• From: South Wales. UK
  • Registered: 2009-09-28
  • Posts: 56

Topic: Imperial & Metric

2 yrs ago i did an electrical installation on an Asphalt Plant in Freeport Airport on Grand Bahama Island, what prompted me to say this the fact that you are still in imperial in the U.S.
when i arrived on site i needed various types of cable and heavy duty switch boxes so i jumped into the car and off i went to the wholesalers when i got in they did not understand a word i was talking about, off course i was in metric ?, i was rabbiting on about 150mm 4 core cable, switch boxes with 25mm entries and 32mm i went everywhere and i could not get any sense.

I told the site manager (a chinese chap with the chinese company) that i couldnt get this material i needed so he said i know a man in America that may be able to help me, this chap rang me wanting to know what i wanted, again i was off in metric he said whoooo hang on i dont understand a word of all that i will come over to see what you want.

this chap arrived about a week later i showed him what i wanted, but instead of telling him the cable sizes i needed he wanted to know the voltage and current required, and how much in yards or feet, so i told him i wanted 600volt 600amp cable with a 600amp changeover switch and he went away happy, about a week later everything arrived in a big box and i done the job.

we have been in metric along time now in the uk, and off course all electrical materials are all in metric, but we dont think in imperial anymore, lbs & ounces = Kilo grams, lbs per sq feet = Bar
1 Bar = 14lbs, anyway do you think some day the U.S. may change to metric.

tonynulty's Website

  • From: carson,washington
  • Registered: 2009-09-22
  • Posts: 350

Re: Imperial & Metric

Hi Tony,  Interesting topic to talk on. We here in the U.S. are so use to the system we have and really

                  do not know any better. However it would be nice to have a world wide "common" language

                  to do business with so which would you choose? Metric.... because you don't know any better

                  right? And here.... imperial fot the same reason. Our measuring languages are just different.

                  Not that long ago the litre bottle,soda pop mostly, came here and oh how confusing that was.

                  No one could figure out why? Must be the "New World Order creeping in on us"?

                  I work construction(operating heavy equipment) and about 10 yrs ago I took a job on a certain

                  project that needed a grade checker(person that takes engineering data and lays-out this info

                  on the ground in actual measurements for constructing roads, buildings, etc. Anyway I didn't

                  know this job was drawn up using the metric system. Totally out of the "norm". During the inter-

                  view it was mentioned and I proceeded to tell the interviewer that I probably could figure it out

                   ok. Wrong! I had to convert the info so as the other workers could understand what was needed

                   of them. Since the job was a high pressure hurry up and get it done type I was so frustrated I

                   quit. Had no choice, it was more than I could handle. I could see your frustration as well.   

                   I don't see us changing to mertic, could you see the U.K. changing? We are probably stuck in

                   this rut.lol               Mike

Our intuitions serve us well
  • From: NY
  • Registered: 2009-08-26
  • Posts: 4,320

Re: Imperial & Metric

It it'll raise the value of the American dollar, I bet the president will insist upon it.  LOL! 

The kids are actually taught some of the metric system in school.  I do remember in high school science classes our measurements were always in metric, but when we step on the scale we measure ourselves in pounds.  When I cook, I measure by cups and spoons rather than weight (I have heard that measuring flour by weight is far better than volume but I haven't begun to do it myself yet).  Vehicles are manufactured mostly overseas, so good mechanics have two sets of tools now a days (actually, do it yourselfers do too... I think my husband's set of metric wrenches and such get more use than the others).  We do use the centimeter and millimeter measurements a lot.  They're on our rulers and measuring tapes along with inches, feet and yards.

But for the most part I don't see it being a change that will happen, completely wiping out imperial measurements, unless someone with a lot of authority in the American government actually does push it.

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  • From: Alabama Gulf Coast
  • Registered: 2008-06-24
  • Posts: 1,819

Re: Imperial & Metric

Efforts have been made to change us over to metric but the resistance backlash has been huge.
Politicians spend their political capital on issues they can more easily win.
toots

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Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

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  • KAP54
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  • From: London Ontario Canada
  • Registered: 2008-06-04
  • Posts: 1,746

Re: Imperial & Metric

Hey Tony, here in Canada we went metric in the eighties. (kind of) Anything that is seen by the public is printed in metric but when it comes to the construction industry all measuring is done in Imperial Measurements unless it is a government job. This can be very confusing to kids coming out of school cause they are taught metric and are all of a sudden confronted with Imperial.
Only in Canada Eh...Pity sad

Kenny

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  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Imperial & Metric

