General manometer Calculator

Formula first

Overview

A general manometer equation is a pressure walk through connected static fluids. Moving downward through a fluid increases pressure by rho g d, and moving upward decreases it by the same kind of term.

Symbols

Variables

$P_1$ = Pressure 1, $P_2$ = Pressure 2, ${\rho }_1$ = Fluid 1 Density, $d_1$ = Fluid 1 Height, ${\rho }_2$ = Fluid 2 Density

Apply it well

When To Use

When to use: Use this for manometer problems where both sides may contain process fluids as well as a separate manometer fluid.

Why it matters: Manometers give a mechanical pressure measurement that is still useful for calibration, differential pressure checks, and teaching fluid statics.

Avoid these traps

Common Mistakes

• Assigning the wrong sign to a fluid-column term.
• Using the manometer-fluid density for every leg of the pressure path.

One free problem

Practice Problem

Given P2 = 100000 Pa, rho1 = 1000 kg/$m^3$, d1 = 0.20 m, rho2 = 850 kg/$m^3$, d2 = 0.10 m, $rh{o}_m$ = 13600 kg/$m^3$, h = 0.050 m, and g = 9.81 m/$s^2$, find P1.

Solve for: pressure1

Hint: Move all terms except P1 to the right-hand side.

The full worked solution stays in the interactive walkthrough.

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Related Formulas

References

Sources

1. Munson, Young, Okiishi, Huebsch, and Rothmayer, Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics, Wiley, 2013
2. Engineering LibreTexts, 4.3.2.3: Magnified Pressure Measurement, accessed 2026-04-09
3. OpenStax University Physics Volume 1, Pressure Gauges and Manometers, accessed 2026-04-09
4. NIST CODATA
5. IUPAC Gold Book
6. Fluid statics (Wikipedia)
7. NIST Chemistry WebBook
8. University Physics (e.g., Sears and Zemansky's)