Empty Spool Weight Database

Here’s a nifty trick: if you know the weight of your spool when it is empty, you can use that to track how far through a spool of filament you are during a print.

All you have to do is put the spool onto a spool holder, then put that onto a kitchen scale while it’s printing and watch as its weight falls.

When it gets close to the weight of your spool, you will know if there is enough filament left to complete the print. If not, then you can get ready to swap in a new spool.

Empty Spool Weight Database

BrandSizeYearColorWidth (mm)Diameter (Inner/core/outer)Weight
3D Solutech1kg2015Black6557 /81 / 199173g?
3D Supply Source Transparent PLA/PETG1kg2015Black6557 / 81/ 199173g
Atomic Filament1kg2015Black7252 / 98 / 204319g
Atomic Filament1kg2016Black7452 / 90 / 201306
Colorfabb750g+2015Clear5753/105/200236g?
eSun Inland1kg2015Black6753 / ? / 199224g?
eSun Intservo PLA/ABS1kg2015Clear6452 / 90 / 200253g
Filamentum750g2017Clear5753/105/200236g?
HanBot1kg2014Black7840 / ? / 198?
Hatchbox ABS1kg2015Black6232 / 58 / 200?
Hatchbox ABS1lb2015Black6132 / 58 / 163157g
Honeycomb Drone1kb2015Clear5352 / 60 / 220183
IC3D ABS2.5lbs2014Black7452 / ? / 203?
Invent-a-Part PLA1kg2014Black7457 / 96 / 198227g
JustPLA Chroma Line PLA1kg2015Black9357 / 95 / 180197g
MadeSolid PET+1lb2014Black5552 / ? / 199?
MadeSolid PET+1kg2014Black7153 / 93 / 203345g
MakerGeeks Brand PLA1kg2015Black8338 / ? / 190?
MonoPrice PLA1kg2015Black7839 / 96 / 194221g
NinjaFlex500g2014Black5452 / 94 / 200329g
Octave ABS1kg2012Black9032 / 58 / 161168g
Prototype Supply1kg2014Black6953 / ? / 199?
Reprapper ABS1kg2012Black9032 / 58 / 161157g
Sainsmart TPU800g2015Black6557 / 81? / 199173g
Sainsmart TPU800g2015White8432 / 49 / 162153g
SMW3D1kg2015Black7832 / ? / 200254g
Taulman Nylon / Tglase1lb2014Black7019 / 51 / 12790g
Taulman1lb2018Black5452 / 97 / 200390g
Taulman PLA1kg2015Black8438 / ? / 190?
Ultimachine PLA1kg2012Black7153 / 93? / 203345g ?
Up! ABS700g2013Black5553 / ? / 198?
XYD Filament1kg2015Black6753 / ? / 198?
Yasin1kg2015Black6048 / ? / 199?
Zen Toolworks Flexible1kg2014Black6052 / ? / 198?
Ziro1kg226g

Note: all measurements are estimates. Click here for information source.

Inland Flex TPU Empty spool weight

How to find the empty spool weights of a full spool

Suppose you don’t see the spool you are looking for in the above database. How do you find the empty spool weight without removing all of the filament from a spool?

You might not be able to get the exact empty weight of a spool, but you should be able to calculate a close enough estimation.

Here’s how to estimate the empty weight of a full spool:

  1. Cut off a 1 cm length of filament, say a centimeter or less, and weigh it.
  2. Note that the approximate length of the filament on your spool is 330 meters for 1.75 mm diameter filament on a 1kg spool, and 110 meters for a 3.00 mm diameter filament on a 1kg spool. If you can find a more exact length from the manufacturer, even better.
  3. Multiply the weight of your 1 cm sample section of the filament by the full length of filament on the spool (approx. 3300 cm). Don’t forget to subtract the weight of the 1 cm sample.
  4. Finally, weigh the spool and subtract the total filament weight from the total spool weight and you will have a usable approximation of the weight of your empty spool.

Leave a comment with your spool weights!

Hatchbox empty spool

This database will be updated on an ongoing basis. Feel free to leave a comment with your empty spool weights and we will add them to the table.

If your measurements differ from our data, let us know so we can check the weights and let everyone know. This is a team effort so help us help everyone else!

Thanks, and happy printing!

9 thoughts on “Empty Spool Weight Database”

  1. ZYLTech spools for 1kg spools are approximately 187g. Black. I haven’t measured the dimensions but this info came from an email exchange I had with their customer service regarding the issue who went into the warehouse and weighed several spools and gave me an average.

    Reply
  2. Thanks for providing this resource! Just measured my empty spools:

    Overture PLA (1kg): 249g (Batch 200201152):

    Prusament PLA (1kg): 192g (Date on Spool: 4/7/20)

    Prusament PETG (1kg): Avg: 194g
    Spool 1: 192g (Date on Spool: 5/12/20)
    Spool 2: 192g (Date on Spool: 5/16/20)
    Spool 3: 194g (Date on Spool: 6/26/20)
    Spool 4: 196g (Date on Spool: 6/29/20)
    Spool 5: 196g (Date on Spool: 6/29/20)
    Spool 6: 194g (Date on Spool: Ineligible)

    Reply

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