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Pot size confuses me.
- Thread starter AJ Drew
- Start date
from http://americanhort.org/documents/ansi_nursery_stock_standards_americanhort_2014.pdf
1 gal = 231 Cubic Inches
#1 container may be smaller or larger than 1 gal
you must choose the right manufacturer who manufactures a pot the size you want
Nope. But have seen people confuse the pot number system with volume. Scroll to bottom of this link for their chart: http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/elite-nursery-container/nursery-potsjuanitos said:
Five gallon "Trade Size" has an actual volume of 3.8 gallons.
One gallon "Trade Size" has an actual volume of 3 quarts.
Someone in another forum gave me the strangest explanation. She might be goofing with me. It might be urban legend. But here goes. After WWII, there were US manufacturers who had a huge surplus of the cans they used for K rations. A gallon would hold a gallon of food, a five gallon would hold five gallons of food. But because the war was over, the government wasnt ordering K rations. So they got stuck with tons of these standard sized cans. To get rid of them, they punched holes in the bottoms and sold them as plant pots.
So many were sold, that a standard was set for their size. Ah but when they ran out, new production was tapered so they would stack for easy shipping and storage. So the normal outer diameter of the food container became the top diameter of the tapered pots. The size people called one gallon kept on being called that even though being tapered it only held 3 quarts.
Is it true? I dunno but I know if I buy a five gallon plant pot it is much smaller than a five gallon bucket of paint.
Oh damn that is funny on so many levels. Biggest one being this is a 'standard'.floricole said:
I posted that explanation here, and on Gardenweb a long time ago. That is the explanation I was told by my college horticulture teacher, David McLean. http://thehotpepper.com/topic/38473-5-gallon-pots-are-not-5-gallons-word/?p=805194ajdrew said:
Oh damn I like that one even better. I suspect all are likely bs, but I like that one more.thegreenman said:
The story gets better. Someone pointed me to a story of how Lowes has been sued and lost 1.6 million over exactly what you just mentioned.hot stuff said:
http://www.marinij.com/article/ZZ/20140827/NEWS/140827791
Yeah, but I'm thinking they must have had boards that were even less than industry standards, in which a 2x4 is not really a 2x4. If they were sued for the industry standard of a 2x4 which is not a 2x4 then the whole industry has been turned on their heads and a lot of new labels are going to have to me made for every store.ajdrew said:
floricole said:
from http://americanhort.org/documents/ansi_nursery_stock_standards_americanhort_2014.pdf
1 gal = 231 Cubic Inches
#1 container may be smaller or larger than 1 gal
you must choose the right manufacturer who manufactures a pot the size you want
Good reference.
Interesting that although the standard states:
"The volume ranges for container classes #1 through #100 include the volume of a container that, if such a container were
manufactured, would hold the equivalent number of gallons as the container class number.",
there is a wide range of values for each size.
The standard then adds the disclaimer:
"Standard users should refer to container manufacturers volume specifications for compliance
with the Standard."
So, although there are established standards, they are not very precise.
ajdrew said:
This is what I call a California money grab. Nominal vs actual sizes have been around for a long time. If people don't know about it when they purchase stuff, then that's on them to find out. Someone in those four California counties were looking for, and found, an easy mark. Instead of suggesting that the legislators legislate, they sue someone. Typical in the land of fruits and nuts.