How much would a 55 gallon metal drum filled with lead

How much would a 55 gallon metal drum filled with lead wheel weights weigh? A local service garage has filled one such barrel with all the old wheel weights they take off tires. I asked them what that weighs, they said they would like to know, because no one can even move it, much less get it on a scale. All I know is that it's a hell of a boat anchor....

Reply to
homeowner
Loading thread data ...

I have a 50 gal drum filled with scraps of copper wire. I can't even move that. I had to do it a bucket at time when I needed to move it to organize the junk shed a bit.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

your free answer... about 3,000 to 4,000 lbs

Reply to
DD_BobK

Well, assuming it were 55 Gallons of solid lead...

IIRC, lead weighs about 94.7 lbs/gal. Multiplied by 55 comes to 5,208.5 lbs, plus the weight of the drum.

The wheel weights won't be packed in nearly that dense, and most of them have steel rim clips occupying volume as well... there will be a several cubic inches of dirt and other misc spooge too. There always is...

So all said and done, your guess is as good as mine. I think if I needed a 'closeish' estimate, I might try filling & weighing some known volume container with weights, like maybe an empty gallon paint can or some such, and doing the math.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, it's really heavy... as a wild ass guess I bet it's 25 hundred pounds or there bouts...

Erik

Reply to
Erik

On Wednesday 23 January 2013 05:25 snipped-for-privacy@home.com wrote in alt.home.repair:

WTF are you anchoring - a frigate?

BTW - they should get it down to the metal scrapyard and weight it in - drinks are on them.

Rough calc - lets assume the lead weights are 50% lead and 50% air space:

And let's go metric because I cannot do physics in Imperial units...

55 US gallons = 0.208m3

Density of lead = 11340kg/m3, so at a packing ration of 50% air, lets say about 5500kg/m3

So they have about 1100kg, just over a ton.

Assuming the lead is clean and pure, weigh in scrap prices in the UK would net them at 90pence/kg (2013 prices) about 990 UKP which is about US$1500

Is this was Britain, they would have been robbed by pikeys by now!

Reply to
Tim Watts

Water is about 8.3 pounds per gallon. Lead is about 12 or 13 times as much. Tire weights, of course, have some air space.

Just for a quick, crude calculation. 55 x 8 x 10 = 4400, or about two tons.

Now, if lead is selling for a buck a pound..... (I'd have to call the recycle yard in the morning.) If you try to scoop out the wheel weights, consider wearing gloves and respirator. Lead is toxic.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Actually typical boat anchors don't rely on weight and are not made of lead. If they did rely on weight, the anchor would have to weigh in the range of weight of the boat. They instead rely on being pointed and digging in to the bottom.

Reply to
trader4

Pure lead is easy to calculate but since you cannot calculate the free volume of packing for these irregular shapes the easiest thing to do would be to weigh a gallon of them.

Reply to
Frank

I'm glad you read the latest EPA and health services reports. I missed that one. I'll get some tire weights for tomorrow's breakfast. I bet they sit like a rock in the bottom of my stomach?

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

Not with milk & sugar on it.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I googled to see scrap lead from wheel weights going for 57 cents/lb. Had been thinking about them for casting bullets.

Reply to
Frank

Bullets? That's so ancient frontier. Why would anyone want a bullet, now days? We have 911 cell phones, and Obama is there to protect us from everything.

I knew a guy who used to melt wheel weights, and pour the metal into muffin tins, and taken in to sell. Seemed to think he got more money that way.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

I googled to see scrap lead from wheel weights going for 57 cents/lb. Had been thinking about them for casting bullets.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

On Wednesday 23 January 2013 12:32 snipped-for-privacy@optonline.net wrote in alt.home.repair:

I knew that :->

I was just envisaging someone loading a 1-2 ton "anchor" onto their yacht and watching the fish through the newly formed "viewing portal" in the hull :-/

Reply to
Tim Watts

He got rid of the steel clips that way which probably accounted for a lower price per pound. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Right, the steel clips are worth a lot lower rate. One of the scale guys told him to just bring wheel weights. Cause they know the alloy. Ingots of melted metal, they aren't sure. He kept on melting. Sigh.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

He got rid of the steel clips that way which probably accounted for a lower price per pound. ^_^

TDD

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

On 01-23-2013 06:32, Stormin Mormon quoted:

Yeah, it would firmly anchor the boat to the bottom of the lake.

Reply to
Wes Groleau

94.6 lbs per gallon of lead. The barrel has some air and some steel

- so my guess would be rougly 2 tons. - likely just a bit shy.

Reply to
clare

OOPS - I figured it as a 45 gallon drum - so likely just OVER 2 tons.

Reply to
clare

Wow... I'd have guessed wheel weight 'alloy' would consist of what ever showed up cheap, and/or was left over.

For example, the lead equivalent of the garbage rebar and barbell weights are made of.

Erik

Reply to
Erik

The metal equivilant of cheap sausage.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

formatting link
.

Wow... I'd have guessed wheel weight 'alloy' would consist of what ever showed up cheap, and/or was left over.

For example, the lead equivalent of the garbage rebar and barbell weights are made of.

Erik

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I see casting lead ingots at Midway for about $7-8/lb. Don't know what the steel clips weight in relationship to the wheel weight.

Reminded of a guy a few years ago when copper was way up had saved every bit of scrap from his reloading which was mostly spent primers. He said he made enough selling the scrap to buy a gun.

I cast bullets for my muzzle loaders and shotgun slugs. Both are pretty big chunks of lead. I see some of these bullets costing $1 each and slugs $1-2 each. For hunting needs, I have enough to last the rest of my life.

I buy cast pistol bullets on line. Shipping is not a big problem these days with those USPS one price boxes. It's fun to watch the mailman struggling with a 40 lb box of bullets that only cost about $13 to ship.

Reply to
Frank

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.