Whether you own a private residence or a business, the decision to purchase a new water heater comes with another decision you must make - what to do with the old one. Taking it to the landfill is one option that many home or business owners make but there are other choices too. Take a look below at some of the ways you can repurpose your water heater.

• Fire pit: If you are creative and mechanically inclined you can repurpose your water heater for use as a fire pit (just the bottom portion). You can do so by simply cutting it to an appropriate height, drilling some holes in the bottom and welding on a pair of legs at the end.
• Smoker/BBQ: Granted this may take quite a bit more skill, but an old water heater can make quite a good (and large) smoker/barbeque grill. After all, most smokers are merely cylinders. Simply build some legs that will support your repurposed heater, do some welding here and there and you will have a rather nice smoker/barbeque grill.
• Flower pots: If you have a green thumb, a repurposed commercial water heater can make a large flower pot for your backyard.
• Donate to charity: Of course if your water heater is still functional and you simply wish to upgrade to a better, more efficient model, you could donate it to charity. Contact your local charity to see if they will accept your still working heater and get a tax write off in the bargain.
• Recycle it yourself (Scrap it): You may be able to sell various components of even a non-working heater for money. Also, you may be able to scrap certain metals that comprise your heater. Take a magnet and go over the unit – after it has safely been disassembled – to help see whether or not the unit contains any valuable metals.
• Junk it: Of course, there is always the option of junking your old unit. First, you may wish to check to see if the unit will be recycled and used in a manner that does not have it sitting in a junkyard indefinitely.

There many other creative uses for old water heater tanks such as for wood stoves, water barrels, etc. Just be sure to look over our site for a top the line commercial hot water heater to purchase when your old unit can no longer do the job.