb	5.591 lb
4 L	8.8185 lb	9.083 lb	7.7603 lb	4.665 lb	7.4547 lb
5 L	11.02 lb	11.35 lb	9.7003 lb	5.8312 lb	9.3184 lb
6 L	13.23 lb	13.62 lb	11.64 lb	6.9975 lb	11.18 lb
7 L	15.43 lb	15.9 lb	13.58 lb	8.1637 lb	13.05 lb
8 L	17.64 lb	18.17 lb	15.52 lb	9.33 lb	14.91 lb
9 L	19.84 lb	20.44 lb	17.46 lb	10.5 lb	16.77 lb
10 L	22.05 lb	22.71 lb	19.4 lb	11.66 lb	18.64 lb
11 L	24.25 lb	24.98 lb	21.34 lb	12.83 lb	20.5 lb
12 L	26.46 lb	27.25 lb	23.28 lb	13.99 lb	22.36 lb
13 L	28.66 lb	29.52 lb	25.22 lb	15.16 lb	24.23 lb
14 L	30.86 lb	31.79 lb	27.16 lb	16.33 lb	26.09 lb
15 L	33.07 lb	34.06 lb	29.1 lb	17.49 lb	27.96 lb
16 L	35.27 lb	36.33 lb	31.04 lb	18.66 lb	29.82 lb
17 L	37.48 lb	38.6 lb	32.98 lb	19.83 lb	31.68 lb
18 L	39.68 lb	40.87 lb	34.92 lb	20.99 lb	33.55 lb
19 L	41.89 lb	43.14 lb	36.86 lb	22.16 lb	35.41 lb
20 L	44.09 lb	45.42 lb	38.8 lb	23.32 lb	37.27 lb
21 L	46.3 lb	47.69 lb	40.74 lb	24.49 lb	39.14 lb
22 L	48.5 lb	49.96 lb	42.68 lb	25.66 lb	41 lb
23 L	50.71 lb	52.23 lb	44.62 lb	26.82 lb	42.86 lb
24 L	52.91 lb	54.5 lb	46.56 lb	27.99 lb	44.73 lb
25 L	55.12 lb	56.77 lb	48.5 lb	29.16 lb	46.59 lb
26 L	57.32 lb	59.04 lb	50.44 lb	30.32 lb	48.46 lb
27 L	59.52 lb	61.31 lb	52.38 lb	31.49 lb	50.32 lb
28 L	61.73 lb	63.58 lb	54.32 lb	32.65 lb	52.18 lb
29 L	63.93 lb	65.85 lb	56.26 lb	33.82 lb	54.05 lb
30 L	66.14 lb	68.12 lb	58.2 lb	34.99 lb	55.91 lb
31 L	68.34 lb	70.39 lb	60.14 lb	36.15 lb	57.77 lb
32 L	70.55 lb	72.66 lb	62.08 lb	37.32 lb	59.64 lb
33 L	72.75 lb	74.94 lb	64.02 lb	38.49 lb	61.5 lb
34 L	74.96 lb	77.21 lb	65.96 lb	39.65 lb	63.37 lb
35 L	77.16 lb	79.48 lb	67.9 lb	40.82 lb	65.23 lb
36 L	79.37 lb	81.75 lb	69.84 lb	41.98 lb	67.09 lb
37 L	81.57 lb	84.02 lb	71.78 lb	43.15 lb	68.96 lb
38 L	83.78 lb	86.29 lb	73.72 lb	44.32 lb	70.82 lb
39 L	85.98 lb	88.56 lb	75.66 lb	45.48 lb	72.68 lb
40 L	88.18 lb	90.83 lb	77.6 lb	46.65 lb	74.55 lb

What Is a Liter?

A liter is a unit of volume equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters or 0.264172 US gallons.^[3] The liter is a special name defined for the cubic decimeter and is exactly equal to the volume of one cubic decimeter (1 decimeter is 1/10 of a meter, or 10 centimeters).

The liter is an SI accepted unit for volume for use with the metric system. A liter is sometimes also referred to as a litre. Liters can be abbreviated as L, and are also sometimes abbreviated as l or ℓ. For example, 1 liter can be written as 1 L, 1 l, or 1 ℓ.

Learn more about liters.

What Is a Pound?

Pounds are a widely used unit of weight in the United States. The National Bureau of Standards approved the international definition of the pound for use in the United States in 1959 after an agreement between six nations referred to as the International Yard and Pound Agreement.^[4]

One pound is equal to 16 ounces, or 0.45359237 kilograms. In the avoirdupois or apothecaries' systems, one pound is equal to 7,000 grains.^[5]

The pound is a US customary and imperial unit of mass. A pound is sometimes also referred to as a common ounce. Pounds can be abbreviated as lb (plural lbs), and are also sometimes abbreviated as lb_m or #. For example, 1 pound can be written as 1 lb, 1 lb_m, or 1 #, and 2 pounds can be written as 2 lbs.

A pound is also frequently referred to as a unit of weight. While technically, a pound is a measure of mass, and weight is actually a measure of force, the two are equivalent as long as we are performing our calculations on Earth.

For example, an object with a mass of 1 pound weighs 1 pound on Earth, but only weighs one-sixth of that on the moon, yet still has the same mass.

Learn more about pounds.

Liters to Pounds & Ounces Conversion Calculator

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