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#1
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Water meters
We have applied to have a water meter and have got an appointment for an
inspection. Our water comes under a piece of tarmac that forms a shared area for access to 5 houses and our tap is just off our property in this shared area. Thw water then runs undergound and comes out up what would be our external wall, if it wasn't for the fact that we have an out building, if that is the right way to describe it, that was built to house a meter cupbord, a bin cuipboard and an L shaped shed that goes round the back of the cupboards. The hose shut off valve is in this shed. Now to my question. Where would you think they would want to put the meter? It they wanted to put it in the shed, they wouldn't get access to read it. They could fit it after the external shut off valve, but I would not like to have to pay for any water that leaks from the tap to the house shut off valve. Even though I believe I am responsible for any leaked water Do you think I could get them to run the supply into our meter cupboad and then fit a meter in there? Dave |
#2
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Water meters
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:51:44 +0100, Dave
had this to say: We have applied to have a water meter and have got an appointment for an inspection. Our water comes under a piece of tarmac that forms a shared area for access to 5 houses and our tap is just off our property in this shared area. Thw water then runs undergound and comes out up what would be our external wall, if it wasn't for the fact that we have an out building, if that is the right way to describe it, that was built to house a meter cupbord, a bin cuipboard and an L shaped shed that goes round the back of the cupboards. The hose shut off valve is in this shed. Now to my question. Where would you think they would want to put the meter? It they wanted to put it in the shed, they wouldn't get access to read it. They could fit it after the external shut off valve, but I would not like to have to pay for any water that leaks from the tap to the house shut off valve. Even though I believe I am responsible for any leaked water Do you think I could get them to run the supply into our meter cupboad and then fit a meter in there? I had a water meter fitted a few years ago and it was put in the house 'under the kitchen sink' next to the internal stoptap. They then fitted an 'outreader' on an outside wall in the back garden so they don't have to gain access to the house (I do have to leave the side gate unlocked, unfortunately). -- Frank Erskine Sunderland |
#3
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Water meters
I had a water meter fitted a few years ago and it was put in the house
'under the kitchen sink' next to the internal stoptap. They then fitted an 'outreader' on an outside wall in the back garden so they don't have to gain access to the house (I do have to leave the side gate unlocked, unfortunately). That was also the practice of Thames Water and what we had done. But they no longer do so because the remote reading pads they used are unreliable and are no longer made. They also have trouble sourcing the hand-held readers. And the meter readers often leave the readers at home because they are heavy. So Thames are no fitting meters externally wherever possible - usually where the stopcock is located. The OP's supplier may of course have a different practice (and yours may have a source of better gear). -- R |
#4
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Water meters
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:51:44 +0100, Dave wrote:
Where would you think they would want to put the meter? It they wanted to put it in the shed, they wouldn't get access to read it. We had one here in the US at our last place - although the meter had a dial readout, it also had a wire pair running to a sensor on the outside of the house; once in a while the water company would just read it via the external sensor. Always wondered how it worked - there was no power to the meter itself, so presumably nothing in the way of smarts in the meter. cheers Jules |
#5
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Water meters
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Dave wrote: We have applied to have a water meter and have got an appointment for an inspection. Our water comes under a piece of tarmac that forms a shared area for access to 5 houses and our tap is just off our property in this shared area. Thw water then runs undergound and comes out up what would be our external wall, if it wasn't for the fact that we have an out building, if that is the right way to describe it, that was built to house a meter cupbord, a bin cuipboard and an L shaped shed that goes round the back of the cupboards. The hose shut off valve is in this shed. Now to my question. Where would you think they would want to put the meter? It they wanted to put it in the shed, they wouldn't get access to read it. They could fit it after the external shut off valve, but I would not like to have to pay for any water that leaks from the tap to the house shut off valve. Even though I believe I am responsible for any leaked water Do you think I could get them to run the supply into our meter cupboad and then fit a meter in there? Dave They will fit it wherever it takes the least effort to do so - which may be in your shed. Don't worry about access for reading it - they can connect it with a bit of wire to a device (looks like a 2" or thereabouts plastic disc - don't know how it works!) on an external wall - and they can get a reading by waving their equipment at this disc. A neighbour of mine had a meter fitted a few years ago, and they dug up the road and fitted it in place of the external stop-tap. The alternative would have been under the kitchen sink - which was rather cramped, so they didn't fancy that - preferring to dig up the road. But I suspect that that was relatively unusual. I don't know which area you live in, but Severn Trent have a FAQ about water meters at http://www.s****er.co.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.3054 Other water companies probably have something similar. -- Cheers, Roger ______ Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks. PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP! |
#6
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Water meters
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:51:27 -0500, Jules
