You must have come across the term “pint” more than once; perhaps you have heard of it when buying the small milk containers from your local grocery store or sometimes you probably catch a pint of beer on your way home. But most often, you will find the word “pint” on refrigerant dehumidifiers? So what exactly is a pint? How much is it?
A pint is basically a unit of measurement for liquids. It measures the volume or capacity and is commonly used in the United Kingdom, United States, and other several states. It is difficult to understand exactly how much is a pint, but why?
When the unit was first introduced it was referred to as 1/8 of a gallon. Considering that different gallons have different capacities; you can guess the level of confusion that existed.
So, there are aspects of the pint that have not been understood up to now, especially in relation to dehumidifiers.
Let’s learn about them.
How Much is a Pint in Oz?
- 1 US pint (American pint) = 473 ml = 0.125 gallons = 16 fl oz
- 1 UK pint (Imperial pint) = 568 ml = 0.15 gallons = 20 fl oz
First, UK and US pint measurements vary and feared to bring more confusions if they are not well explained.
Here is a brief explanation:
Pints in the US are basically of two types; the first one is the liquid pint which measures approx. 473 ml, about 0.124 gallons or 16 US fluid ounces and the second one that is commonly used is the dry pint that is about 551 ml or 0.145 gallons. The UK pint is approximately equivalent to 568ml or 0.15 gallons or 20 imperial fluid ounces.
So why does the UK and US pint measurements differ? Are there any confusions as well?
Well, the confusion is really buried in the UK and US pint history. Briefly, there was a time in the 18th century that the US adopted the UK wine gallon which had some equivalence of some pint units. Later, in the 19th century, the UK decided to change their gallon measurements. The US remained with their previous units of measurements which explains why pint in the US is different from that of the UK.
You should understand this history to be in a better position to understand why your dehumidifier from the UK might have a different capacity to that of your neighbor from the USA.
The Pint and the Dehumidifier
The capacity of dehumidifier is expressed in pints/24 hours instead of just pints because of two factors:
- The size of the area that needs dehumidification
- The conditions of the space that need dehumidification.
This means the capacity of the dehumidifier expressed in pints is its ability to extract moisture from the subject area. So if you have a 10-pint dehumidifier, it means it can extract moisture in the area, equivalent to 10 pints in 24 hours.
Thus, the pint measurement of the dehumidifier is the direct function of the size of the space it can serve effectively.
Final Words
Knowing how much a pint is really important when dealing with the best dehumidifiers. This is because people who intend to purchase dehumidifiers may confuse its size for its dimensions. Now, it is clear that the size really doesn’t matter but the dehumidifier’s capacity does, which is measured in pints.
So, if you get a UK dehumidifier with 10 pints capacity and US dehumidifier with the same capacity, you will be in a better position to choose what you want.
All in all, a pint is a liquid measure of the dehumidifier’s capacity in terms of space per square footage and conditions it can dehumidify for a specific period of time. Ordinarily, it is a liquid basic unit of measure.