Dry Converter

Ever tried to measure a bag of flour, a bucket of grain, or a pile of sand and wondered why the numbers never seem to match up? Dry materials don’t act like liquids — a cup of rice won’t weigh the same as a cup of oats, and a bushel of corn can tip the scales far heavier than a bushel of apples. The way solids settle, absorb moisture, or even trap air can change their weight and volume, making conversions tricky. That’s why people who cook, farm, or work with raw materials rely on standardized dry conversions to keep recipes, harvests, and projects on track.

What Are Dry Measurements?

Dry measurements are used to quantify solid ingredients and materials — from grains and flour to sand and soil — by weight, volume, or both. Unlike liquids, which take the shape of their container and remain consistent, dry materials behave differently. Their weight and volume can shift depending on how tightly they’re packed, how much moisture they contain, and even the size of the particles¹.

Take flour as an example: a cup of sifted flour can weigh up to 20% less than a cup scooped straight from the bag. The same rule applies to bulk materials — a bushel of corn, defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, weighs 56 pounds, while a bushel of oats weighs just 32 pounds². These variations make standardized conversions essential, especially in cooking, agriculture, and construction.

Globally, two main systems are used for dry measurements:

• Metric system – grams, kilograms, liters, cubic meters (used in most countries).

• Imperial and U.S. customary system – ounces, pounds, bushels, cubic feet (primarily in the United States).

Because there is no single density value for all solids, official charts and reference data from agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are often used to ensure accurate conversions³.

💡 Fun Fact: “According to the USDA Grain Standards, a bushel isn’t a fixed volume — its weight changes by crop. A bushel of soybeans is set at 60 pounds, while a bushel of oats weighs only 32 pounds.”⁴

If you’re looking for quick, precise unit changes while reading, you can explore our Conversion Tools for instant results as you go.

Units Used in Dry Conversions

Dry goods are measured using a wide range of units, from modern metric and U.S. customary measures to historical and even Biblical units that still appear in trade records and research. Accurate conversion is crucial because many of these units represent specific volumes but can vary by substance when converted to weight.

Here’s a list of commonly used dry units and their equivalents in liters:

• 1 barrel dry (US) [bbl dry (US)] = 115.6271236039 liters [L, l]

• 1 pint dry (US) [pt dry (US)] = 0.5506104714 liters [L, l]

• 1 quart dry (US) [qt dry (US)] = 1.1012209428 liters [L, l]

• 1 peck (US) [pk (US)] = 8.8097675424 liters [L, l]

• 1 peck (UK) [pk (UK)] = 9.09218 liters [L, l]

• 1 bushel (US) [bu (US)] = 35.2390701696 liters [L, l]

• 1 bushel (UK) [bu (UK)] = 36.36872 liters [L, l]

Historical and cultural research also makes use of Biblical-era dry units, which have been standardized into modern liter values for reference:

• 1 cor (Biblical) = 219.9999892918 liters [L, l]

• 1 homer (Biblical) = 219.9999892918 liters [L, l]

• 1 ephah (Biblical) = 21.9999989292 liters [L, l]

• 1 seah (Biblical) = 7.3333329764 liters [L, l]

• 1 omer (Biblical) = 2.1999998929 liters [L, l]

• 1 cab (Biblical) = 1.2222221627 liters [L, l]

• 1 log (Biblical) = 0.3055555407 liters [L, l]
  

All of these conversions use the modern SI definition of the liter and are verified against official standards published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and, for agricultural units like bushels and pecks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)⁵⁶.

🔎 Fun Fact:
“The homer, a Biblical unit equal to about 220 liters, was roughly the load a donkey could carry — making it one of the earliest examples of a ‘practical’ measurement tied to everyday life.”⁷

How Dry Conversions Are Calculated

Converting dry measurements isn’t as straightforward as converting liquids. While a liter of water will always weigh roughly one kilogram at standard conditions, a liter of flour, rice, or gravel can vary widely in weight. That’s because dry conversions often rely on more than just volume — density, moisture content, and how a material settles all play major roles⁸.

For example:

• One liter of wheat weighs about 0.77 kilograms (770 grams) under USDA standard test weight conditions.

• One liter of dry sand can weigh over 1.5 kilograms, nearly twice as heavy, due to particle density and how tightly grains pack together.

• One liter of oats weighs far less than corn because oats are lighter, less dense, and have more air space between kernels⁹.

To make conversions consistent, industries use reference density values from official agencies, such as the USDA Grain Standards and tables maintained by NIST. These reference weights ensure that a bushel, for example, represents the same mass everywhere — 56 pounds for corn, 60 pounds for soybeans — even though the actual volume (about 35 liters) remains fixed¹⁰.

For more on saving time and reducing errors in your measurements, check out our Weight Converter and read our guide on Hybrid vs. Gas Car Cost Savings or Energy-Efficient Driving Tips for more ways to cut costs across your projects.

👉 Fact Check:
“According to the USDA, the ‘test weight’ of grains — measured in pounds per bushel — has been standardized since the early 20th century to make trade fair across states and markets, regardless of moisture or crop variety.”¹¹

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Handbook 44: Specifications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices (2023 Edition)

2. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). United States Standards for Grain (2023). 

3. NIST Weights and Measures Division. SI and U.S. Customary Measurement Systems. 

4. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Official Grain Weight Standards by Commodity.

5. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). SI and U.S. Customary Units for Volume and Capacity (2023).

6. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). United States Standards for Grain and Related Dry Measurements (2023). 

7. Israeli Antiquities Authority. Ancient Measures and Biblical References. 

8. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Density and Conversion Factors for Solids and Bulk Commodities (2023).

9. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Grain Test Weights by Commodity (2023).

10. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Standard Bushel Weights and Trade Regulations (2023). Available at: https://www.ams.usda.gov

11. Library of Congress. History of U.S. Agricultural Measurement Standards.