Reading a dial meter: which instructions are right??

Nikiya

We have a dial meter for electricity and I have always found it problematic. Today I had to submit a reading to a new site: www.myreading.net, and realised their instructions, published below, are completely different from the usual ones.
I also found the other type of instructions vary slightly but the two I am publishing below: myreadingnet ones and the ones found in the British Gas site, are contradictory. Each of them will give you a different reading.
How is this possible? and which is the right way to read this contraption?

Dial Meter
Your meter may have 4,5 or 6 dials. Read the number each pointer is closest to on each dial, starting with the dial on the left and finishing with the last dial on the right. Where a pointer is between 2 numbers, record the lower number.
Ignore the red dials and red numbers. If your pricing scheme has more than one rate (like economy 7 or economy 10), record all readings - e.g. normal (day rate), low (night rate) and any other.
Dial meter

• Each dial turns in the opposite direction from the one before it, so check the way each turns.
• Read the first five dials from left to right, ignoring the dial marked 1/10.
• Write down the number that the pointer has just passed - it must be the lower of the two numbers either side of the pointer. If the pointer is exactly over the number, write it down and underline it. If you have underlined a number, check the next dial to the right (if there is one). If the pointer on that dial is at 9 you need to reduce the number you have underlined by one eg a 6 followed by a 9 should be written as 5 (still underlined).

Thanks!

DVardysShadow

As far as I can see the instructions will produce the same results [if you understand how the dials work]. The second set are more comprehensive. If you have a picture of a meter where you think the answers are different, I am sure you will get an explanation of how the instructions are actually equivalent

Owain_Moneysaver

Where a pointer is between 2 numbers, record the lower number.
and
Write down the number that the pointer has just passed - it must be the lower of the two numbers either side of the pointer. If the pointer is exactly over the number, write it down and underline it. If you have underlined a number, check the next dial to the right (if there is one). If the pointer on that dial is at 9 you need to reduce the number you have underlined by one eg a 6 followed by a 9 should be written as 5 (still underlined).

is where the difference is.

If you have a reading which is for example:

between 5 and 6, on 3, between 0 and 1, between 9 and 0

then:
left digit is 5.
next digit is on 3, this means it could be either approx 2.9 or 3.1 Look to the right, it's between 0 and 1, so it's 3.
right digit is between 9 and 0, so it's gone past 9, so it's 9.

t0rt0ise

That's not contradictory. The first talks about the pointer between numbers and the second talks of the pointer being on a number. As the previous poster said, the second is more comprehensive.

frugalmacdugal

Hi,


going with second lot of instructions,

9 4 [STRIKE]7[/STRIKE] 9 4,

now look at dial to right of [STRIKE]7[/STRIKE], because it's a 9 and has not passed the 0, the [STRIKE]7[/STRIKE] must be a 6, so that's 69 rather than 79, which in this case would add an extra 100 units to bill, so actual reading is 94694.

Garz

Yes that is a great example frugalmacdugal. Also the red digit is not a full unit so I would not include this when disclosing the meter reading as it can add confusion.

davidgmmafan

Basically the second set is in more detail. Simply instructions would be just take the lower number. However dial meters can be a nightmare. If one is on the 9 then sometimes it does show the next number as having ticked round.

This could mean a hugely inaccurate bill if the 10,000 dial is involed EG 29000 reading is given instead of the correct reading of 19000.

Nikiya

Thanks Frugal, but I believed if you follow the second set of instructions, then the reading must be: 94694, because it says:

"If the pointer is exactly over the number, write it down and underline it. If you have underlined a number, check the next dial to the right (if there is one). If the pointer on that dial is at 9 you need to reduce the number you have underlined by one eg a 6 followed by a 9 should be written as 5 (still underlined)."
Therefore, since the dial is exactly over 7 and the next one to the right is 9, it should be reduced to 6.

Following the first set of instructions, the same set of dials you published should read: 95794.

Both sets of instructions will give you slightly different readings.