Steel Pipe Weight Chart & Calculator: kg/m, lb/ft, Formula

Pipe weight is not a number you look up. It is a number you produce, from two figures already on the drawing, using one line of arithmetic that most buyers have never actually been shown. Take the outside diameter, subtract the wall thickness, multiply the result by the wall thickness, then multiply by 0.02466. That is kilograms per metre of carbon steel pipe. That is the whole method. Everything on this page is that formula applied across the standard schedules, in kg/m and lb/ft, plus the density correction that catches people out the moment the material stops being carbon steel and becomes stainless steel pipe. Get that correction wrong and the container is booked against tonnage that does not exist.

The steel pipe weight formula

Metric, kilograms per metre:

W = (OD − t) × t × 0.02466

OD and t in millimetres. The constant is π multiplied by 7850 kg/m³ and divided by a million to fix the units.

Imperial, pounds per foot:

W = (OD − t) × t × 10.69

OD and t in inches. The constant is π multiplied by 0.2836 lb/in³ and by 12.

Both describe the same thing. The cross-sectional area of an annulus is π times the mean diameter times the wall, and the mean diameter is exactly OD minus t. That is why the formula looks like a shortcut but is not an approximation.

If you need the outside diameter or the wall for a given schedule, the steel pipe size chart has the full table.

Worked example, start to finish

Requirement: 40 lengths of NPS 6 SCH 40 carbon steel pipe, 12 metres each.

Step 1. Get the dimensions. NPS 6 has an OD of 168.3 mm. SCH 40 wall is 7.11 mm.

Step 2. Apply the formula. (168.3 − 7.11) = 161.19 161.19 × 7.11 = 1146.06 1146.06 × 0.02466 = 28.26 kg/m

Step 3. Multiply by length. 28.26 × 12 = 339.2 kg per length

Step 4. Multiply by quantity. 339.2 × 40 = 13,568 kg, or 13.57 tonnes

Step 5. Sense-check it. In imperial, (6.625 − 0.280) × 0.280 × 10.69 = 18.99 lb/ft. Multiply kg/m by 0.672 to convert to lb/ft, or lb/ft by 1.488 to go the other way. 28.26 × 0.672 = 18.99. The two agree, so the arithmetic is sound.

That fifth step takes ten seconds and catches almost every input error people make.

The tables below are for estimating and enquiry purposes. Weight values used for design, lifting or freight contracts must be confirmed against the current edition of the governing standard and the mill test certificate.

Schedule 10 pipe weight chart

Carbon steel, plain end. Dimensions per ASME B36.10M.

Schedule 40 pipe weight chart

Schedule 80 pipe weight chart

Schedule 160 pipe weight chart

The density correction, which is where the errors happen

Every figure above assumes carbon steel at 7850 kg/m³. Stainless is heavier. Duplex is lighter than stainless. Titanium is in a different league altogether.

To correct, multiply the carbon steel weight by the factor below.

Applied to the worked example, NPS 6 SCH 40:

• Carbon steel: 28.26 kg/m, so 13.57 tonnes for the 40 lengths
• SS 316L: 28.77 kg/m, so 13.81 tonnes
• Titanium Grade 2: 16.24 kg/m, so 7.80 tonnes

Between carbon steel and 316L the difference is 240 kg on that order. Small, until it is the difference between one container and two, or between a crane rated correctly and a crane rated on the wrong assumption. Between carbon steel and titanium it is 5.77 tonnes, which changes the entire logistics plan. 

Two honest caveats:

• Published densities for duplex 2205 vary. Most sources give 7800 kg/m³, at least one gives 8000. The difference is 2.5 per cent on a large order. Confirm against the mill datasheet before it goes on a freight contract.
• Nickel alloy and 904L densities are not published here on purpose. Sources disagree materially, and a wrong density on a nickel alloy order is expensive. For nickel alloy pipe or 904L, send us the grade and we will confirm the figure from the mill datasheet rather than from a chart.

Theoretical weight, actual weight, and what the invoice says

This is the part that never appears on a weight chart and regularly appears on an invoice query.

The tables above give theoretical weight, calculated from nominal dimensions. Delivered pipe carries a wall thickness tolerance of minus 12.5 per cent, and it is legitimately compliant at that minimum. A run produced consistently toward the low side of tolerance can weigh several per cent less than the chart says while meeting the standard in full.

Which figure the order settles on is a commercial term, not a technical one:

• Theoretical weight billing uses the calculated figure regardless of what the material weighs. Predictable, and it is what most estimating software assumes.
• Actual weight billing uses the weighbridge. Whichever way tolerance ran, that is what gets paid for.

Neither is wrong. What causes disputes is when the enquiry, the quotation and the purchase order do not all say the same thing. Establish it before the order is placed, not after the container lands. The same applies to whether the quoted weight is plain end or includes bevelling, couplings or end caps, and it applies equally to seamless and welded pipe, which can differ slightly in delivered weight for the same nominal size.

Sending us the enquiry

Give us four things and we can confirm weight and availability without a round trip:

1. Grade and standard, for example ASTM A312 TP316L
2. OD and wall thickness in mm, with the schedule in brackets if you have it
3. Length, and whether it is fixed, random or double random
4. Quantity, in metres, lengths or tonnes

Send us the OD, wall, schedule and length and we will confirm availability and calculated weight. Our full pipe and tube range covers stainless, duplex, super duplex, nickel alloy and titanium.