An empty water heater is about 150 pounds of glass-lined steel, and as scrap it is worth very little. So every removal price is really a price for moving it. With a new unit going in, installers haul the old one for $25 to $150. On its own, curbside pickup is $129.
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| How the tank leaves | The price | Who carries it |
|---|---|---|
| Haul-away with a new install | $25–150 added to the job | The install crew, already standing next to it |
| Scrap collector | Free when steel prices are up | You, to the driveway; he picks the day |
| Transfer station | Gate fee, posted at the scale | You: stairs, tailgate, drive, unload |
| Dropcurb curbside | $129, fixed at booking | You get it outside; a hauler does the truck half |
Replacing it? Take the installer's haul-away
The cheapest removal in the business rides along with an install. Whether it is an independent plumber or the crew behind a big-box replacement, hauling off the old tank usually runs $25 to $150 added to the job, and the reason it is that cheap is that the people charging it are already standing next to the heater with a dolly and an empty truck. If a new unit is going in, ask for haul-away as a line item before the crew arrives, and take it. It beats our price, and it beats it while someone else walks the tank up the stairs.
The rest of this page is for the orphaned tank: the plumber left it behind, the swap was DIY, or the house came with a dead one in the basement.
Free works, if you can move 150 pounds twice
Scrap collectors are real, and when steel prices are up they will take a tank off your driveway for free, because the metal pays for their trip. The catch is that the schedule is theirs. When prices dip, the same listing sits for weeks with no reply, and the tank waits in the garage on a stranger's timing.
The transfer station will take it any day, for a gate fee posted at the scale. Look at what that trip actually is, though. The tank comes up the stairs on a hand truck, goes over a tailgate, rides across town, and comes back off at the pit, and every one of those is you. If you own a pickup and can rope in a helper, it is a perfectly good Saturday errand, and you should run it.
If you do not have the truck, the helper, or a back you want to bet on an awkward 150-pound cylinder, then none of the free prices were ever really yours.
A drained tank at the curb or on the driveway is $129, and a second one is $59. The number is set when you book and it does not change when the hauler sees the tank. No truck to rent, no tailgate to clear, no favor to call in. Book by 2 PM local time and it goes today, seven days a week. 5.0 on Google, 150+ reviews. 4.9 on Trustpilot, 125+ reviews.
Water heater, $129Someone who shopped this exact job
Veronica Protrader, on Google, after doing exactly what you are doing right now: "I shopped around for the best price to take away an old water heater tank and Dropcurb was the best, by a lot."
We move more than 1,000 items a month, and every pickup gets photographed, because you are usually not standing at the curb when the truck comes.
Does it have to be drained first?
Yes. A 40-gallon tank still full of water weighs north of 400 pounds, and nobody hauls one sloshing. Draining is a garden hose on the valve at the bottom of the tank: power or gas off, cold inlet closed, hose run to a floor drain or out the door, and a hot tap opened upstairs so the tank does not vacuum-lock. Give it half an hour, longer if years of sediment have half-buried the valve.
If a plumber did the swap, the old tank is already empty; they drain it before they wrestle it out. Rock it gently before pickup day anyway. If you hear slosh, drain it again.
Still hooked up? That half is a plumber's
If the tank is still plumbed in, capped to a gas line, or wired to the panel, the disconnection is a plumber's work, and gas especially is not a thing to learn on. Dropcurb is the hauling half only. Nobody from us comes inside your home, which is exactly why the price can be $129 and fixed, and it means a tank stranded in a basement with no install crew coming needs either a rented dolly and a strong friend, or a full-service company whose crew carries from inside. If that is your situation, book the crew that carries; it is the right tool for that house.
Most tanks we take never see stairs at all. They are sitting in the garage where the plumber left them, waiting on someone to solve the truck half.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to remove a water heater?
With a new install, haul-away added to the job runs $25 to $150 and is the cheapest route there is. Standing alone, Dropcurb takes a drained tank from the curb or driveway for $129, fixed at booking. Scrap collectors and transfer stations can be nearly free, if you supply the truck and the muscle.
Does the tank have to be drained and disconnected?
Yes to both. A full 40-gallon tank is north of 400 pounds and nobody hauls one that sloshes, and disconnection from water, gas, or power is a plumber's job, not a hauler's. Once it is empty and loose, it is just an awkward 150-pound cylinder, and that part is bookable.
How heavy is an empty water heater?
Around 150 pounds for a standard 40 to 50 gallon tank, more for the big ones. The shape is the real problem: five feet of slick cylinder with nowhere honest to grip. It rolls fine on a hand truck across flat ground, and it stops being a one-person job the moment stairs are involved.
Will a scrap collector really take it for free?
When metal prices are up, yes, usually from the driveway, because the tank's steel pays for their trip. When prices fall the listings go quiet, and an ad that got three replies one month can get none the next. It is a real option with a timing problem you do not control.
Do I have to be home for the pickup?
No. Leave the tank where a hauler can reach it from outside and go to work. You get a text with the ETA that morning, and photos once it is gone. Nobody needs to come inside, and nothing about the price changes at pickup.
Can Dropcurb disconnect or drain it for me?
No. Haulers take tanks that are already empty and loose; plumbing, gas, and wiring stay a plumber's work. The practical move when you replace a heater is to ask the installer to set the old tank outside on their way out. Then the hard part of this page is already done.