What's The Difference Between Mil. And Gauge For Vinyl Liner?
by François
An engineer from Montreal bought an above ground pool liner. The seller told him the liner was 20 mil thick. The client measured the liner (he has the instrument do to that) and had a suprise: the thickness is 14 mil (bottom) et 16 mil (side wall), and yet, the seller told him it was 20 mil thick. The company explained to me that "20 mil", or "20 gauge" is a kind of expression, a way to say things in this pool industry, but it doesn't mean that the pool liner is really 20 mil thick. What do you think of an answer like that? Is it true? Did you notice the same thing in the US? My gut feeling is above ground pool liners are thinner today than they were before. Is it the case? Thank you, François Thanks for the question Francois This is my understanding of mil. and gauge. A mil equals .001 of an inch. So, for a 20 mil vinyl liner the exact measurement would be 0.020 of an inch. A 28 mil liner would be .028 inches, and so on. A gauge is not an exact measurement. In fact, most vinyl manufacturers don't agree on what a gauge is. Many times a gauge is used to measure metals. Concerning the engineer, I would ask if the liner was measured using a digital caliper. These give the most accurate readings. Also ask him if asked for the gauge or the mil. when he got the liner checked. Have him ask for the exact measurement in mil. If he got a 20 mil. liner it should read at minimum 0.020 on a digital caliper. It could be a bit over such as 0.0205 or 0.0204, but it's definitely at least 0.020. Here's a good site that I use from time to time when I need a liner measurement: http://www.websweeper.com/liner/mil-gauge.php A gauge might be an expression (due to variations in material, workmanship, and manufacturers) but mil. is not. A mil. is a mathematical measurement. You can't have kind of a inch, or meter, or whatever. It either is or it isn't. 2 + 2 isn't close to 4, it is. The vinyl liner companies, to the best of my knowledge, can't say a liner is 20 mil. then give you a 14 mil. liner and say it's the same thing. I hope this answers your question. Robert |
