How Much WW in 55Gal Drum?

[odoh]

I'll be looking at a 55gal drum of ww in the morning and have absolutely no idea of its weight. Anyone w/experience on this? How much should I offer? I've a hunch it'll be out of my league ~ ~

TIA

[Longwood]

I would expect it to be around 800 lbs if it is full. Just a WAG.
Try a $100 bill and see if he takes it.
If you think that is too much, tell me where it is.

[bumpo628]

Most 5 gal buckets of WW are about 150 lbs, so that drum could easily be 10 times that.
I don't know what a full bucket goes for in your area, but that drum is easily worth somewhere between $200 and $500. That being said, of course you should try $100 first as mentioned above.

[nanuk]

tell them it is an environmental hazard....

someone probably has already reported them to EPA

so you will help them out and get it the heck out of there for them....

No cost.. just being helpful!

[crabo]

I bought about 2/3 of a drum once, filled with truck weights, and it was over 900 pounds. I got lucky and bought it for 35 cents a pound.

[catboat]

+1
5 gallon bucket (depending on how topped off) ~ 125+ lbs.

x11 = ~1400-1500 lbs

Lead is @ ~ 1.20 $/lb now
http://www.infomine.com/Investment/HistoricalCharts/ShowCharts.asp?c=Lead

First, ask what price the person had in mind, then go from there. Maybe he'll say$100, then jump on it.


I'm more curious how you are going to get it home. :-)

[Rockydog]

I too would guess somewhere between 1300 and 1700 pounds. It will depend on the size of the weights etc. Small weights will have a higher ratio of clips to lead. If they were all stick ons though, the weight should be higher. I'm wondering how you'd even get it on a fork lift's tines. RD

[Freightman]

Do not have to get it on tines, we moved drums like that by placing the forks where they would barley slide around the rings on side and lift high enough to slide a pallet under it. then sit it in the back of your PU, Tie it down, you can't believe the damage that much weight will do if it starts sliding. You can strap it to the pallet most rental places have the machine to rent.

[shotman]

I got one 1/2 full last year and it was 650lbs they burned holes near top and stuck a bar thru it and put it in truck. I hooked a chain on top and drove away the drum flipped and was easy to sort

[GabbyM]

Had 1,100 pounds in the one I bought. It was a few inches from the top of a blue plastic drum.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I'd expect that'll be 1500 lbs
Most scrap yards around hear are paying about 45¢ per lb for WW
that's about $700

that's what I'd pay.
Jon

[mooman76]

I haven't done WWs in awhile but when I did a 5 gal bucket was close to 150# give or take depending on the contence. I usually got anywhere from 110 -130 # of usable lead after eliminating the garbage that gets mixed in and steel clips, but that was a few years ago. Back then you didn't get hardly any zink or steel weights in them. I agree with others, probably like 1500 # give or take.

[gray wolf]

Tell him you will take it away for him if he pays for your gas,

The $100.00 bill sounds good, start with 75, after all he want's to get rid of them.

[wmitty]

specific gravity of ww is about 11.0
gallon of water is 8.345 lb
8.345 lb x 11.0 = 91.8 lb/gal
91.8 lb/gal x 55 gal = 5048 lb @ 100% density (no air voids)
@ 20% density (80% air voids) - 5048 x .2= 1009 lb
@ 30% = 1514 lb
@ 40% = 2018 lb

@ say 30 lb/gal, should be about 30 x 55 = 1650 lb

Might put us a little closer than a w.a.g. but still hard to believe a solid drum of ww

metal would weigh 5000 lb. Someone check my math on this.

d.b.

[runfiverun]

you'll be near 1200 lbs,
after cleaning and smelting you'll net about 800 lbs in ingots.

[Beau Cassidy]

The full one I saw at the scarp yard was a little over 1500 lbs. I wanted to buy it but didn't know how I was going to handle it.

[geargnasher]

The full one I saw at the scarp yard was a little over 1500 lbs. I wanted to buy it but didn't know how I was going to handle it.

For the right price, I'd fill my trunk with loose ones if I had to. It's amazing how difficult it can be to pick weights out of a bucket or drum, expecially near the bottom. If I had plenty of time and no way to load the whole drum, my preference would be to use a hand winch, nylon strap, and a couple of 2x4s (to keep the drum from rolling once on it's edge) and pull it over. Just shovel them up with a square-point shovel into a wheelbarrow or buckets.

Gear

[GabbyM]

Loaded my drum on a tilt bed trailer. Just tilted the bed up and let it slide to the end and gave it a good push over as it hit the end of the bed.
Garden hoe to pull them out of the barrel then a shovel. Add the price of two or three 20 lb propane cylinders into that and two or three days of melting. Lead is very high right now but in the end you still just have WW alloy.

Have unlaoded pickups before by removing the tail gate. Then tying off the laod to a tree and driving off fast. For sure a get-er-done moment.