I’ve had a long day and after a brief but fruitless search for steel beam weight charts online, I’ve decided to take the easy way out and just ask you guys here.
I have a 10″ beam (not an I beam but a channel) the flanges only extned one way and are maybe 3 inches deep. It is 1/4″ thick.
Can anyone tell me what the weight per foot would be or where I can find that info on my own… thanks!
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Replies
Worst case you can figure the approximate cross-sectional area and calculate volume. Then figure 490 pounds per cubic foot.
Eg, a 10 inch beam with two 3 inch flanges and an average thickness of 1/4 inch would be 16 inches times 1/4 inch = 4 square inches of area, and 4 cubic inches per lineal inch, or 48 cubic inches per lineal foot. Divide by 1728 cubic inches per cubic foot and you get 0.0278 cubic feet per lineal foot. Multiply by 490 pounds per cubic foot gives you 13.6 pounds per lineal foot.
The biggest source of error is likely to be the thickness, of course, since that's not likely to be uniform and an extra 16th of an inch can add about 3 pounds per foot. Plus, especially on I beams, the junction between web and flange is apt to be thicker, and it's hard to calculate its contribution to total cross-section area.
But still this technique should certainly get you within 50% or so, if you're simply trying to figure what size lift you need or some such.
Dan, thanks a million. That was some good stuff there.
Actually it is just a beam I have to remove (about 50' long) and I want to get an idea of how many sections I need to cut it into so I don't get into trouoble with it.
I'll be using a boom lift and the beam is about 15' above the ground (exterior).
By your figures, I get that this 50' beam weighs only 680.55 lbs.
When you're this good, EVERYONE wants a crack at you!
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Well, have someone double-check my figures before you use a 700 pound rated lift for the thing. ;)
Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm but the harm does not interest them. --T.S. Eliot
The lift is probably just fine until I load my fat rear end onto it.
It's a 40 foot extension lift. don't know the rating for weight yet but the beam is in two sections. If our numbers are accurate, I'd assume to be OK.
When you're this good, EVERYONE wants a crack at you!
http://www.petedraganic.com/
> If our numbers are accurate, I'd assume to be OK.Right now they're OUR numbers. If you pull it off OK they'll be YOUR numbers. If there's a f**k-up I'm betting they'll be MY numbers. ;)
Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm but the harm does not interest them. --T.S. Eliot
Pete where did you get this beam? who did you purchase it from? if you are not purchaser who is, and where did they get it? ask to see the receipt or the invoice or anything from the manufacturer or distributor that describes this particular piece of steel in writing.
I would be willing to bet money that the answer you are looking for is right there! this material is typically referred to by everybody that handles it as C 30x10, which means it is C = channel, 30 = the weight in pounds per foot, and 10 = width of the channel. the "deepness" of the flanges as you describe them and the thickness of the steel will vary depending on weight per foot; ie C 30x10 will be 1/4" thick with 2&1/2" flanges whereas C 34x10 will be same thicness with 3" flanges etc etc.
i think what you have is 30# a foot.
It is attached to a building on which I am performing some selective demolition.
When you're this good, EVERYONE wants a crack at you!
http://www.petedraganic.com/
ok ok i just re-read closer all the posts and got it, it is attatched and no way to find bill of lading. i would check with local supplier, their sales person will know the weights if you give very accurate dimensions, make sure its 1/4" thick and not 5/16" etc.
i just did a job where we had to order (by spec) some C 30x10, and if i am remembering correctly it was 1/4" thick with 2&12" flanges, so yours could well be over 30 per foot, lots more than what you guys were looking at.
Yeah, I'm going to need a more dfinitive source for weight calculations.
My plan is to unfasten one end after strapping it into place and then unfasten the other end and lower that end to the ground, return to the first end and then lower that to the ground.
seems smarter than lowering the entire load at once but again, I have to find an accurate figure for the total weight.
When you're this good, EVERYONE wants a crack at you!
http://www.petedraganic.com/
All the dimensions and weights are here:
http://www.metalreference.com/Forms_Hot_Rolled_Steel.html
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
chart does not work, it lists thickness of C10x30 (i had it backwards) as .673 which is over 1/2" but with flanges of about 3"
there is no listing for a channel with 3' flanges at less thickness.
i think the good news is that 30# per foot is a very conservative estimate, so you should be able to remove a 50 footer in two picks and not exceed 750# lift.
You probably didn't look at the right chart. It's probably a MC10x22 off the ship and car hot rolled channel.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
again from the guy who called it "C 30x10" i was just thinking that it had to be "C" to be structural because i have seen that used before and not the "MC" but you are correct it could very well be.
on the other hand though i would hate to underestimate, i may be full of poop, but if i'm gonna guess, i'm gonna guess with lots of safety factor.
on the other hand though i would hate to underestimate, i may be full of poop, but if i'm gonna guess, i'm gonna guess with lots of safety factor.
Indeed, it's always good to have plenty of safety factor.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
Your choices for 10" channel range from about 15 to 30 lb/ft...it's in a building, right? odds are it isn't more than 20. 25 and 30 are more likely found in industrial structures.
For your purposes, planning a lift, guesstimate 20lb/ft, if in doubt, go look at it. It should be labelled, but depending on age it might be hard to read.
in my experience they are almost never labeled on the beam itself. there should be some documentation with the original blueprints and specifications etc. but not usually on the steel, and even if it was on the steel it would have been a sticker, not stamped or cut in and it would be gone.
of course this is from the guy who called a C 10x30 a C30x10 so there ya go.
i have to agree that it is reasonable to estimate it at under 30# per foot, i might not go as low as 20# since we are just guessing and i would hate to be low.
Don't know if you got the answer you need yet but...it sounds like a standard structural channel. The book I have from our supplier lists weight according to web thickness and flange width.
For 10" channel:
web flange width weight per foot
.240 2.600 15.3
.379 2.739 20.0
.526 2.886 25.0
.673 3.033 30.0
Just cut a 12" section out of the middle and weigh it.........Not exactly rocket surgery fer crying out loud.
I did not read through the rest of the posts, so forgive me if this has already been given.
Here is the site you need. I have it bookmarked.
http://www.engineersedge.com/structural_shapes_menu.shtml
Pete, according to Gene's table, your channel is only about 15#s per foot.
Where did someone come up with 30#s?
blue"...if you just do what you think is best testing those limits... it's pretty easy to find exactly where the line is...."
From the best of TauntonU.
Gene, thanks, that is just the type of site I was looking for!
When you're this good, EVERYONE wants a crack at you!
http://www.petedraganic.com/