Faulty Water Meter ?

barmonkey

There are 4 of us in the house ( 2 adults, 2 kids) our water usage was around 17 units per quater and South West Water dropped our DD to £13.50.

suddenly we got a massive bill, checked the water meter and it had shot up to about 80 units per quater, did some investigating and found a small leak under our path, repaired this and all seemed well untill next bill which was high again, investigated again, this time could not find leak but did discover that if i turn the tap at the water meter off the meter was still turning.

did an experiment, turned off our internal stopcock and turned off the water meter. went out for 3 hours, when i got back the meter had gone up by 0.06 units.

i rang SWW and was told "thats not possible, i must have a leak"


so i guess my question is, should the water meter stopcock turn the meter off. it seems to stop the water flow but it still turns.

anyone got any idea what i should do next.

deanos

Sounds strange, if you turn if off at the meter you stop the flow and it only turns with water passing through it, unless the stop tap is not turning the water off fully ( i presume its a external meter)

As for the leak you had before , its probably too late now but you may be able to claim a leakage allowance and not pay for the lost water.

You can have your meter tested but if no fault is found you usually have to pay.

barmonkey

i did claim for the lost water. this was my second claim, first time was when they fitted the meter and it leaked, they put £270 credit on my account which because it was a new meter and i had a zero balance i was instantly £270 in credit, i left it a few months and claimed the money back.:D

Headsabovewater

If you turn the stop tap off then the meter should stop recording as no water should go threw it.
If the water company are saying its imposible for the meter to record without flow you have a mechanical meter.

Are you sure the stop tap is working?
Does the water still work in the house when the stop tap at the meter is turnd off?
If it does call them again and tell them that the stop tap is faulty.

Is the stop tap you are using before the meter or after?
If it is after the meter this would explain why the water in the house is off but the meter still turns as the leak is on the meter itself.
If the stop tap is before the meter and you turn it off and the water to the house is off the meter should not move at all.

barmonkey

the water in the house stops when the stopcock at the meter is turned off.

not sure if the stop tap is befor or after the meter as its physicaly attached to the meter.

Headsabovewater

You have a faulty meter if the water has stoped and it is still recording usage.
I would arainge a visit from you water company and request to be there when the inspector comes so you can voice your opinion.

zzzLazyDaisy

Your meter is faulty. Don't let them fob you off.

This happened to me in 2007, I had a new metre fitted and my water usage went up from £300 a year. to £300 a quarter :eek: Because I'm only billed every 6 months, and didn't think to check the meter readings regularly, I didn't realise till the bill came in.

I checked the meter, and the dial was whizzing round so fast that it was just a blur - so in a panic I turned the water off at the stop-!!!! thinking I must have a serious leak, but it carried on spinning, even with no water going through the meter. However the fault was intermittent and sometimes the meter behaved itself, so it was hard to pin down.

The water board were very good - the website does say that if they come out and find no fault they will charge you, but they didn;t mention that at all. The engineer examined the meter and said that the fitter had not earthed it, which meant the copper pipes were interfering with the electrics and giving a false reading. SZo he earthed it and that solved the problem, although he did say that if it continued to cause trouble they'd change the meter.

They then monitored my usage for 6 months and then used that usage to re-calculate the horrendous bill caused by the fault.

So stick to your guns, and insist they check the meter.

Headsabovewater

zzzLazyDaisy your case is totaly different to this one
If your meter has an earth wire it is internal and a Digital meter.
This is external and mechanical the water company are correct the meter can not record without flow.
Its a case of finding out where the water is going in my beleif the meter is leaking a visit from the water company should clear up the problem.

barmonkey

well Mr South West Water took one look at it and said "i cant explain it but its deffo doing it". so new meter coming in a few weeks.

Headsabovewater

Glad you got it sorted
Make sure they rebill you over the period the meter was faulty

scubado

I have just discovered a fault with my water meter.
All is well until I turn on my washing machine then the meter goes wild ,even if I turn off the stop !!!! and mains in the road.
It appears the washer seems to interfere with the digital meter.
Nothing else seems to affect it, will get on to the water board tomorrow.