had this to say: On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:51:44 +0100, Dave wrote: Where would you think they would want to put the meter? It they wanted to put it in the shed, they wouldn't get access to read it. We had one here in the US at our last place - although the meter had a dial readout, it also had a wire pair running to a sensor on the outside of the house; once in a while the water company would just read it via the external sensor. Always wondered how it worked - there was no power to the meter itself, so presumably nothing in the way of smarts in the meter. My 'outreader' does apparently have a battery (lithium I believe) which I was told should last seven or eight years. -- Frank Erskine Sunderland |
#7
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Water meters
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:45:21 GMT, "neverwas" had
this to say: I had a water meter fitted a few years ago and it was put in the house 'under the kitchen sink' next to the internal stoptap. They then fitted an 'outreader' on an outside wall in the back garden so they don't have to gain access to the house (I do have to leave the side gate unlocked, unfortunately). That was also the practice of Thames Water and what we had done. But they no longer do so because the remote reading pads they used are unreliable and are no longer made. They also have trouble sourcing the hand-held readers. And the meter readers often leave the readers at home because they are heavy. So Thames are no fitting meters externally wherever possible - usually where the stopcock is located. The OP's supplier may of course have a different practice (and yours may have a source of better gear). This one just gives a simple lc display so the meter reader needs nothing more than a notebook and a pencil. -- Frank Erskine Sunderland |
#8
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Water meters
Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:51:44 +0100, Dave had this to say: We have applied to have a water meter and have got an appointment for an inspection. Our water comes under a piece of tarmac that forms a shared area for access to 5 houses and our tap is just off our property in this shared area. Thw water then runs undergound and comes out up what would be our external wall, if it wasn't for the fact that we have an out building, if that is the right way to describe it, that was built to house a meter cupbord, a bin cuipboard and an L shaped shed that goes round the back of the cupboards. The hose shut off valve is in this shed. **** That should have read 'house' :-( Now to my question. Where would you think they would want to put the meter? It they wanted to put it in the shed, they wouldn't get access to read it. They could fit it after the external shut off valve, but I would not like to have to pay for any water that leaks from the tap to the house shut off valve. Even though I believe I am responsible for any leaked water Do you think I could get them to run the supply into our meter cupboad and then fit a meter in there? I had a water meter fitted a few years ago and it was put in the house 'under the kitchen sink' next to the internal stoptap. They then fitted an 'outreader' on an outside wall in the back garden so they don't have to gain access to the house (I do have to leave the side gate unlocked, unfortunately). That sounds OK, they can fit the out reader in the meter cupboard then. Many thanks for the input. Dave |
#9
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Water meters
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:51:27 -0500, Jules wrote:
Always wondered how it worked - there was no power to the meter itself, so presumably nothing in the way of smarts in the meter. Wouldn't need much power. The flow of water and small turbine would generate enough. The reader could induce power via the remote pickup to enable the meter to be read. -- Cheers Dave. |
#10
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Water meters
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:30:07 +0100, Dave
had this to say: Frank Erskine wrote: On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:51:44 +0100, Dave had this to say: We have applied to have a water meter and have got an appointment for an inspection. Our water comes under a piece of tarmac that forms a shared area for access to 5 houses and our tap is just off our property in this shared area. Thw water then runs undergound and comes out up what would be our external wall, if it wasn't for the fact that we have an out building, if that is the right way to describe it, that was built to house a meter cupbord, a bin cuipboard and an L shaped shed that goes round the back of the cupboards. The hose shut off valve is in this shed. **** That should have read 'house' :-( Now to my question. Where would you think they would want to put the meter? It they wanted to put it in the shed, they wouldn't get access to read it. They could fit it after the external shut off valve, but I would not like to have to pay for any water that leaks from the tap to the house shut off valve. Even though I believe I am responsible for any leaked water Do you think I could get them to run the supply into our meter cupboad and then fit a meter in there? I had a water meter fitted a few years ago and it was put in the house 'under the kitchen sink' next to the internal stoptap. They then fitted an 'outreader' on an outside wall in the back garden so they don't have to gain access to the house (I do have to leave the side gate unlocked, unfortunately). That sounds OK, they can fit the out reader in the meter cupboard then. I suppose that depends on your local water company. My meter was fitted by a company ("Kemac Services Ltd") wholly owned by my water company, Northumbrian Water Ltd, together with Essex & Suffolk Water. If you can arrange a (probably 2-wire) connection from the proposed meter to your meter cupboard there shouldn't be a problem (so long as they have a key for the meter cupboard!). My connection was more or less straight through the wall (although the guy's SDS drill battery was flat! - he used the holes in an airbrick to route his wire). I think the "beauty" of my meter installation was that there was little alteration to the plumbing, with less chance of freezing of newly-external pipes. And of course, technically the feed pipe (from the external stoptap to the meter) becomes the responsibility of the water company as far as leaks are concerned... you are only being charged from the meter onwards :-) Water-wise, anyway... -- Frank Erskine |
