Schedule 40 Steel Pipe

[PopcornNMore]

I'm looking for inexpensive 4.5" O.D. and 3.0" O.D. schedule 40 steel pipe to mount my Channel Master satellite dishes this spring. I called a local steel co., but they wanted $118 for each 8' piece. I am looking for at least 3 pieces.

Does anyone know of a cheaper source?

 

[iammike]

When I put up my cband dish a couple years ago, I went to a local scrap yard and got a 10.5 foot section of schedule 80. I think I paid around $30 or so. It was rusty as hell, but I hit it with a wire brush and then, once I had it in the ground, painted it with Rustoleum. The kind with the hammer finish that gets real hard when dry. It looks great and it's solid as all get out.

Mike

 

[linuxman]

Check a local scrap yard or recycling center.

I could have had all I wanted of those sizes when I was looking for 6" pipe this morning. An 8 foot piece should cost no more than $20.00.

They sell the scrap steel at market value per pound.

They might mark it up a little because you are just buying a couple of pieces.

 

[mikekohl]

Scrapyard steel is sold by the pound, and if you don't mind doing a bit of work,
will be the best way to acquire steel pipe at a discount.

Steel pipe is sold 2 ways....."pipe" goes by its inside diameter, and a
schedule thickness (schedule 40 typically having a wall about 1/4 inch).
Therefore 3-inch outside diameter is sold as 2-1/2 inch ID schedule 40.
Steel can also be sold as "tubing", and rated by OUTSIDE diameter.
Take a tape measure with you and see what you are getting.

One more tip....in steel wholesalers, as well as the junkyard, you often get
the best price by hauling away a full length. This means a 20 or 21 foot
length of pipe. The scrapyard might be willing to torch or cut the pipe
into smaller lengths for a small fee, but you will be paying by the pound
for the entire length of pipe. A steel yard generally charges by the foot,
plus cutting fees. In practice, 12 or 13 feet of pipe sold by the foot will
cost about the same as a full length, because they have another price schedule
for full lengths of pipe that they don't have to handle or cut.
Sometimes you might find a steel yard has a remnant section of shorter pieces, and you might get lucky enough to find something close to the length you need, and avoid a cutting charge.

 

[Mike500]

Steel pipe is sold 2 ways....."pipe" goes by its inside diameter, and a schedule thickness (schedule 40 typically having a wall about 1/4 inch).
Therefore 3-inch outside diameter is sold as 2-1/2 inch ID schedule 40.
Steel can also be sold as "tubing", and rated by OUTSIDE diameter.
Take a tape measure with you and see what you are getting.

Not true. Nominal pipe has nothing to do with the true inside diameter. The outside diameter is more uniform than the inside, without regard to the schedule or wall thickness.

Two inch nominal is almost always 2.375 inches in diameter, while the inside diameter varies with the schedule number.

Here is a link to a schedule table;

http://www.engineersedge.com/pipe_schedules.htm

 

[PopcornNMore]

Thank you guys for your help as always, I will check out some scrap yards for the pipe needed.

One guy at work suggested I used schedule 80 PVC pipe filled with concrete and rebar. I think I would rather go to the scrap yard and buy the steel pipe needed at a discount.

 

[tvropro]

I got a 10 foot length of pipe for $10.00 for my Primestar 90cm dish from a scrap yard. I cut it with a sawzall to 7 feet, and welded some flat stock on the side by the bottom so the pipe won't turn before installing in the concrete, worked great.

 

[iammike]

Thank you guys for your help as always, I will check out some scrap yards for the pipe needed.

One guy at work suggested I used schedule 80 PVC pipe filled with concrete and rebar. I think I would rather go to the scrap yard and buy the steel pipe needed at a discount.

I won't say that won't work, as I've never tried it, but PVC sounds pretty iffy to me. I think you're doing the right thing going for steel. I filled my schedule 80 steel pipe with concrete and also put rebar through the bottom.