Ordered by size and schedule

Pipe weight calculator

Choose a nominal size and a schedule and it returns weight per foot and for the whole run, empty and full of water, in pounds and kilograms — free, no signup. The outside diameter and wall come from ASME B36.10M rather than from anything you type, which matters because the size on the pipe is a name: 2 in Schedule 40 measures 2.375 in outside and 2.067 in through, and neither of those is two.

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23 sizes
Schedule 40 and 80
Empty and water-filled

The size, the schedule and the run

Pick the pipe the way it is ordered. The outside diameter and the wall are read out of the standard rather than typed, which is the only way to get them right — the size on the label is not a measurement of anything.

Nominal pipe size

Schedule

Pipe material

Schedule sets the wall and nothing else. NPS 2 is 2.375 in outside in every schedule there is — Schedule 80 takes 6.2% off the bore of Schedule 40 and adds 37.5% to the weight, from the inside.

Length of one run

Feet unless you say otherwise. 32 m and 240' 6" both read.

Identical runs

Water temperature (°F)

Default 60 °F. The customary US reference temperature for water in waterworks and plumbing practice (AWWA, ASPE). Water at 60 °F weighs 62.37 lb/ft³ and 8.337 lb/gal; the familiar 62.4, 8.33, 0.433 psi/ft and 2.31 ft/psi are that density rounded.

NPS 2 SCHEDULE 40 · CARBON STEEL

EMPTY

3.657 lb/ft

5.442 kg/m

FULL OF WATER

5.11 lb/ft

7.605 kg/m

The run empty, the water it holds, and the two together
What is being weighed	lb/ft	kg/m	lb, whole run	kg, whole run
Pipe alone	3.657	5.442	365.7	165.9
Water at 60 °F	1.453	2.163	145.3	65.9
In service, full	5.11	7.605	511	231.8

OUTSIDE DIAMETER

2.375 in

60.33 mm

WALL

0.154 in

3.91 mm nominal

BORE

2.0670 in

0.1743 gal/ft · 2.165 L/m

The run holds 17.4 gallons — 66 liters — and that water is 28.4% of what the hangers carry once it is commissioned.

The schedule changes the wall, from the inside. NPS 2 keeps its 2.375 in outside diameter whatever the schedule, because the outside is what the threads, the fittings and the welding machine have to meet. So Schedule 80 is not a bigger pipe — it is the same pipe with 64 thousandths more wall taken out of the bore, which is why it weighs 37.5% more and carries 6.2% less. Fitting a Schedule 80 nipple where a Schedule 40 one was is a drop-in mechanically and a restriction hydraulically.

Weight per foot, every size, both schedules

Carbon steel pipe, empty and full of water at 60 °F. Print this and the size you need is on the wall next to the rack.

ASME B36.10M Schedule 40 and 80 dimensions with weight empty and full
NPS	OD, in	Schedule 40				Schedule 80
NPS	OD, in	Wall	Bore	lb/ft	Full	Wall	Bore	lb/ft	Full
1/8 in	0.405	0.068	0.269	0.25	0.27	0.095	0.215	0.31	0.33
1/4 in	0.540	0.088	0.364	0.43	0.47	0.119	0.302	0.54	0.57
3/8 in	0.675	0.091	0.493	0.57	0.65	0.126	0.423	0.74	0.8
1/2 in	0.840	0.109	0.622	0.85	0.98	0.147	0.546	1.09	1.19
3/4 in	1.050	0.113	0.824	1.13	1.36	0.154	0.742	1.48	1.66
1 in	1.315	0.133	1.049	1.68	2.06	0.179	0.957	2.17	2.49
1-1/4 in	1.660	0.140	1.380	2.28	2.92	0.191	1.278	3	3.56
1-1/2 in	1.900	0.145	1.610	2.72	3.6	0.200	1.500	3.64	4.4
2 in	2.375	0.154	2.067	3.66	5.11	0.218	1.939	5.03	6.31
2-1/2 in	2.875	0.203	2.469	5.8	7.87	0.276	2.323	7.67	9.5
3 in	3.500	0.216	3.068	7.58	10.79	0.300	2.900	10.26	13.12
3-1/2 in	4.000	0.226	3.548	9.12	13.4	0.318	3.364	12.52	16.37
4 in	4.500	0.237	4.026	10.8	16.32	0.337	3.826	15	19.98
5 in	5.563	0.258	5.047	14.63	23.3	0.375	4.813	20.8	28.68
6 in	6.625	0.280	6.065	18.99	31.51	0.432	5.761	28.6	39.89
8 in	8.625	0.322	7.981	28.58	50.25	0.500	7.625	43.43	63.21
10 in	10.750	0.365	10.020	40.53	74.68	0.500	9.750	54.79	87.13
12 in	12.750	0.406	11.938	53.58	102.06	0.688	11.374	88.72	132.73
14 in	14.000	0.437	13.126	63.37	121.97	0.750	12.500	106.25	159.39
16 in	16.000	0.500	15.000	82.86	159.39	0.843	14.314	136.61	206.3
18 in	18.000	0.562	16.876	104.78	201.65	0.937	16.126	170.94	259.39
20 in	20.000	0.593	18.814	123.04	243.44	1.031	17.938	209.09	318.54
24 in	24.000	0.687	22.626	171.23	345.37	1.218	21.564	296.67	454.84

