How Do I Read a Sub Water Meter

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If you receive a monthly h2o nib at your residence, then your h2o usage is monitored by a water meter. Water meters feature numerical readouts that brand it easy for you or your expanse utilities board to keep track of the corporeality of water running to your home on a daily ground. Whether your belongings is equipped with a standard analog dial or a newer digital display, calculating your water usage is elementary. Just expect at the number on the brandish, then decrease that number from the previous calendar month's to determine how much water you can expect to exist billed for. However, keep in heed that some municipalities use a device that sends a signal using radio frequencies, and so you would not be able to read the meter in these cases.

1. 1

   Locate your water meter. Residential water meters can commonly be found at the front of the holding virtually the adjourn or street. They are most often housed in concrete boxes underground with heavy steel covers that are bolted shut and labelled "Water" for ease of identification.^[1]

   • In an apartment or condominium, the water meters will likely be located in a utility room in the basement or at footing level. They might also be located direct on the edifice's exterior.^[ii]
   • If your water nib is included in the price of your hire or homeowner's association dues, the usage for your entire edifice volition be read from a single meter.
   • Make certain to bank check with the provider outset to notice out if information technology is okay for you lot to admission the meter.

2. 2

   Remove the cover of the meter box. Insert a screwdriver or similar tool into 1 of the pocket-size holes in the cover and pry information technology upwards carefully. Prepare the embrace aside somewhere nearby. If your meter box has a hinged cover, simply pull back the hat.

   • Never attempt to open up your meter box by hand. Snakes, rodents, insects and other dangerous animals take been known to nest within water meter boxes.
   • Go ahead and wipe the underside of the cover make clean of dust, dirt and cobwebs while y'all have it off.

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3. iii

   Check whether your property has analog or digital meters. An analog meter will appear as a large circular dial that may take one or more than moving hands.^[3] Newer digital meters characteristic glowing readouts similar to an alert clock and don't require any complicated calculations to read.^[4]

   • An analog water meter may be covered with a protective cap y'all will need to elevator in gild to see the meter'due south brandish.
   • Some digital meters are calorie-free activated and won't testify your water usage until you shine a flashlight on them.^[5]
   • Keep in mind that you will be held liable for any repairs or assessments if the meter is damaged.

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1. i

   Write down the number on the display. Jot down the reading exactly equally it appears. You tin refer back to this number later on when tabbing out your daily, weekly, or monthly usage.

   • If you lot're interested in tracking your h2o usage, consider keeping a utilities journal and taking readings at regular intervals besides equally checking the monthly statements that your water purveyor provides.
   • A record of past readings can also come in handy for detecting potential leaks.

2. 2

   Notation the position of the punch on an analog meter. At that place are 9 digits effectually the face of an analog display, depending on the meter each number represents one cubic foot or one gallon of water. For every cubic foot or gallon that runs through your home, the long sweep hand volition move from one number to the side by side. In one case the hand makes a full revolution around the dial, on this meter, that's 10 gallons (37.nine L) used.^[6]

3. 3

   Fill in the terminal digit of the readout. The final digit on the display is a painted on "static zero," which means it e'er appears as a nix. It'southward a placeholder. Its value becomes the number the sweep hand is pointing to. You enter this as function of your reading. To ensure that y'all're getting an authentic reading be sure to include it. ^[7]

   • For example, if the brandish reads "012340" and the sweep hand is on the "5," so the meter is actually at 12,345 cubic feet or cubic gallons.
   • Round downward when the sweep paw rests between numbers. For more precision, note the small tick mark that the sweep paw is pointing to - on this meter these volition be tenths of a cubic foot or cubic gallon. Then, the reading from above becomes 12,345.0. Just if the sweep paw was pointing to the second tick mark the reading would be 12,345.ii.

4. four

   Record the usage and flow rate straight from a digital meter. If your holding is outfitted with a digital display, you're in luck—they're much easier to make sense of. The row of numbers at the bottom shows the total corporeality of h2o registered by the meter. The smaller readout in the corner is the rate of menses, or the amount of water that passes through your home per minute.

   • Your digital meter may become back and forth between showing the usage and flow rate, or the two readings may be separated into unlike sections of the display.^[8]

5. five

   Replace the meter cap. Don't forget to fit the protective cap back over the punch earlier yous close upward the water meter box. This volition assist prevent possible damage and continue information technology clean so information technology can exist hands read in the hereafter.

