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Home Cheat Sheets: 2.31 or .433?

Cheat Sheets: 2.31 or .433?

The number may be different, but the result is the same

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By Larry Bachus
September 26, 2010
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No, its not a new song by the band Chicago. (Remember 25 or 6, 2, 4?) These numbers are the conversion factors that
relate pump head with pressure. As established in my previous column (Pump Secrets Lost in Time, Jan. 08, page 36),
head is a measure of energy. The units of energy are expressed in feet or meters. Pressure is a force applied to a unit of area,
such as a pound of force applied to a square inch of area, or PSI. For water, we can say that head in feet divided by 2.31 is
pressure in PSI, and pressure in PSI multiplied by 2.31 is head in feet. Stated mathematically:
Head (ft.)/2.31 = PSI and PSI x 2.31 = Head (feet)
It is equally correct to convert head into pressure and vice versa with the factor .433. Head in feet multiplied by .433 is
pressure in PSI, and pressure divided by .433 is head in feet. Mathematically:
Head (feet) x .433 = PSI and PSI/.433 = Head (feet)

Larry Bachus
(a.k.a. "Pump Guy"

Math-challenged people may find it easier to divide by 2.31, rather than multiplying by a decimal, but the result is the same.
Where does the conversion number 2.31 come from? A cubic foot of ambient water weighs 62.4 pounds. A square foot of area contains 144 in2. If
we divide one by the other, we get our conversion number 2.31 (i.e., 144/62.4 = 2.31) (Figure 1). Remember, some people prefer .433, the other
conversion: 62.4/144 = .433. Here is another way to understand the same concept. If I poured one pound of ambient water into a long, narrow
receptacle that measures one in2, the water would fill that receptacle to a height of 2.31 feet (Figure 2).

Here is a practical example. See the picture on page 42. This waterfall is at the eastern escarpment in South Africa. Some Tarzan movies were
filmed here. Tarzan would jump off the waterfall to the river below and wrestle a rubber crocodile, while Cheeta the chimp danced and did back
flips on the shore.
These falls drop 213 feet to the river below. What is the pressure of the falling water column as it strikes the surface of the river below?
213 feet/2.31 = 92 PSI or 213 feet x .433 = 92 PSI.

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The falling water column strikes the river down below at 92 PSI. (Youd have to
make a small correction for the acceleration and the wind resistance, so it isnt
precisely 92 PSI.)
With pumps, a standard water pump developing 70 feet of head would exhibit 30
PSI of differential pressure across the pump (i.e., 70 feet/2.31 = 30 PSI.
The term head is the constant for the pump manufacturer. A pump that develops
or generates 70 feet of head can elevate any liquid 70 feet. If you think of the
pumps performance in head, it doesnt matter what the liquid is. It could be any
liquid from liquid propane to liquid mercury.
For ambient water, divide feet of head by 2.31 (or multiply by .433). If the liquid is
not water, then you must factor the specific gravity of the liquid.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Specific gravity is the relative density of a liquid compared to water. We say that ambient water (at sea
level) has a specific gravity of 1.0. Another liquid might be denser (heavier) or less dense than water. For
example, sulfuric acid is twice as dense as ambient water; it has a specific gravity of 2.0.
Returning to the pump that develops 70 feet of head if pumping sulfuric acid, the pump will exhibit 60
PSI across the pump (i.e., 70 feet/2.31 x sp. gr.(2) = 60 PSI).
Gasoline has a specific gravity of 0.75. This means an equal volume of gasoline would weigh or 75
percent the weight of water.
Returning to that same pump that develops 70 feet of head if gasoline is the liquid, the differential
pressure across the pump will be 23 PSI (i.e., 70 feet/2.31 x sp. gr. (0.75) = 23 PSI.
Its easier in the metric system. Meters of head x 10 = kilopascals of pressure.
The maintenance engineer or mechanic must understand head to converse with the pump manufacturer. The maintenance engineer must also know
how to relate head (on the pump curve) to the pressure in the pipes.
Rip these pages, copy them and share them, or store this edition of Flow Control in a safe place for future reference. This is your CHEAT SHEET

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of useful pump information. Therell be more next month.

Larry Bachus, founder of pump services firm Bachus Company Inc., is a regular contributor to Flow Control magazine. He is a pump consultant,
lecturer, and inventor based in Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Bachus is a member of ASME and lectures in both English and Spanish. He can be reached at
larry@bachusinc.com or 615 361-7295.
www.bachusinc.com

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