ASME B36.10M, Welded and Seamless Wrought Steel Pipe — nominal wall thickness for Schedules 40 and 80. Outside diameters below NPS 14 are the standard's legacy values; from NPS 14 up the outside diameter equals the NPS in inches by definition. Inside diameter is computed as OD − 2 × wall and reproduces the standard's published bores (1/2 in Sch 40 → 0.622 in, 2 in → 2.067 in, 6 in → 6.065 in, 12 in Sch 80 → 11.374 in).

Where the schedules stop. These are nominal walls. B36.10M permits a mill tolerance of −12.5%, so a pipe with a nominal 0.109 in wall may legally be 0.095 in, giving a bore 0.028 in larger than the table. For volume that is a rounding error; for pressure rating it is not, and a pressure calculation must use the minimum wall. Schedules 40 and 80 are the same as Standard (STD) and Extra Strong (XS) up to NPS 10 and NPS 8 respectively, and diverge above. Schedules 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 100, 120, 140 and 160 exist and are deliberately absent, so a search that runs off the end of this table lands on Schedule 80 and over-specifies rather than guessing.

Nominal pipe size is a name. Nominal pipe size (NPS) is a name, not a measurement. It matched the approximate inside diameter of wrought-iron pipe in the 1890s and has been a label ever since. A 3/4 in steel pipe measures 1.050 in outside and 0.824 in inside; 3/4 in is neither. From NPS 14 up the name finally equals the outside diameter, and below it the outside diameter is a fixed legacy value that every schedule of that size shares — the schedule changes the wall, which changes the inside diameter, never the outside. Copper, PEX and CPVC tube each run on a different naming convention again, so a 1/2 in copper tube, a 1/2 in PEX tube and a 1/2 in steel pipe have three different bores.

What a stainless density does and does not buy you. The three materials in the picker change only the 0.2836 against 0.289 lb/in³ that multiplies the section — a 1.9% difference. They do not change the wall: the dimensions above are ASME B36.10M, which is a wrought steel standard, and stainless pipe is dimensioned by ASME B36.19M, whose S-suffixed schedules are a separate table that this site does not reproduce. For 40S and 80S work take the wall from B36.19M and enter it on the metal weight calculator as a measured outside diameter and wall instead. These are reference tables and arithmetic — hanger spacing, seismic bracing and the structure underneath are designed and signed by a qualified engineer against the code in force.

How to weigh a pipe run for the rigger and for the hangers

The size picks the outside diameter, the schedule picks the wall, and the contents decide which of the two answers you needed.

Pick the size the pipe is sold as, not a diameter you measured
The dropdown runs NPS 1/8 through 24 and each entry carries its own outside diameter from the standard. Below NPS 14 that diameter has no relation to the name at all — 3/4 in pipe is 1.050 in outside — and from 14 up the name finally is the outside diameter. If you are holding calipers rather than a drawing, the general metal weight page takes a measured OD and wall instead and will not silently assume a schedule.
Set the schedule, and read what it did to the bore
Schedule is a wall thickness, and the wall grows inward. NPS 2 stays 2.375 in outside in Schedule 40 and in Schedule 80; what changes is 0.154 in of wall becoming 0.218 in, which costs 6.2% of the bore and adds 37.5% to the weight. On 1/2 in the same step costs 12.2% of the bore. That is the whole reason a Schedule 80 nipple threads into a Schedule 40 fitting perfectly and still restricts the line.
Take the empty figure for the lift and the full one for the supports
A pipe is weighed twice in its life. The rigger and the truck want it empty; the hanger spacing, the trapeze steel and the seismic bracing want it in service, and on large lines the difference is not a correction. Water is 28% of the total on 2 in Schedule 40, 40% on 6 in and 90% of the pipe's own weight on 12 in. Set the water temperature if the system is not cold — the field moves the density, which is what the weight is made of.