6. 6

   Learn how to interpret your readings. Not all municipalities measure water usage the same fashion.^[nine] For example, charges may vary during times of year when water usage is more frequent, such equally in the summertime when people tend to wash their cars outside. To find out how your meter is read, and therefore how your bill is structured, contact your local provider. Once you accept an understanding of how the billing system works, you tin begin keeping track of your monthly consumption yourself.

   • H2o usage is virtually commonly measured in either cubic feet or gallons. 1 cubic foot may represent to anywhere from 1–8 gallons (3.eight–30 Fifty), depending on how the utilities codes are written where y'all live.^[10]

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1. one

   Have monthly readings. To be able to accurately approximate how much water is running through your dwelling house, yous'll need to check your h2o meter every thirty days. That way, you'll have something to compare the previous month'southward study to.

   • Reviewing your readings over the grade of several months will assistance you spot patterns in your usage, which can be helpful if you lot're taking steps to conserve water.
   • The more often you check your water meter, the more likely y'all are to grab leaks earlier they become serious.

2. 2

   Determine how much water your household uses. Since you know that your h2o usage is billed in units of 100 cubic feet, you tin can driblet the terminal two digits of the readout (12,345 becomes 123). This number can and so be subtracted from the next month's reading. Let'southward say that at that fourth dimension the meter reads thirteen,545 (or 135)—that means you'll be charged for 1,200 (or 12) units.

   • H2o charges reflect the number of units used per month. Each unit is typically around 100 cubic feet, or somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 or 800 gallons (iii,000 or 3,000 50).
   • If there's any uncertainty well-nigh how usage is measured in your expanse, simply subtract concluding month's reading from this calendar month'due south and review the utility codes for your surface area to see how it'south cleaved down.

3. 3

   Summate the cost of your water usage. Your next chore is to find out how much your water provider charges per unit of measurement of water consumed. This can be accomplished by calling your utilities board. Once yous know this number, multiply it by your usage for the month to get an thought of how much you can expect to pay.

   • If you take an old bill on hand, y'all can work in reverse by dividing the amount charged by the number of units you used that month to go far at the average toll per unit of measurement.

4. 4

   Bank check for leaks. Sometimes you'll receive a bill that seems unusually high. In this case, it's possible that yous accept a leak. To get to the bottom of things, shut off all toilets, faucets and shower heads in your residence. Also, if you lot have an cloak-and-dagger sprinkler organization, then brand certain to bank check all of its components for leaks. So, check the meter over again. If the sweep hand is moving, it means that water is escaping somewhere on the property.^[11]

   • Another way to identify a potential leak is by watching the flow indicator. About water meters have a modest symbol (unremarkably a triangle, star or gear) somewhere on the display. The menstruum indicator will spin when a leak is detected.^[12]
   • You lot tin can also use a stethoscope to listen for leaks, which often sound like a humming or hissing noise.
   • Have leaks repaired right away. When left unaddressed, fifty-fifty a modest leak can become a major expense.

5. 5

   Look for ways to decrease your water usage. If you're surprised to find that yous're using more water than yous thought, don't worry. In that location are a number of ways you can cut down on your usage, such as consolidating your laundry into larger loads, shutting off the water when you lot are brushing your teeth, reducing your employ of h2o to maintain your lawn, or taking shorter showers. Remember: every little bit adds upwards.^[13]

   • Continue you and your family unit's habits in mind when coming up with ideas for how to lower your water bill.

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• Question

  How can I apply my water meter to tell if I have a leak?

  

  Mike Garcia is a Licensed Landscape Contractor and the Founder of Enviroscape LA, a full-service landscape design and construction firm in Los Angeles, California. With over 30 years of experience, Mike specializes in sustainable landscape practices. Mike holds an Ornamental Horticulture degree, C-27 Landscape Contractor and D-49 Tree Service Contractor licenses, and Permaculture Design, California Naturalist, International Certified Professional Swimming Contractor, and Pond Edifice certifications. He is ane of eight Internationally Certified Swimming Builders in the world. Enviroscape LA has won landscape and water characteristic awards from the International Professional Pond Contractors Association (IPPCA), National Association of Pond Professionals (NAPP), and the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA). Mike is a past president of the CLCA and currently serves on their local Board of Directors. Enviroscape LA has been featured in PONDS USA Magazine, Pond and Garden Lifestyles Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times. Mike has appeared on Extreme Home Makeover, HGTV's Landscapers Challenge, and A & E's serial Fix That Yard.

