Copper Cylinder Scrap Value: What an Old Tank Is Worth

How scrap yards price a copper cylinder

Yards pay by weight, per kilogramme, and they sort copper into grades. Clean, bright copper wire and pipe sits at the top. Copper cylinders and tanks are usually their own category, lower down, because a cylinder is never pure copper: the seams are soldered, the bosses and fittings are brass, and most have foam insulation bonded to the outside.

So there are two things you need to know: the weight of your cylinder and the rate the yard is paying for that grade on the day. Copper tracks the metals market and can move noticeably from week to week, which is why no honest page can give you a fixed price. Ring two or three yards, tell them you have a domestic copper cylinder, say whether it is lagged or stripped, and ask for their rate.

Weighing it is easy once it is empty. Stand on bathroom scales holding it and subtract your own weight. A small vented cylinder from an airing cupboard is light enough for one person to carry. The foam adds bulk but little weight.

Scrap metal dealers in England and Wales must check your identity and cannot pay cash. Take photo ID with a current address and expect payment by bank transfer.

What lowers the price, and how to get the best rate

The yard will downgrade or reject a cylinder that is not clean. Most of what lowers the price can be dealt with in an afternoon with basic tools.

• Foam insulation: a factory foamed cylinder may be priced lower or refused until the foam is stripped. Wear gloves and a mask and do it outside.
• Brass fittings: unscrew or cut off the compression nuts, bosses and valves. Brass is its own grade and yards pay separately for it.
• The immersion heater: unscrew it from the boss. It is a mix of metals and will pull the whole cylinder down a grade if left in.
• Water and sludge: make sure it is fully drained and dry. Nobody pays copper rates for water.
• A quilted jacket: take off any separate lagging jacket and bin it; it has no scrap value.

Is my cylinder copper or stainless steel?

Scratch through the insulation near a pipe connection or look at the top boss. Copper is reddish brown, often dulled with green or dark patches. Stainless steel is grey or silver. Most vented cylinders fed from a tank in the loft are copper, and so is almost every combination cylinder, the type with its own cold tank on top that is common in flats. Most unvented cylinders are stainless steel.

The pipework also tells you. An unvented cylinder has a tundish and a discharge pipe running outside, and its data plate will show a working pressure in bar. A vented cylinder has an open vent pipe rising above it and a cold tank somewhere higher up. Our guide to unvented vs vented cylinder systems explains how to tell them apart, and stainless steel or copper cylinder covers why the two metals are used where they are.

Stainless steel is worth far less per kilogramme than copper, so a stainless unvented vessel rarely makes the trip worthwhile on its own. It still goes for recycling rather than landfill.

Removing an old cylinder safely

Most people asking about scrap value have a cylinder that is already out, or one that is about to be replaced. If it is still in place, it has to be isolated and drained before it goes anywhere. A full cylinder is very heavy and the water inside can be scalding if the heating has been on. Our step by step guide on how to drain a hot water cylinder covers that part.

A vented copper cylinder is a job a competent DIYer can disconnect once it is drained and the immersion is isolated at the switch. An unvented cylinder is different: the sealed side is notifiable work for an engineer qualified for unvented systems, and disconnecting it wrongly can leave the safety valves or expansion vessel in a dangerous state. Leave that to a professional.

Removal in London flats is often the hardest part. Many airing cupboards were built after the cylinder went in, so the doorway is smaller than the vessel. Cutting a copper cylinder down in place is normal and does not affect its scrap value.

Who keeps the old cylinder when a plumber replaces it?

Whoever you agree keeps it. Many installers take the old cylinder away and scrap it, and the scrap value is quietly built into their price. That is fine, but it should be stated. If you want to keep it and sell it yourself, say so before the job starts, and expect the removal and disposal line on the quote to change.

Our own hot water cylinder replacement includes taking the old vessel away the same day for metal recycling, so nothing is left in your garden or bin store. If scrap value matters to you, raise it when you get the quote and we will be clear about how it is handled. Our checklist of what a plumbing quote should actually include lists this among the items to see in writing.

Before you scrap it: does it actually need replacing?

Scrap value is small next to the cost of replacing a cylinder that still had years left in it. A leaking vessel or a coil so furred it takes hours to heat are reasons to replace. A failed immersion element, a sticking thermostat or a dripping valve usually are not; those are ordinary repairs. Is it worth repairing an old cylinder in your case? That guide walks through the decision, and the signs your hot water cylinder needs replacing set out what really ends one.

If it does need to go, the choice of replacement matters far more than the scrap cheque. What a cylinder replacement actually costs explains what drives the total, and whether to stay vented or move to an unvented system.

Need the old one out and a new one in?

We replace copper and stainless cylinders across London, take the old vessel away the same day and tell you up front how the scrap is handled. If the cylinder only needs a repair, we will say so rather than sell you a new one.

Call 020 4652 5111 to book. Our rates are on the pricing page and are agreed before we attend.