English wine cask units - photo

[Altair]

English wine cask units.




Previously:

Making wine barrels - video
Charring oak whiskey barrels - GIF
Barrel washing machine - photo
Barrel hoop driver - photo
Bourbon barrel forklift - GIF

[EnginePaul]

I now know what a Butt-load is!

[cmarlow]

You can put a butt-load in a half tun.

[neilbourjaily]

You can put a butt-load in a half tun.

So, then, a a 1/2 tun is a butt-load of fun?

[mklotz]

Only in the insanity of inferial systems could expressions like...

Eight firkins to a hogshead

occcur.

Incidentally, it's not any better in the USA, although there the colorful names that evoke characters from ancient fables are absent...

There are seven different barrel sizes used in the USA, with the size being dependent on the contents. Their names and metric equivalents are as follows: US cranberry (95.5 liters), US dry (115.628 liters), US liquid (119.24 liters), US federal (117.348 liters), US federal proof spirits (151.416 liters), US drum (208.4 liters), US petroleum (135 kg.), US petroleum statistical (158.99 liters).

[cmarlow]

From Wikipedia:

This article is about the imperial and United States customary unit of mass. For the metric unit, see Tonne. For other uses, see Ton (disambiguation).
ton
One-ton weight.svg
General information
Unit system
British imperial
US customary
Unit of Mass
Symbol t
Conversions
1 t in ... ... is equal to ...
SI derived unit 1016.0469 kg (long)
SI derived unit 907.18474 kg (short)
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight. Its original use as a measurement of volume has continued in the capacity of cargo ships and in terms such as the freight ton. Recent specialized uses include the ton as a measure of energy and for truck classification. It is also a colloquial term, "ton" (any definition) is the heaviest unit of weight typically used in colloquial speech. It is also used informally to mean a large amount of something, material or not.

In the United Kingdom, the (Imperial) ton is a statute measure, defined as 2,240 pounds (about 1,016 kg).[a][1]

In the United States and Canada,[2] a ton is defined to be 2,000 pounds (907.18474 kg).

Where confusion is possible, the 2240 lb ton is called "long ton" and the 2000 lb ton "short ton". The 1000 kg tonne is distinguished by its spelling, but in the US and UK it is pronounced the same as ton, hence the US term "metric ton". In the UK the final "e" of "tonne" can also be pronounced (/ˈtʌni/),[3] or "metric ton" when it is necessary to make the distinction. In Australia, it is pronounced /tɒn/ to rhyme with John.

Where precision is required the correct term should be used, as the difference between the short and long tons is 11.3%, and the short and metric tons is 9.7%. But for the metric and long tons precision may not be as necessary as they differ by only 1.6%.

The term "ton" is also used to refer to a number of units of volume, ranging from 35 to 100 cubic feet (0.99 to 2.83 m3) in capacity. It can also be used as a unit of energy, or in refrigeration as a unit of power, sometimes called a ton of refrigeration.

[mklotz]

Conversation overheard between evil-minded designers of inferial measurement systems...

Unit progressions by powers of two is too predictable; let's throw 1/6 and 1/14 in the middle. It'll confound everyone.

Yes, and let's make some of the unit names homophones with other squirrely units used to measure a different physical entity.

And let's have different names and sizes for every material that can be put into the barrels.

Genius. OK, we're done here. Let's move onto our commission to design a money system for the British. How about pricing everything with a coin that isn't minted any more?