So confused!
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sunshine87
Posts: 5 Forumite
in Water bills
Hi, just wondering if anyone has any ideas as to cause of our problem.....
Myself and my partner own an apartment which we rent out. Our tenant (who lived by themselves) has just moved out and received a bill for about 4 times what she thinks it should be so we decided to do some investigating. We found that the toilet was constantly running and assumed this was the problem so we fixed it and took some meter readings. For the first 20 hours, the meter didn't move so we thought this confirmed our toilet theory. However, we went back to the apartment 12 hours later to check again and in that 12 hours, the meter had gone up 200 litres. The toilet is definitely fixed and no other taps/shower, etc are leaking. I went under the apartment to check all the pipes and all look fine and no sign of any leaks.
Surely if there was a leak the meter would be going up continuously. All I can think is that one of the other apartments is connected to our meter somehow? Does anyone have any other ideas?
The apartment has an OSO unvented water heater and Electroheat Amptec flow boiler, I've never seen this kind of system and still trying to work it out but could it be anything to do with these?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Myself and my partner own an apartment which we rent out. Our tenant (who lived by themselves) has just moved out and received a bill for about 4 times what she thinks it should be so we decided to do some investigating. We found that the toilet was constantly running and assumed this was the problem so we fixed it and took some meter readings. For the first 20 hours, the meter didn't move so we thought this confirmed our toilet theory. However, we went back to the apartment 12 hours later to check again and in that 12 hours, the meter had gone up 200 litres. The toilet is definitely fixed and no other taps/shower, etc are leaking. I went under the apartment to check all the pipes and all look fine and no sign of any leaks.
Surely if there was a leak the meter would be going up continuously. All I can think is that one of the other apartments is connected to our meter somehow? Does anyone have any other ideas?
The apartment has an OSO unvented water heater and Electroheat Amptec flow boiler, I've never seen this kind of system and still trying to work it out but could it be anything to do with these?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
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Comments
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In your case it could either be that the water meter is faulty or that there is a leak. You should start with
contacting the water company and raise the issue with them. Hopefully they can send someone over who can investigate and run some tests.0 -
It could also be that your meter is feeding another flat. This sometimes happens in a large house converted to flats.
Turn off the water at the stopcock and see what happens.0 -
Any overflows from header tanks etc in/over the flat ?
Also is the boiler left switched on? If so, there could be a leak into the condensate drain when it fires up to heat water( altho' I don't know that specific sort of boiler:p)0 -
It could also be that your meter is feeding another flat. This sometimes happens in a large house converted to flats.
Turn off the water at the stopcock and see what happens.
Not sure that will assist (assuming the meter is next to the stopcock)
If you turn the water off, the meter will stop. It won't identify if the cause of the ongoing consumption is a neighbour using the same supply, or a leak after the meter.
Just to clarify, it is the homeowner's responsibility for any leak after the meter.
Similarly, it is the account holder's responsibility for all consumption as recorded by the meter (although some suppliers are sympathetic to a temporary increase in consumption caused by a leak, if advised)
If you think the meter is faulty, it can be tested, but a charge will usually apply (which is refunded if the allegation is then proved)0 -
I can think of two ways it could assist.Not sure that will assist (assuming the meter is next to the stopcock)
If you turn the water off, the meter will stop. It won't identify if the cause of the ongoing consumption is a neighbour using the same supply, or a leak after the meter.
Just to clarify, it is the homeowner's responsibility for any leak after the meter.
Similarly, it is the account holder's responsibility for all consumption as recorded by the meter (although some suppliers are sympathetic to a temporary increase in consumption caused by a leak, if advised)
If you think the meter is faulty, it can be tested, but a charge will usually apply (which is refunded if the allegation is then proved)
1 - It could possibly identify if the meter itself is faulty, of course it's hard to see how a mechanical meter could tick without water flowing, but its possible a digital one could, and OP didn't specify which type it was.
2 - If, as Cardew suggested the meter is feeding more than one property, turning off the tap may reveal it, either by the meter continuing to count or a neighbour coming to ask if anyone knows what happened to the water (depending on which side of the meter the tap is)3.6 kW PV in the Midlands - 9x Sharp 400W black panels - 6x facing SE and 3x facing SW, Solaredge Optimisers and Inverter. 400W Derril Water (one day). Octopus Flux0
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