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Thread: Approximate weight of snow???

  1. #1

    Approximate weight of snow???

    I know there are a bunch of variables, dry vs wet, but what would be a rough estimate on the weight of snow ? Yesterday, I shoveled a path about 3 feet wide, by 30 feet in length one way, then another path 20 feet, then another 30 feet on the other side of the house, then 8 feet in length in front of the mail box, and finally, another 8 feet in front of the garbage totes. all this was 24 to 30 inches in depth.

    How much would all that snow that I shoveled weigh ??


    I am bone tired from all that shoveling!!!!!!!!

  2. #2
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    I did a quick internet search and found "average snow" weighs 15 pounds per cubic foot, "light fluffy snow" weighs about 5-6 pounds per cubic foot. "Wind driven compacted snow" can weigh 20 pounds per cubic foot. "Wet snow" can weigh 20-25 pounds per cubic foot. Water weighs 62.4 pounds per cubic foot. Assuming all your snow was 24" deep and all the paths were 3 feet wide, you shoveled 576 cubic feet or about 8640 pounds of "Average" snow.

    A good snow blower can do that much in about 20 minutes without breaking a sweat.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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  3. #3
    The official wt of snow to use per the bldg codes is roughly 20pcf. Further to this another interesting item is that 10" of snow equates to 1" of water.

    Pmt

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    Wow- so a 40x30 roof with a foot of snow is holding 24,000 pounds. That's a lot of weight.

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    A good snow blower can do that much in about 20 minutes without breaking a sweat.
    Well that is good... who'd want a sweaty snow blower parked in their garage?

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
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    Jim, now that is funny.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer View Post
    Wow- so a 40x30 roof with a foot of snow is holding 24,000 pounds. That's a lot of weight.
    I can testify. I've had to shovel my roof on more than one occasion. No.fun.at.all.
    Brett
    Peters Creek, Alaska

    Man is a tool-using animal. Nowhere do you find him without tools; without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all. — Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

  8. #8
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    When I was a boy in South Dakota I can remember my Dad having to shovel down through 3 feet of snow to grease the windmill. Well it might have been 2 feet. Time changes memories.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brett Luna View Post
    I can testify. I've had to shovel my roof on more than one occasion. No.fun.at.all.
    Best way to avoid having to shovel a roof is to put on a metal roof. The snow just slides right off.


    PC160047.jpg


    snow104.JPG
    Rich
    ALASKANS FOR GLOBAL WARMING

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  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Richard McComas View Post
    Best way to avoid having to shovel a roof is to put on a metal roof. The snow just slides right off.


    PC160047.jpg


    snow104.JPG
    nah. Move to Houston.

  11. #11
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    I am bone tired from all that shoveling!!!!!!!!
    Back when I worked in a paint store, we'd get regular shipments in via 40' semi.
    Usually 20 skids w/120 gallons per skid.
    We'd have to unload it all by hand and wheel it into the store's back door.
    2400 gallons X 54 pounds (rough average) per gallon comes out to 129,600 pounds.
    We figured each box got handled three times - once onto a two wheeler, once staged in the warehouse and once put into it's place on the shelf.

    The worst of all though were the bags of waterproofing. They came in a full 40' semi , stacked two skids high the full length of the box.
    That was 40 skids w/80 50# bags per skid.

    That was a long time ago though - but - I'd still rather hump a couple of semi's loaded with paint than shovel snow any day of the week!
    "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich Engelhardt View Post
    Back when I worked in a paint store, we'd get regular shipments in via 40' semi.
    Usually 20 skids w/120 gallons per skid.
    We'd have to unload it all by hand and wheel it into the store's back door.
    2400 gallons X 54 pounds (rough average) per gallon comes out to 129,600 pounds.
    We figured each box got handled three times - once onto a two wheeler, once staged in the warehouse and once put into it's place on the shelf.

    The worst of all though were the bags of waterproofing. They came in a full 40' semi , stacked two skids high the full length of the box.
    That was 40 skids w/80 50# bags per skid.

    That was a long time ago though - but - I'd still rather hump a couple of semi's loaded with paint than shovel snow any day of the week!
    Not questioning your estimated weight, but that would be about a 160,000 tractor trailer. Is that legal in Ohio?

  13. #13
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    in US, max total weight for normal ( not oversized or special heavy hauls using many more axles than a standard 3 axle truck, 2axle trailer) is 80,000 pounds total. Payload typically around 40,000 give or take depending on the specific truck/trailer. You couldn't load a standard 2 axle trailer that heavy, it would break the springs, mash the tires flat or blow them out. Van trailers are mostly used for palleted items that are loaded and unloaded with a forklift that drives in the trailer to load and unload. Flatbeds used for bulky and heavy items have much stronger frames and crossmembers supporting the flooring ( mostly thick wood) where a hugh amount of weight maybe sitting in a small area on the trailer bed. Like a huge coil of steel which you frequently see 1 large sometimes 2 smaller being a load due to weight limits.

    I think the error here is a 54 pound gallon can of paint.
    Last edited by Mike Lassiter; 02-09-2015 at 11:12 AM.
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich Engelhardt View Post
    2400 gallons X 54 pounds (rough average) per gallon comes out to 129,600 pounds.
    Ill give you 54 lbs. for a box (4 gal.) but even that is a stretch. Paint is +/- 10 lbs per gal. 2400 gal is closer to 25k lbs. with packaging.

  15. #15
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    When I was installing Revco Drug stores we always looked at the weight of the fixture in the trailers We would get between 40,000 and 44,000 LBs per trailer. would get 3 or 4 trailers a store all in one day. Had to hand unload them as there was no dock

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