"Julian" wrote in message
...
I was doing a routine check for water leaks at home today, I just observe
the little 'spinning' wheel on the water meter with everything turned off
to make sure it's not moving - it wasn't.

Then I started thinking. The meter works by way of a little turbine wheel
that spins in proportion to water flow and is geared to the counter unit.
I wondered if the turbine needs a certain minimum flow of water to
overcome the meter's internal friction. So, by opening a cold tap just a
tiny amount (just little more than a constant stream of drips) I observed
that the meter wasn't rotating at all. My theory would appear correct.

So, what if I fitted two ball cocks to the DHW header tank? One half way
down the tank to work normally and one at the top with a stop valve
upstream throttled to allow a drip feed only. With this working 24/7 I
should get 'free' water maybe?

It wouldn't be free, other people would be paying for it. It's stealing and
illegal.

Mary