Price data · 8 September 2026·Plumbing & heating
Copper hot water cylinder scrap value UK
The old vented cylinder in the airing cupboard is the single most valuable thing most households will ever scrap. It is almost pure copper sheet, and a heating engineer replacing it with an unvented stainless unit is leaving money on the landing if it goes in the skip. Values below use today's copper-tank price.
Worth today
LatestStandard 117 L cylinder (450 × 1050 mm)
£79–£101
per cylinder, at 11–14 kg × £7.20/kg (Copper Tanks/Cylinders)
UK yard average. Your yard will differ by region, load size and how clean the metal is.
What each type is worth
Weight × today's grade price
Typical weights from manufacturer data and yard experience. The value column is that weight multiplied by today's UK average for the grade a yard would pay it as.
Standard 117 L cylinder (450 × 1050 mm)
The most common size in UK homes
Weight11–14 kg
£79–£101
Fortic combination cylinder
Cold tank on top, more sheet
Weight15–25 kg
£108–£180
Immersion heater element
Brass head, copper sheath: goes in as brass
Weight0.5–1 kg
£2.35–£4.70
How yards grade copper hot water cylinder
Bare copper cylinders are their own grade at most UK yards, a little below heavy copper because of the brass bosses and solder seams. A cylinder still wearing its sprayed-on foam jacket is a "foamy tank" and can be paid at roughly half the bare price, since the foam has to be burnt or stripped off before melting. Unvented cylinders fitted since the 1990s are stainless steel, not copper, and go in as mixed stainless at a fraction of the value.
Getting the best price
- Drain it fully and let it stand upside down. Yards deduct for water and some refuse cylinders still dripping.
- Strip the foam lagging if you can. An hour with a knife and a wire brush can double the price of a foamy tank.
- Cut off the brass bosses and the immersion heater and sell them as brass. Left on, they downgrade the copper.
- Do not flatten it before weighing unless the yard asks. Some pay more for cylinders they can inspect for steel.
- Check for a steel liner with a magnet. A few 1960s combination units are copper-clad steel and go as light iron.
Got some to sell?
Get a quote from a licensed yard near you
Tell us roughly how much you have and your postcode. We pass it to a licensed dealer buying copper hot water cylinder this week. Free, and payment is always by bank transfer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a copper hot water cylinder worth for scrap?
A standard 117-litre cylinder holds 11-14 kg of copper and is paid at the copper-tank rate per kilo. The live table above gives today's value; larger 210-litre cylinders roughly double it.
How much does a copper cylinder weigh?
Roughly 100 g of copper per litre of capacity for a grade 3 vented cylinder: 9-11 kg for a 90 L, 11-14 kg for a 117 L, 19-24 kg for a 210 L. Fortic combination tanks weigh more because of the integral cold tank.
Do scrap yards take foam-covered copper cylinders?
Yes, but as a lower "foamy tank" grade, often around half the bare-copper rate. Stripping the foam yourself is usually worth the time.
Is my cylinder copper or stainless steel?
Vented cylinders with a cold tank in the loft are almost always copper and have a dull orange-brown colour where unlagged. Unvented cylinders (pressurised, with an expansion vessel) are stainless steel and silver-grey. A magnet sticks weakly to some stainless and not at all to copper.
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