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  3. Metrology

Metertonne

English translation: metre tonne

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Metertonne
English translation:metre tonne
Entered by: Rowan Morrell

10:32 Mar 14, 2015
German to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Metrology / Swap Body Vehicle
German term or phrase: Metertonne
"Ein allradbetriebenes Wechselladefahrzeug mit Kran, kurz WLFA-K. Das neue Fahrzeug verfügt über einen leistungsstarken 26 mt (Metertonnen) Fahrzeugkran mit einer Kranseilwinde."

From a text about a swap body vehicle. I thought Metertonnen would just be metric tonnes, but according to the German Wikipedia, "Metertonnen" and "metrische Tonnen" are NOT the same. The English Wikipedia throws utterly bewildering terms at me like "short ton", "long ton", "imperial ton" and yes, "metric ton" Or tonne, as the case may be. Maddeningly, no dictionary seems to have heard of "Metertonnen", so I'm in a state of complete and utter confusion over this word and have no idea at all what the proper translation of it should be in English. TIA for any light you can shed on this conundrum.
Rowan Morrell
New Zealand
Local time: 06:44
meter (times) tonne or 7260 foot pound
Explanation:
This is a load specification for cranes, combining the lifted weight with the horizontal distance from the support point (where the crane stands) to the load. In English, either the same unit is used (http://everything2.com/title/load moment), or - in particular in the US - the foot pound. The 26 mt thus would translate into about 188,000 ft lb. The name for this quantity is "Lastmoment" in German and "load moment" in English, or "moment rating" when the maximum load moment approved for a crane is discussed.
Selected response from:

Hans-Jochen Trost
United States
Local time: 13:44
Grading comment
In the end, I decided to go with "metre tonne", as there seemed to be a number of good hits for that in a crane context. As the German Wikipedia said, it's clearly a separate unit of measurement from the metrIC tonne. Anyway, many thanks for your assistance.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +3meter (times) tonne or 7260 foot pound
Hans-Jochen Trost
3metric tonne
Wendy Streitparth
4 -2metric tonne
David Knowles
Summary of reference entries provided
take your pick from the context
Donald Jacobson

Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


38 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
metric tonne


Explanation:
Safe working capacity 2.5 metric tonne.
http://www.ag-cranes.co.uk/used.htm

Bence have a range of vehicles at their disposal to supplement our client’s own fleets. These include 7.5 tonne trucks, 4×2 and 6×2 tractor units and a 24.5 metric tonne mobile crane.
http://whbence.co.uk/what-we-do/servicing/

Wendy Streitparth
Germany
Local time: 20:44
Meets criteria
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ines R.
35 mins
  -> Danke schön, Ines
agree  Ramey Rieger (X): First come, first serve. Hope your'e well, Wendy!
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Ramey. Indeed - recovering from a week's yoga behind convent walls!
disagree  Hans-Jochen Trost: This unit is the product of the length of the lever arm and the lifted weight.
3 hrs
  -> This may well apply for the US. Depends on what the asker requires.
disagree  rainerc (X): With Hans-Jochen
6 hrs
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43 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
metric tonne


Explanation:
Don't worry about it! It's like saying that weight and mass are different. Yes they are, but for most purposes they are equivalent. Since you are translating from German, it's bound to be 1000kg, so you can forget about short tons and the like.


David Knowles
Local time: 19:44
Does not meet criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Hans-Jochen Trost: This unit is the product of the length of the lever arm and the lifted weight.
3 hrs
disagree  rainerc (X): With Hans-Jochen
6 hrs
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
meter (times) tonne or 7260 foot pound


Explanation:
This is a load specification for cranes, combining the lifted weight with the horizontal distance from the support point (where the crane stands) to the load. In English, either the same unit is used (http://everything2.com/title/load moment), or - in particular in the US - the foot pound. The 26 mt thus would translate into about 188,000 ft lb. The name for this quantity is "Lastmoment" in German and "load moment" in English, or "moment rating" when the maximum load moment approved for a crane is discussed.


    Reference: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metertonne
    Reference: http://www.liftmoore.com/faq-whichcrane.htm
Hans-Jochen Trost
United States
Local time: 13:44
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
In the end, I decided to go with "metre tonne", as there seemed to be a number of good hits for that in a crane context. As the German Wikipedia said, it's clearly a separate unit of measurement from the metrIC tonne. Anyway, many thanks for your assistance.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Knowles: Ah - the mystery is solved!
27 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  Steffen Walter
40 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  rainerc (X)
2 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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Reference comments


11 mins
Reference: take your pick from the context

Reference information:
Meter-tonne-second system


meter–tonne–second system

(Abbreviated mts system.) A system of physical units based upon the use of the meter, the metric ton (or tonne: 106 grams), and the second as elementary quantities of length, mass, and time, respectively.

In this system, density is expressed in tonne m-3, velocity or speed in m s-1, force in tonne m-2 (or sthene), pressure in centibars (or pieze), and energy in kilojoules. The mts system is used primarily by European engineers.
Meter-tonne-second system - AMS Glossary
glossary.ametsoc.org/.../Meter-tonne-seco...
Mobile-friendly - Feb 20, 2012 - meter–tonne–second system. (Abbreviated mts system.) A system of physical units based upon the ...

Donald Jacobson
United States
Meets criteria
Native speaker of: English
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