Pressure Converter

How this converter works

All pressures convert through kilopascals. One psi is 6.8948 kPa, one bar is 100 kPa, one standard atmosphere is 101.325 kPa, and a foot of water column is 2.989 kPa, or about 0.4335 psi. Feet of water is the unit used for well and pump head, which is why pump curves list it. Enter a value, choose the units and read the result.

Common values

A worked example

A pressure tank switch set at 40/60 psi is 276/414 kPa. Water pressure of 50 psi is about 115 feet of water head, so a pump must overcome that height plus friction. A canner set at 11 psi to process at low altitude is 76 kPa.

Common mix-ups

• Do not confuse psi with psia. A pressure gauge reads psig, relative to the atmosphere.
• The canning pressures required rise with altitude. Use the canning altitude calculator and a tested recipe, and never use a converter to change a recipe's pressure.
• In the US, bar and kPa are used on some imported equipment and tyre gauges.

Where these numbers come from

Conversion factors are standard definitions: 1 psi = 6,894.757 pascals, 1 bar = 100,000 pascals, 1 atm = 101,325 pascals, and 1 foot of water at about 4 degrees Celsius = 2,989 pascals.