Technical specifications

Dimension source	ASME B36.10M nominal walls for Schedules 40 and 80, NPS 1/8 to 24. Inside diameter is computed as OD − 2 × wall and reproduces the standard's published bores: 0.622 in on 1/2 in Sch 40, 2.067 on 2 in, 6.065 on 6 in.
Schedules carried	Two — 40 and 80. Schedules 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 100, 120, 140 and 160 exist and are deliberately absent, so a size that runs off this table lands on Schedule 80 and over-specifies rather than being interpolated.
Worked example, empty	2 in Schedule 40 carbon steel is 3.66 lb/ft; 6 in is 18.99 and 12 in is 53.58. In Schedule 80 the same three are 5.03, 28.60 and 88.72 lb/ft on identical outside diameters.
Worked example, full	Water at 60 °F adds 1.45 lb/ft to 2 in Schedule 40, 12.51 to 6 in and 48.48 to 12 in — 28%, 40% and 48% of the in-service weight respectively.
Water density basis	Editable, defaulting to 60 °F, where water is 62.37 lb/ft³ and 8.337 lb/gal. A 200 °F heating loop is 3.6% lighter per gallon than that and a chilled line is marginally heavier.
Wall tolerance	−12.5% permitted on the nominal wall by B36.10M, with no plus side, so real pipe weighs under the calculated figure rather than over it. A pressure calculation must use the minimum wall, not this one.
Materials	Carbon steel at 0.2836 lb/in³ plus 304 and 316 stainless at 0.2890 — a 1.9% difference in the density only. The wall stays B36.10M, and B36.19M stainless schedules are a separate table this site does not carry.
Printable chart	All 23 sizes with wall, bore, empty and water-filled weight for both schedules, sized to fit a sheet of paper with the site chrome dropped. Nothing you enter leaves the browser.

Frequently asked questions

Does Schedule 80 have a bigger outside diameter than Schedule 40?

No — the outside diameter is identical, and that is the single most useful fact about schedules. The outside is the surface threads are cut on, fittings socket over and weld ends are prepared to, so it is fixed for a given nominal size across every schedule made. The schedule adds wall inward. NPS 2 is 2.375 in outside whether the wall is 0.154 in or 0.218 in, and the extra 64 thousandths come out of the bore, taking 6.2% of the flow area and adding 37.5% to the weight.

Why does the calculated weight come out higher than what the truck weighed?

Because the wall tolerance is one-sided. ASME B36.10M permits a wall 12.5% under nominal and specifies no upper limit worth the name, so a pipe with a nominal 0.109 in wall may legally be 0.095 in — which makes the length lighter than this page says and its bore 0.028 in larger than the table. For volume that is a rounding error, for weight it is a few percent, and for a pressure rating it is the whole calculation: a pressure design has to use the minimum wall, never the nominal one.

Should hanger spacing be worked out from the empty weight or the full one?

The full weight, plus the insulation and any valve or fitting the span happens to carry. This is where the two figures separate most sharply: on 12 in Schedule 40 the water weighs 90% of what the steel does, so a support scheme sized on the empty pipe is carrying roughly half the load it will see the day the system is filled. Test filling is worse again if the line is normally gas or dry — a hydrostatic test puts the full weight on hangers that were never intended to see it, which is why the test pressure and the test weight are both signed off rather than assumed.

Can I use this for stainless, PVC or copper pipe?

For stainless only with a caution, and not for PVC or copper at all. Choosing 304 or 316 here changes the density by 1.9% and leaves the wall alone, but stainless pipe is dimensioned by ASME B36.19M, whose 5S, 10S, 40S and 80S schedules are a different table from the one above; where your wall differs from B36.10M the answer is wrong by the ratio of the walls. PVC Schedule 40 shares these dimensions and none of these densities. Copper tube is not schedule pipe in any sense — different outside diameters, different wall system, different nominal convention.

