Mesh Sizing Chart

Mesh size for strainers is usually denominated in mm or microns however it can also be assigned a mesh number (which is number of holes per inch). A micron is one millionth of a meter. There are some basic references of size of mesh but vary according to such things as heat, pressure and the nature of the material. A quick guide is below.

Mesh Number	Microns	Material
28	700	Course Sand
60	250	Fine Sand
325	44	Silt
400	37	Pollen
12000	12	Red Blood Cells
48000	2	Cigarette Smoke

 

Mesh Size Comparison Chart

Mesh Number	Inches	Microns	Millimetres
3	0.265	6730	6.73
4	0.187	4760	4.76
5	0.157	4000	4
6	0.132	3360	3.36
7	0.111	2830	2.83
8	0.0937	2380	2.38
10	0.0787	2000	2
12	0.0661	1680	1.68
14	0.0555	1410	1.41
16	0.0469	1190	1.19
18	0.0394	1000	1
20	0.0331	841	0.841
25	0.028	707	0.707
30	0.0232	595	0.595
35	0.0197	500	0.5
40	0.0165	400	0.4
45	0.0138	354	0.354
50	0.0117	297	0.297
60	0.0098	250	0.25
70	0.0083	210	0.21
80	0.007	177	0.177
100	0.0059	149	0.149
120	0.0049	125	0.125
140	0.0041	105	0.105
170	0.0035	88	0.088
200	0.0029	74	0.074
230	0.0024	63	0.063
270	0.0021	53	0.053
325	0.0017	44	0.044
400	0.0015	37	0.037