Case 1
- Material
- Carbon steel
- Outside diameter
- 60.3mm
- Wall thickness
- 3.91mm
- Length
- 6m
32.62kg
Open with these valuesPipe Weight Calculator
32.62kg
Result: 32.62 kgThe wall comes off the diameter twice, not once — the bore is the outside diameter minus two wall thicknesses. Getting that wrong on a 60.3 mm pipe with a 3.91 mm wall overstates the weight by about a third.
The numbers at a glance
Held fixed: Material Carbon steel, Outside diameter 60.300 mm, Wall thickness 3.910 mm.
| Length (m) | Result (kg) |
|---|---|
| 0.000 | 0.00 |
| 2.000 | 10.87 |
| 4.000 | 21.75 |
| 6.000Your value | 32.62 |
| 8.000 | 43.50 |
| 10.000 | 54.37 |
| 12.000 | 65.25 |
Worked examples
Case 2
- Material
- Copper
- Outside diameter
- 22mm
- Wall thickness
- 1mm
- Length
- 3m
1.77kg
Open with these valuesCase 3
- Material
- PVC
- Outside diameter
- 110mm
- Wall thickness
- 3.2mm
- Length
- 6m
9.02kg
Open with these valuesHow it's calculated
kg = π·(ro² − ri²) · length · density
- StepPick the material.
- StepSwitch the units above if you work in inches and feet.
- StepEnter the outside diameter and the wall thickness.
- ResultEnter the total run; read the weight, empty and unlagged.
What this number means
The result is the mass of the metal itself, worked out from geometry and a tabulated density. It is not a weight anyone put on a scale, and it knows nothing about flanges, threads, brackets or fittings — only a plain tube of constant section. Follow the default entries through. A carbon steel pipe of 60.3 mm outside diameter with a 3.91 mm wall has a bore of 60.3 minus twice 3.91, so 52.48 mm. The outer radius is 0.03015 m and the inner 0.02624 m, and pi times the difference of their squares gives the cross-section of the ring. Multiplied by the density of 7850 kg/m³ that is 5.44 kg for every metre, and over the six-metre run entered here, 32.62 kg. Divide by the length whenever you want the per-metre figure the tables usually quote. What deserves the most care is the wall thickness. It enters twice and dominates the ring area, so the same small error costs very differently at each field: on this pipe, a tenth of a millimetre more wall adds about 0.78 kg over six metres, while a tenth of a millimetre more outside diameter adds under 0.06 kg. Measure the wall carefully, and treat the density as the nominal value for a material class rather than for your particular alloy.
The wall comes off the diameter twice
The bore is the outside diameter minus two wall thicknesses, because a pipe has a wall on both sides. Getting that wrong on a 60.3 mm pipe with a 3.91 mm wall overstates the weight by about a third.
Enter the outside diameter, not the nominal size
Nominal sizes such as DN 50 or 2 inch do not equal the real diameter. Using them will give the wrong weight.
The result is the empty pipe
Contents and lagging are not in it. Water inside a 60.3 mm pipe adds roughly its own volume in kilograms per metre, and that has to be added separately.
The material changes the weight several times over
The same pipe weighs 5.44 kg per metre in carbon steel, 6.21 in copper, 1.87 in aluminium and 0.97 in PVC.
Commonly misread
The inner diameter is the outside diameter minus one wall thickness.
It is the outside diameter minus two of them. On a 60.3 mm pipe with a 3.91 mm wall, the one-wall version comes out about a third too heavy.
A 2 inch pipe has an outside diameter of 2 inches.
Nominal sizes such as DN 50 or 2 inch do not equal the real diameter. Enter the measured outside diameter instead.
The figure covers the pipe with its contents.
It is the empty, unlagged pipe. Water inside a 60.3 mm pipe adds roughly its own volume in kilograms per metre and has to be added separately.
Reference table
| Material | Density |
|---|---|
| Copper | 8960 kg/m³ |
| Brass | 8500 kg/m³ |
| Stainless 304 | 8000 kg/m³ |
| Carbon steel | 7850 kg/m³ |
| Cast iron | 7200 kg/m³ |
| Aluminium | 2700 kg/m³ |
| PVC | 1400 kg/m³ |
Questions
What is the pipe weight formula?
The cross-section of the wall times the length times the density: π times the outer radius squared minus the inner radius squared. A carbon steel pipe of 60.3 mm outside diameter and 3.91 mm wall weighs 5.44 kg per metre, so 32.62 kg over six metres.
Do I enter the nominal size or the outside diameter?
The outside diameter. Nominal sizes such as DN 50 or 2 inch do not equal the real diameter, and using them will give the wrong weight.
Why is the wall thickness subtracted twice?
Because a pipe has a wall on both sides. The inner radius is the outer radius minus one wall thickness, which makes the inner diameter smaller by two.
Is the contents included?
No, the result is the empty pipe. Water inside a 60.3 mm pipe adds roughly its own volume in kilograms per metre, and that has to be added separately.
How much difference does the material make?
A lot. The same pipe weighs 5.44 kg per metre in carbon steel, 6.21 in copper, 1.87 in aluminium and 0.97 in PVC.
Sources and last check
Information, not professional advice.