What does a run of pipe hold, and how much does that weigh?

Bore decides it and the relationship is quadratic, so intuition undersells the big sizes badly. A foot of 2 in Schedule 40 holds 0.1743 gallons, 4 in holds 0.6613 and 6 in holds 1.5008 — four times the flow area for three times the name. In weight that is 1.45, 5.51 and 12.51 lb/ft of water at 60 °F. The page reports the total gallons for the run as well, which is the figure you want for a chlorination dose, a glycol charge or working out how long a flush takes.

Why is the water temperature an input rather than 62.4 lb/ft³?

Because 62.4 is water at one temperature and plenty of systems are not at it. The customary figures — 62.4 lb/ft³, 8.33 lb/gal, 0.433 psi per foot — are all the same 60 °F reference rounded, which is the waterworks and plumbing convention. Water at 200 °F is 3.6% lighter per gallon than that, so a heating loop full of hot water weighs measurably less than the same loop cold, and a large chilled-water riser weighs a little more. The field is prefilled with the convention and prints where the convention comes from, rather than presenting one temperature as the truth.

The size I need is not in the schedule list. What now?

Then the table stops there and this page stops with it rather than interpolating. Schedules 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 100, 120, 140 and 160 are all real and none of them is here, and a wall guessed between two schedules is not a wall anybody rolls. Look the nominal wall up in B36.10M for the schedule you actually have, then enter the outside diameter from the chart above with that wall on the general metal weight page — same engine, same arithmetic, and the number you enter is one you can point at in the standard.

About NPS, schedules and the two weights of a pipe

Nominal pipe size is the reason this page exists as something separate from a weight formula. NPS approximated the bore of wrought-iron pipe in the 1890s and has been a label ever since: below NPS 14 the outside diameter is a fixed legacy value with no arithmetic relation to the name, and from 14 up the name simply is the outside diameter. So there is no way to get from “2 in Schedule 40” to 2.375 in outside and 0.154 in of wall except by reading a table, and every calculator that asks you for a diameter is quietly asking you to do the lookup it should have done. The schedule then sets the wall, and the wall grows inward — which is why the same fitting takes both schedules and why the bore, not the outside, is what changes. On 1/2 in pipe the step from Schedule 40 to 80 costs 12.2% of the bore; on 12 in it costs 4.7% and adds two thirds to the weight.

The second thing worth separating is which weight was wanted. Empty weight is a shipping, handling and rigging number: it is what comes off the truck and what a crane picks. In service weight is a structural one, and on anything above about 4 in the water stops being a correction and becomes a second load of comparable size — 40% of the total on 6 in Schedule 40, and on 12 in the water weighs 90% of what the steel does. Insulation, valves, the flanges at each end and the contents of a hydrostatic test all sit on top of that. This is also why the water temperature is a field: the customary 62.4 lb/ft³ is water at 60 °F, and a 200 °F heating loop carries 3.6% less weight per gallon than a chilled one of the same size. Where the run holds something other than water, take its specific gravity from the fluid's own data sheet and scale the water row — the page will not invent a density for a fluid it has not been told about.

Everything here is dimensions and arithmetic, and it deliberately stops short of the three things people reach for next. It says nothing about pressure rating, because that calculation needs the minimum wall rather than the nominal one and the whole −12.5% tolerance sits between them. It says nothing about hanger spacing, which is a code and a structural question. And it is not a flow calculation: once the size is chosen for weight, the pipe size calculator checks that the same bore actually carries the duty, and the pipe volume calculator works the contents question the other way round. For pipe you have measured rather than ordered, and for every other profile a fabricator buys, the metal weight calculator takes an outside diameter and a wall directly; if what you are actually supporting is a spring hanger, the spring rate calculator turns that load into a deflection. Piping supports, anchors and guides are engineered and stamped by somebody qualified to stamp them.

Where these pipe weights are worked out

Every number on this page is worked out by JavaScript running in the tab you are reading it in. Nothing you type — loads, lengths, nameplate ratings, the rates your utility charges you — is uploaded, logged or kept, which is also why the calculators carry on working in a mechanical room with no signal.