liters per minute to US gallons per minute

European plumbing fixtures are rated in liters per minute; American ones in gallons per minute — same faucet, two unit worlds. The bridge is 0.2641720523581484, the exact number of US gallons in one liter, carried forward per minute. A kitchen faucet that flows 8 L/min is a 2.11 GPM faucet; a European shower spec of 12 L/min is 3.17 GPM on the American box.

By EnginStack Engineering Team | Verified by engineers, built on NIST metrology standards About →
liters per minute
8 US gallons per minute
8 liters per minute = 2.11337642 US gallons per minute 8 US gallons per minute = 30.28329427 liters per minute

Authority: NIST SP 811 (SI usage guide) and the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement. The coefficient above is a defined value — it does not come from measurement and carries no uncertainty.

liters per minute to US gallons per minute

The factor is exact because the US gallon is legally 231 cubic inches — 3.785411784 liters — so one liter per minute is 1/3.785411784 = 0.2641720523581484 US gallons per minute. No approximation anywhere in the chain. Plumbing codes, pump curves, and fixture flow ratings cross this line constantly: a European pump datasheet in L/min meets an American fixture spec in GPM, and the difference between them is a number with thirteen significant digits that nobody guesses correctly.

US gallons per minute = liters per minute × 0.2641720523581484
1 L/min = 0.2641720524 GPM — the 231 in³ gallon per liter
The factor is exact: 1 US gal = 3.785411784 L.

Common liters per minute to US gallons per minute Conversions

liters per minuteUS gallons per minuteContext
1 L/min0.2642 GPMThe definitional anchor.
8 L/min2.11 GPMA typical kitchen faucet.
12 L/min3.17 GPMA European shower head.
100 L/min26.4 GPMA small transfer pump.
500 L/min132.1 GPMA fire-fighting pump.

Engineering Context

Flow rate is volume per time, so this page inherits its anchor from the liters to gallons volume converter — the same 3.785411784 constant, per minute instead of per volume. The flow rate hub collects the full family, and the GPM to L/min page runs this factor backward. For the pump side of the equation, the pressure hub has the head-and-pressure converters.

More: GPM to L/min · L/min to m³/h · L to gal · Flow Rate Hub

Related Unit Converters

Gpm To L Min L Min To M3 H Liters To Gallons Flow Rate Converters

Frequently Asked Questions

How many GPM is 1 L/min?

Exactly 0.2641720524. One US gallon is 3.785411784 L by definition (231 in³), so one liter per minute is 1/3.785411784 gallons per minute.

Is the imperial gallon different for flow rates?

Yes — the imperial gallon is 4.54609 L, about 20% larger than the US gallon. A flow rated in imperial GPM is 1.2× the same number in US GPM. Always confirm which gallon a pump spec uses.

How do I convert L/min to GPM by hand?

Multiply by 0.264 for a mental estimate (within 0.07%). For exact work use 0.2641720523581484, or divide by 3.785411784 — the two operations are identical.