#11
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Water meters
jake wrote:
Water meters are evil. Yes, terrible things that mean we pay about a quarter of what the rates would be (and without ever having changed usage patterns.) The only people who object to meters are those who spend their days p'ing the stuff up the walls. -- Scott Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket? |
#12
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Water meters
On Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:35:03 +0100, Scott M
wrote: jake wrote: Water meters are evil. Yes, terrible things that mean we pay about a quarter of what the rates would be (and without ever having changed usage patterns.) The only people who object to meters are those who spend their days p'ing the stuff up the walls. Water company needs to make profits at level A to be happy. People all change to water meters and profits drop. Company unhappy. Therefore all charges put up. Water meter customers then unhappy. -- http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk http://www.holidayunder100.co.uk |
#13
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Water meters
jake wrote:
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:13:24 +0100, "Roger Mills" wrote: In an earlier contribution to this discussion, Dave wrote: I don't know which area you live in, but Severn Trent have a FAQ about water meters at http://www.s****er.co.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.3054 Other water companies probably have something similar. Water meters are evil. They do save water though. My sister in law had one fitted & only then realised that both toilets were in permanent overflow 24/7 for heaven knows how long. New ball valves fitted must save thousands of litres of water. -- Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk |
#14
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Water meters
Dave wrote:
We have applied to have a water meter and have got an appointment for an inspection. Our water comes under a piece of tarmac that forms a shared area for access to 5 houses and our tap is just off our property in this shared area. Thw water then runs undergound and comes out up what would be our external wall, if it wasn't for the fact that we have an out building, if that is the right way to describe it, that was built to house a meter cupbord, a bin cuipboard and an L shaped shed that goes round the back of the cupboards. The hose shut off valve is in this shed. Now to my question. Where would you think they would want to put the meter? It they wanted to put it in the shed, they wouldn't get access to read it. They could fit it after the external shut off valve, but I would not like to have to pay for any water that leaks from the tap to the house shut off valve. Even though I believe I am responsible for any leaked water Do you think I could get them to run the supply into our meter cupboad and then fit a meter in there? Dave I had one installed about 3 months ago, it's just over the stoptap where the main exits the ground. They read it remotely by driving past - it has bluetooth capability. -- Phil L RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008 |
#15
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Water meters
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
mogga wrote: Water company needs to make profits at level A to be happy. People all change to water meters and profits drop. Company unhappy. Therefore all charges put up. Water meter customers then unhappy. There is at least some truth in that! Hopefully, though, the planet will benefit - from an overall drop in water useage. [Energy spent refining and pumping it, etc. - and possibily a reduction in the need to create and install additional intrastructure]. -- Cheers, Roger ______ Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks. PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP! |
#16
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Water meters
Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:30:07 +0100, Dave had this to say: Frank Erskine wrote: On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:51:44 +0100, Dave had this to say: We have applied to have a water meter and have got an appointment for an inspection. Our water comes under a piece of tarmac that forms a shared area for access to 5 houses and our tap is just off our property in this shared area. Thw water then runs undergound and comes out up what would be our external wall, if it wasn't for the fact that we have an out building, if that is the right way to describe it, that was built to house a meter cupbord, a bin cuipboard and an L shaped shed that goes round the back of the cupboards. The hose shut off valve is in this shed. **** That should have read 'house' :-( Now to my question. Where would you think they would want to put the meter? It they wanted to put it in the shed, they wouldn't get access to read it. They could fit it after the external shut off valve, but I would not like to have to pay for any water that leaks from the tap to the house shut off valve. Even though I believe I am responsible for any leaked water Do you think I could get them to run the supply into our meter cupboad and then fit a meter in there? I had a water meter fitted a few years ago and it was put in the house 'under the kitchen sink' next to the internal stoptap. They then fitted an 'outreader' on an outside wall in the back garden so they don't have to gain access to the house (I do have to leave the side gate unlocked, unfortunately). That sounds OK, they can fit the out reader in the meter cupboard then. I suppose that depends on your local water company. My meter was fitted by a company ("Kemac Services Ltd") wholly owned by my water company, Northumbrian Water Ltd, together with Essex & Suffolk Water. If you can arrange a (probably 2-wire) connection from the proposed meter to your meter cupboard there shouldn't be a problem (so long as they have a key for the meter cupboard!). My connection was more or less straight through the wall (although the guy's SDS drill battery was flat! - he used the holes in an airbrick to route his wire). I think the "beauty" of my meter installation was that there was little alteration to the plumbing, with less chance of freezing of newly-external pipes. And of course, technically the feed pipe (from the external stoptap to the meter) becomes the responsibility of the water company as far as leaks are concerned... you are only being charged from the meter onwards :-) Water-wise, anyway... From conversations today, it looks like they will dig a hole on the access road and fit the meter there. Dave |
