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Pipe content — how much water the system holds

Water volume from geometry

2026-06-14·9 min reading

How the water content of a pipe run is calculated geometrically, and what it is used for, e.g. with the expansion vessel and filling.

Introduction

The total water content of a system is useful to know when sizing an expansion vessel, calculating fill quantity, or judging how much liquid is shut off in a section of pipework.

It's pure geometry: the area of the circle multiplied by the length. A pipe with a 20 mm inner diameter holds about 0.314 l per metre, so 10 m gives a good 3.1 litres.

Fig. Vandindholdet er en cylinder: det indvendige tværsnitsareal A ganget med rørets længde L — V = A · L, A = π·(d/2)².

Assumptions

  • 01A fully filled, straight pipe with a constant internal diameter.
  • 02Bends and fittings contribute only marginally and are not included.
  • 03Use the internal diameter — not the nominal DN or outer dimension.

Reference table: water content per metre

I praksis regner man sjældent cirkelarealet ud hver gang — man slår vandindholdet pr. meter op. Da det er ren geometri, kan tabellen udledes direkte af den indvendige diameter: V [l/m] = π · di² / 4000, med di i mm. Fx di = 20 mm giver π · 400 / 4000 = 0,314 l/m. Det afgørende er, at du bruger den RIGTIGE indvendige diameter for netop det materiale og den godstykkelse, du monterer — den nominelle betegnelse (DN eller ydermål) siger ikke i sig selv, hvor stort tværsnittet er.

Copper (DS/EN 1057), outer × thicknessInt. diameterWater content
15 × 1,013 mm0,13 l/m
18 × 1,016 mm0,20 l/m
22 × 1,020 mm0,31 l/m
28 × 1,525 mm0,49 l/m
35 × 1,532 mm0,80 l/m
42 × 1,539 mm1,19 l/m
54 × 2,050 mm1,96 l/m

The copper table uses the internal diameters that follow from EN 1057's standard thicknesses (outside diameter minus 2 × thickness); water content is the geometric consequence. Other thicknesses (e.g. heavy-wall for gas) give a different internal diameter and thus a different content.

Threaded pipe, steel (DS/EN 10255, medium)Approx. internal diameterWater content
DN 15 (½")ca. 16,0 mmca. 0,20 l/m
DN 20 (¾")ca. 21,6 mmca. 0,37 l/m
DN 25 (1")ca. 27,2 mmca. 0,58 l/m
DN 32 (1¼")ca. 35,9 mmca. 1,01 l/m
DN 40 (1½")ca. 41,8 mmca. 1,37 l/m
DN 50 (2")ca. 53,0 mmca. 2,21 l/m

Stål-tabellen bygger på EN 10255 medium-seriens indvendige diametre; galvaniseret udgave har samme mål. For PEX og PP kan indholdet ikke slås op alene på ydermålet, fordi godstykkelsen (SDR-klassen) varierer meget — fx har 16 mm PEX ofte 2,0 mm gods (di ≈ 12 mm → ca. 0,11 l/m) og 20 mm PEX ca. 16 mm indvendig (≈ 0,20 l/m). Brug altid producentens datablad (Wavin, Uponor) for den indvendige diameter, og indsæt i V = π · di² / 4000. Samme gælder rustfri pressrør (Geberit Mapress, Viega). (Kilde: DS/EN 1057; DS/EN 10255; producentdatablade — indvendige diametre.)

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