ASTM D1250
Table 53B look-up
Type the hydrometer reading and the temperature. You get the density at 15 °C, as the table gives it.
Need the spec check and the volume factor too? Use the density at 15 °C calculator. Checking a tanker? Use the density variation calculator.
How the reading is taken
- Take a sample in a clean glass jar and let the hydrometer float free. Read the scale at the level of the fuel.
- Read the thermometer in the same jar at the same time.
- Type both figures above. The answer is the density at 15 °C.
- Write it in the density register. At receipt, compare it with the invoice density: the difference must stay within ±3.0 kg/m³.
More: what Table 53B is, the full routine and Table 53B against 54B.
Where the answer comes from
It covers readings from 685 to 929 kg/m³ and temperatures from 0 to 50 °C, the range petrol and diesel fall in. We hold every figure to the formula the table is built on; they agree within 0.1 kg/m³ for petrol and diesel from 10 to 50 °C. The Dip Density app gives the same answer, offline.
Questions
What is ASTM Table 53B?
Table 53B of ASTM D1250 turns a hydrometer reading taken at any temperature into the density the fuel would have at 15 °C. It is the table for refined products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.
How is Table 53B read?
The hydrometer reading runs along the top and the temperature down the side; where the column and the row meet is the density at 15 °C. Between two printed figures it is read in a straight line. This look-up does that for you.
Which table do Indian oil companies use?
The Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 tell the dealer to find the density at 15 °C with ASTM Table 53B and compare it with the invoice density.
Can I get a copy of the table?
ASTM publishes the Petroleum Measurement Tables, and your oil company issues the table to its dealers. This site gives you the answer for your reading, not the table.