What is the purpose of a 4.4 litre oil container?

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I've been looking at oils at Canadian Tire and Walmart recently. It struck me how odd we have it here in bottle sizes. Some are in US quarts, some in US gallons, many in 1 litre bottles and 5 litre jugs, rare 5 US gallon pails (18.9 litres), only one 2.5 gallon jug (Rotella T), and then quite a few in 4.4 litre jugs.

Why does engine oil come in 4.4 litre jugs?

It seems like a odd number for a one-bottle-per-engine type of size, it calculates to 4.65 US quarts, or 3.89 Imperial quarts. Do the oil companies spec bottle sizes, or do the bottle manufacturers have standard sizes the oil companies use, perhaps cheaper than custom sizes?
 
I have no idea why. Wakefield Canada and Imperial Oil use them for some reason. I haven't seen Shell use them up here. The 4.4 L sizes aren't really oddball when it comes to Imperial Oil or Wakefield. Castrol at most places up here is in 4.4 L containers or occasional 5 L ones, with some 4 L ones. All Imperial Oil PCMO jugs are 4.4 L capacity, with occasional 4 L ones offered. If you go to the Imperial Oil distributor and want jugs of PCMO, you'll get 4.4 L ones.
 
4.4 liters is almost exactly 4 (3.995) US quarts (dry measure). Why anyone would sell oil in a unit designed for strawberries I won't venture a guess.
 
4.4 Liters ~ = 4.65 Quarts liquid measure.

Down here most Jug type containers are stated like this:

Quote:
5 US Quarts/1.25 Gal./4.73 Liters.
 
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Originally Posted By: MolaKule
4.4 Liters ~ = 4.73 Quarts liquid measure.

Down here most Jug type containers are stated like this:

Quote:
5 US Quarts/1.25 Gal./4.73 Liters.


You are correct. That is why I stated dry measure. Falls in the category of pints, pecks, bushels, etc. Berries, currants, etc. are sold in dry measure of pints or quarts.
 
4,4L is exactly what my diesel engine takes.

Other than that, seems like a weird quantity. Here we have 1/4/5/20L container, or 1 quart/5 quarts.
 
Originally Posted By: vitez
Why does engine oil come in 4.4 litre jugs?


4l is the average sump capacity in Canada and 0.4l has been found to be the average oil consumption between ocis in Canada.
 
Simple: You buy 4 liters, get 10% (0.4 liters) free.
wink.gif
 
Could be as simple as being a way for Imp Oil to price compete with the Shell 4.73 liter specials, at WM as an example.
Or because they can and do that to make price matching impossible at the WM of the retail world.
 
A very handy unit of measure, it equates to just over 1/50 of a hogshead, or close to a 1/10 of a firkin.
 
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I don't know the reason but the 4.4L being the same price up here during a sale as better oils that sell in 5L jugs, I buy the 5L jug oils.

Sorry Mobil.
 
I'd bet several farthings if you contacted then via their "contact us" clicker they wouldn't answer.

It's something really nefarious like a special bottle cast specifically for one classification of industrial machinery or military application. It might not even have been originally designed for motor oil.
 
4.4 works out well on my Focus, but a half litre short on the CRV. The 1 US gallon jugs won't do a change in most motors and I don't buy them normally.
 
Originally Posted By: MolaKule
4.4 Liters ~ = 4.65 Quarts liquid measure.

Down here most Jug type containers are stated like this:

Quote:
5 US Quarts/1.25 Gal./4.73 Liters.


It makes exactly 10 pint(s). That's odd measure , but true.
 
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Originally Posted By: vitez
Why does engine oil come in 4.4 litre jugs?

It depends on the bottle mold that was used.

If you find what you perceive to be weird sizes, see what it works out to in ounces.

4.4 liters happens to be 150 ounces.

Your problem is that you live in the People's Republique du Kanada, where you are not allowed to know anything more than one system.

The United States, being somewhat less stupid than Kanada, gives you both systems on the label, which would have answered your question as you looked at the bottle in the store.
 
This sounds like classic "Grocery shrink ray", that is they make the package smaller but keep the appearance and price the same.

In the US consumer market the big jug option for motor oil started as 5 liters. Some time passed, and the jugs shrank to an odd size somewhere between 5 quarts and 5 liters. Today they are exactly 5 quarts. Some size less than 5 quarts is the next logical progression.
 
Because 4.4 liters is so very close to 4 US dry quarts, I postulate that someone decided sell their oil in 4 quart containers and mistakenly converted liters to dry quarts. They then bought 10,000 containers before discovering their error. Then, like Microsoft, made it a feature!
 
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