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Thread: how many pounds in a 5gal bucket?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
    lylejb's Avatar
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    how many pounds in a 5gal bucket?

    About how many pounds are in a full 5 gal bucket of WW?

    i know it will vary somewhat with the size of the weight / clips, and of course the amount of stems / junk, but does anyone have a good average or "rule of thumb"?

    i asked my 2 local tire stores today, both want $10 / gal of weights. i.e. 5gal = $50
    not so sure that's a good deal

    thanks

    LB

  2. #2
    Boolit Master


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    Anywhere from a 120 to 150 pounds.
    Call it 135 average.
    50 bucks is really steep.

    Last bucket I got was 4/5's full. Cost was a 20 pack of Coors Light.
    Matt

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  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Mattt Gs' estimate is right on. I have weighed numerous buckets.

  4. #4
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    Man, I wish I had a bucket of wheel weights for every time this question has been asked here!

    Welcome aboard!
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
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  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    More than I can lift. The place I get mine uses 3gal, they weigh in about 100#-110# depending on composition. I give him $20 max a bucket, sometimes he gives them to me free.

  6. #6
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    Just finished smelting a 5-gallon bucket of culled clip-on weights and not counting the 30+ pounds of clips ended up with 104 ingots...so 135-pounds is pretty darn close.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master HORNET's Avatar
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    How many pounds of wheelweights in a 5 gallon bucket? Nowhere near enough.........
    Rick
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  8. #8
    Boolit Master in Heaven's Range HammerMTB's Avatar
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    163 yesterday

    I just bought one yesterday. Took my bathroom scale to show 'em. 163 lbs, heaping over the top of the bucket. Doncha know THAT was a task to lift into the truck. Made me want my little rice grinder back.....
    Then I got home to find one of my tire shop buddies had dropped one off for free!
    I'll make sure he doesn't buy beer for a while....

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    thanks for the info. That's interesting, guess wheel weights don't pack down as much as i would have thought.

    i did the math, and a 5 gal solid ingot of pure lead would be 472 lb. (i'd take it if i could get it, just not sure how...)

    i know WW is slightly less dense that pure lead, and i know there will be loss of clips, junk, and dross, but still i was expecting more useable weight than that.

    Thanks for the info.

    to Waksupi, i looked it the "sticky" threads, couldn't find it. Maybe you could make a sticky with this answer if you get asked this question alot.

    Thanks all

    LB

  10. #10
    Boolit Master Marlin Hunter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by waksupi View Post
    Man, I wish I had a bucket of wheel weights for every time this question has been asked here!
    If you did get a bucket of wheel weights every time the question was asked, how much would each bucket weigh?

  11. #11
    Boolit Master snaggdit's Avatar
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    Yeah, this gets asked about once a month. +1 on 135 ave. big weights net more, less clips. Once you separate out stick ons you should expect to get 120+ from a FULL 5 gallon pail. I always carry some 3 gallon pails in my jeep. If a source has some I will dump them into my buckets so I don't strain my back as much loading them. Also helps with the goodwill if they don't lose their buckets.
    "To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. " - Thomas Jefferson

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  12. #12
    Boolit Master

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    How much does a 5gal bucket of 1lb ingots weigh? How much does a 5gal bucket of No 7 1/2 shot weigh? You cant pick up either one . The bail/handle will strip out.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master

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    Surprizing but answer is very close to the same for the ingots and the shot 325#

  14. #14
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    When I buy my wheel weights (I have several tire dealership accounts - and I travel to them), I weigh each bucket since I do this as a business. I notice different kinds of "5 gallon" buckets. Not all the buckets I run into are like the Home Depot's 5 gallon bucket. I am sure you all have seen what I have seen. Some buckets are a bit taller than Home Depot's, some a bit shorter and squattier, etc.