  

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• Question

  If my water meter was on 17 and is now on 25 how much water have I used?

  

  Anthony "TC" Williams is a Professional Landscaper in Idaho. He is the President and Founder of Aqua Conservation Landscape & Irrigation, an Idaho Registered Mural Business Entity. With over 21 years of landscaping feel, TC has worked on projects such every bit the Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise, Idaho. He is a Idaho Registered Contractor and a previously Licensed Irrigator in the State of Texas.

  

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• Question

  Can I go a unmarried phase 400 amp instrument meter?

  

  Anthony "TC" Williams is a Professional Landscaper in Idaho. He is the President and Founder of Aqua Conservation Landscape & Irrigation, an Idaho Registered Landscape Business Entity. With over 21 years of landscaping experience, TC has worked on projects such as the Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise, Idaho. He is a Idaho Registered Contractor and a previously Licensed Irrigator in the Land of Texas.

  

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• Question

  How do I right a h2o meter that reads backwards?

  

  If it is registering backwards, information technology probably was installed backwards. Turning it around should correct information technology, withal, it should exist done by the water provider.

• Question

  How practice I calculate my h2o usage?

  

  Showtime, find the odometer on the h2o meter, then identify whether it is measured past gallons, imperial gallons, or cubic meters. Each part will have the unlike calculation to convert it into liters. Take the kickoff reading and the end reading and subtract. Take the deviation and catechumen it into gallons, royal gallons, or cubic meters.

• Question

  How can I convert my meter to cubic measurements?

  

  Mark Beatty

  Community Answer

  Physically, you would need to buy a replacement top register for the increment needed from the meter manufacturer. Numerically information technology's merely a math conversion: seven.48 US gallons = 1 cubic foot, 264 U.s.a. gallons = 1 cubic meter.

• Question

  How exercise I check to see if a meter is exaggerating the corporeality of h2o used?

  

  First, make sure you lot are non leaking. Read your meter, make full upwardly twenty gallons of water buckets, plow the h2o off tight, re-read the meter, and do the math.

• Question

  How can I tell if my water meter is cleaved?

  

  Turn on your water and get to your h2o meter. You should see a pocket-size triangle or something like, and it should be turning. If information technology'southward not turning, the water meter is non functioning correctly.

• Question

  How do I subtract a reading on 100 gallon h2o meter?

  

  Driblet the concluding two digits from the reading, then subtract the current month'due south reading from final months. The number y'all go will tell you how many gallons you've used in that time.

• Question

  How can I approximate the amount of my h2o neb using submeter readings?

  

  Contact the company that provides water (or local government) to determine the rate you're paying, or await back at older bills and divide the amount of the bill by the amount of water consumed. And so, get the monthly reading from the submeter, and multiply this number by the rate.

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• Make sure you securely replace the protective dial cap and h2o meter cover when yous're finished taking a reading.

• There's no need to be concerned if your readings are somewhat inconsistent—information technology's common for your water pecker to fluctuate a little from month to month.

• Information technology's a good idea to check for leaks regularly. That mode, if you lot happen to accept one, you'll be able to catch information technology early.

• Reading a water meter can exist disruptive. If you're withal unsure of how to make up one's mind your usage, phone call your water provider and ask a representative to explicate it to you.

• Proceed in mind that larger residential and commercial properties may have a split up water meter installed for irrigation purposes.

• Enquire your water purveyor about any charges you do not empathize, such as charges for wastewater handling.

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Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver or similar tool
• Pencil
• Paper
• Old utilities pecker

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Commodity Summary X

To read a water meter, start past removing its cover. If you have an older, analog meter, write down the number that'southward displayed on its big, circular dial. Then replace the last digit of that number with the number the meter's needle is closest to. Have a newer, digital meter instead? Just read the largest row of numbers shown to run across how much water y'all've used. To learn from our reviewer how to monitor and cut downwards on how much h2o you employ, curl downwards!

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