I think I remember this metric issue as far back as I can remember one of the jobs I had besides music was working in a machine shop setting up CNC machines and we used calipers and micrometers and worked with tolerances of .0010 of an inch no one welcomed the metric system the argument was our system was good enough to get to the moon and the U.S. was the most advanced country technology wise and most of the of the world countries studied in the U.S to obtain our knowledge or steal it but we were led to believe that by adopting the metric system we would unite with the rest of the world to which I say humbug! if it aint broke dont fix it lol USA USA etc..etc.. lol

"Growing old is not for sissies"

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  • From: Tooele Ut
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 4,049

Re: Imperial & Metric

Well, I think it is a shame the US has not changed to metric yet.  It is so much easier in the long run.

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  • From: carson,washington
  • Registered: 2009-09-22
  • Posts: 350

Re: Imperial & Metric

Okay, I see there may be the possibility in the distant future the metric system will prevail. I see Bensonp point.
            A 19mm wrench is just that. A 7/16, 3/8, 11/32.... a lot of fraction reducing. More numbers to deal with.
            Road construction,to name one of many, went to the one hundredth system which breaks the 12 inch
            foot into tenths and hundredths. One foot=10 tenths. One tenth=10 hundredths. 100 hundredths= 1 foot.
            This is hard to get use to and takes time to become efficient, but it gave us a single unit for measuring.
            Russell and I are talking the same here he had to take it much smaller(thousandths). This system has
            been in place for years. Now that kids are being taught more in schools I can see the change coming
            down the road. Part of the "new world order", or just common sense?      Mike

Our intuitions serve us well
  • Registered: 2010-03-26
  • Posts: 15

Re: Imperial & Metric

I have been a nurse for 20 years and almost all of our measurements is metric ml.,cc, et al.there are 2o drops to the cc ,ml,and 30 ml/cc to the ounce and a liter is bigger than a quart and a kilo is 2.2 lbs. 3.89(?) liter is almost a gallon but 4 quarts is a gallon , Bluebell ice cream is still exactly 1/2 gallon to the container,and a pint is just about enuff for desert.
and yes I own two sets of wrenches ,and they both work on most cars ,especially Fords.you have metric and standard sizes all mixed in on the older modles. That is why the arms industry is so messed up bullets used to be measured in thousndths now it is in mm not cm.,and thats why I shoot a long bow.a lot easier to get stuff for it than a gun.

Bend em tight and let er scream.
  • henryb
  • Senior Member
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  • From: Lhanbryde
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 204

Re: Imperial & Metric

Is it worth going the extra Mile to change over or should I say Kilometre.  lol

  • From: South Wales. UK
  • Registered: 2009-09-28
  • Posts: 56

Re: Imperial & Metric

A friend of mine a long time ago,(this chap was a bit of an eccentric) said that everything should be measured and thought of in Snickers or mars bars, these have been the same for so long everybody knows you exactly what they are, if somebody asks how far is it from A to B and you replied 300 snickers they would know exactly how far it is, same with weight, how heavy is that? 200 snickers, no more lbs, inches, mm, kilometers it would be much easier.

tonynulty's Website

  • From: Tooele Ut
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 4,049

Re: Imperial & Metric

I like thast concept, Tony

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  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: Imperial & Metric

Metric is vastly superior in every way.  But we're Americans.  We don't want know foreign rulers.  big_smile

Someday we'll win this thing...

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  • From: Tooele Ut
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 4,049

Re: Imperial & Metric

That';s about the size of it, jerome

You can see all my video covers on [url]http://www.youtube.com/bensonp1000[/url]
I have finally found happiness in my life.  Guitars, singing, beer and camping.  And they all intertwine wonderfully.

15 Reply by flester (edited by flester 2010-05-06 12:02:50)

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 162

Re: Imperial & Metric

tonynulty wrote:

A friend of mine a long time ago,(this chap was a bit of an eccentric) said that everything should be measured and thought of in Snickers or mars bars, these have been the same for so long everybody knows you exactly what they are, if somebody asks how far is it from A to B and you replied 300 snickers they would know exactly how far it is, same with weight, how heavy is that? 200 snickers, no more lbs, inches, mm, kilometers it would be much easier.

Great, but when I was in the US in 1988 I was confused because we then called the Snickers a Marathon (but now its a Snickers). And a US Milky Way was what we called a Mars Bar (and still do). Probably the same length though.

  • Zurf
  • Zurf
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  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2007-06-27
  • Posts: 7,522

Re: Imperial & Metric

What, and give up my hard found 17/64's open end wrench?   No way!

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