    On Saturday, here is how the "5 gallon" buckets weighed in (and they were not all like Home Depot's): 125.5, 127.5, 180, 164, 168.8, 71.7 and 54.4

    On another run, the buckets weighed in at: 100.2, 125.8, 150.4, 106.9, 143.2, 123.9, 155.5 , 105.7, 152.8, and 151.7

    HammerMTB has the right idea about bringing a scale. I think looks can be deceiving! I bring industrial trays to the shops - and after the buckets are weighed, the wheel weights are off-loaded to my trays. And, yes, you do get other stuff mixed in like lug nuts, valve stems, cigarette buts, screws, nuts, valve caps, pieces of latex gloves, pieces of moldings, washers, candy wrappers, etc.

    When back at my shop, I do a preliminary sort when I offload from the trays to smaller containers for storage for a future casting session. I remove most of the above mentioned debris prior to putting the weights into the smaller containers. I don't bother removing the "non-lead" weights. I do not run a hot pot, so the zinc, steel, and other alloys are skimmed off the top of the pot.

    I keep the batches separate, so as to track my yield and propane usage. I average about 3500 pounds of ingots for a 100 pound tank.

    Some examples:
    366.7 Raw WW in - - - 299.1 WW ingots out - - approx yield: 81.6 %

    770.7 Raw WW in - - - 673.6 WW ingots out - - approx yield: 87.4 %

    320.1 Raw WW in - - - 245.0 WW ingots out - - approx yield: 77 %

    Hopefully the yield will not decrease too rapidly... but the push is on to ban lead wheel weights.

    WW's are already banned in Europe (since 2005); and being phased out in Japan and Korea. California has SB 757, which the Senate passed, that makes lead wheel weights illegal next year. I obtained this information from a blog that is tracking the progress of this bill: http://www.changecalifornia.org/2009...elweights.html

    So, scoop up all you can, while you can!

    With kind regards to all,

    ~ Kathie

  15. #15
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    5 gal weight

    I weighed the one that I got the other day, it was overflowing with wheelweights. It weighed 180 lbs. Hope to smelt it down today. Best regards the toolman.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master at Heaven's Range 2010

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    Lead

    I wonder what they will do with the mines.I do believe they get more than lead out.it may even turn out better as if they cant sell there may be a low cost market ,that casters can take advantage of.
    WILDCATT

  17. #17
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    Heavy enough that if the bucket handle gives out, you might be missing a few toes

  18. #18
    Boolit Master evan price's Avatar
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    I figure that after I pull out the steel and zinc and all the trash, and melt the clips out, I get 100# of actual lead per 5-gallon bucket. So far that's been pretty close to right on. I have been paying $10 per bucket full.

    There's regular buckets, tall skinny buckets, and short fat buckets. In general I've been getting the standard bucket. I always carry a skinny 3-gallon inside a fat 5-gallon in my Jeep for just in case. It really helps you get weights when you have your own buckets. Just don't get attached to them, it's eaiser to just trade buckets than it is to dump 5-gallons of weights.
    Due to market fluctuations I am no longer buying range scrap jackets.

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  19. #19
    Boolit Buddy redbear705's Avatar
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    Well I think I hit a jackpot of some kind today.

    I was at the range trying to clean up a bunch of junk that was making an eyesore of the place.

    I found three pieces of steel covering up a plastic barrell so I when I looked into the 55 gal drum I see a couple of mouse nests and an old birds nest so I get that stuff off the top and wholly cow!

    I find the barrel 2/3s full of used lead bullets and fragments plus some shredded rubber! not much rubber but some.

    So far I got out two six gallon buckets...so now I got to go back and get the rest before anyone else finds my treasure!

    From what I can tell this is from a backstop that used shredded rubber and most of the big stuff has been removed and only the small shreds are mixed in with the lead. At some time someone must have thought that they would store this stuff outside out of mind and they never came back to pick it up.

    I hope the alloy of the bullets will be useful enough that I wont have to put too much tin in to get a good fill an or hardness.

    Finally a break on the price of lead!
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  20. #20
    Boolit Master at Heaven's Range jawjaboy's Avatar
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    But what if the entire bucket is full of nothing but 4(minimum) to 16 ounce truck weights?


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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check