#17
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Water meters
On 10/07/2009 20:51 Dave wrote:
Do you think I could get them to run the supply into our meter cupboad and then fit a meter in there? I fitted ours in the kitchen next to the stop tap. That way any leaks outside are their problem not mine. -- F |
#18
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Water meters
On 11/07/2009 11:43 mogga wrote:
Water company needs to make profits at level A to be happy. People all change to water meters and profits drop. Company unhappy. Therefore all charges put up. Water meter customers then unhappy. Unless, like us, they use less than the average. -- F |
#19
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Water meters
F wrote:
On 10/07/2009 20:51 Dave wrote: Do you think I could get them to run the supply into our meter cupboad and then fit a meter in there? I fitted ours in the kitchen next to the stop tap. That way any leaks outside are their problem not mine. Snap and was pleased that I did. It took them over three weeks to resolve a leak that could otherwise have been on the wrong side of the meter. |
#20
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Water meters
jake wrote:
On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:13:24 +0100, "Roger Mills" wrote: In an earlier contribution to this discussion, Dave wrote: I don't know which area you live in, but Severn Trent have a FAQ about water meters at http://www.s****er.co.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.3054 Other water companies probably have something similar. Water meters are evil. The ecological cost of fitting these pointlesss device is outrageous. Having said that I support the right of anyone who wants one to have one BUT (in my world) at THEIR request and true cost and NOT the water companies insistence. A million reasons - for starters The cost (in energy and materials) of making the damn things The cost (in energy and materials) of fitting the damn things The cost (in energy and materials) of repairing the damn things The cost in increase in disease infection and infestation when people stop washing the dishes, the drains and themselves - and the will when the price is right! The water flow through the sewers will fall as peole will not flsh the loo when they should. If you think all this is wrong, calculate (estimate) the cost (in kWh) to do the above. many many many other reasons. Of course, as I said some will want them because they seek to pay less than everyone else. There are always people like this. But when the overall social good is at stake, water meters are a curse. The water companies will INCREASE the price once enough people are hooked. The shareholders will win and YOU will lose. For G's sake learn will you. ps upper case meant for emphasis not shouting in this post. Thank you have a nice day. I appreciate all the issues that you have raised are valid and need considering; however, on the other side of the coin is the very high standard required of potable water now that requires significant infrastructure spend and increasingly high energy inputs in treatment. If it reduces folks tendency to make profiligate use of water on their cars and gardens then this is a virtue; similarly if it encourages folk to use showers. |
#21
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Water meters
On Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:07:27 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Water meters are evil. They do save water though. My sister in law had one fitted & only then realised that both toilets were in permanent overflow 24/7 for heaven knows how long. New ball valves fitted must save thousands of litres of water. Yep - that's one of those things I like about being on a system with a private well; the pump kicking on in the middle of the night makes it very obvious when someone hasn't quite shut a tap off properly, or the toilet cistern valve's having an off moment etc. :-) |
#22
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Water meters
F wrote:
Water company needs to make profits at level A to be happy. People all change to water meters and profits drop. Company unhappy. Therefore all charges put up. Water meter customers then unhappy. Unless, like us, they use less than the average. ding I suspect 'average' use is probably far higher than anyone inclined not to be wasteful. Certainly many people I know seem to use far more than us and, while moderate in use, we still use what we want when we want it. -- Scott Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket? |
#23
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Water meters
On 13/07/2009 11:38 Scott M wrote:
Certainly many people I know seem to use far more than us and, while moderate in use, we still use what we want when we want it. That's us too. But just two of us living in a high 'rateable value' house means we avoid high 'water rates'. -- F |
#24
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Water meters
On Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:38:29 +0100, Scott M wrote:
ding I suspect 'average' use is probably far higher than anyone inclined not to be wasteful. Certainly many people I know seem to use far more than us and, while moderate in use, we still use what we want when we want it. Friends of mine (a couple) recently moved from their unmetered house to a brand new metered house. The new house has a fitted kitchen with a *new* dishwasher and a *new* washing machine. They refuse to use the dishwasher because they think it will use too much water and cost them. They refuse to use the washing machine for the same reason. They have a caravan, with unmetered water, 15 miles away. They have installed a twin tub washing machine in the caravan (bought in a sale for £10). They drive to the caravan 3 times a week to do their washing. I'm *not* joking :-( -- Regards, Hugh Jampton |
#25
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Water meters
On Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:13:13 +0100, Hugh Jampton wrote:
They refuse to use the dishwasher because they think it will use too much water and cost them. :-) I thought the 'expense' in dishwashers was solely in the heating of the water, not the actual consumption... no idea what really modern ones are like, though. (Ours looks like it came out of the Ark, so we've never actually switched it on for fear of it opening a wormhole to another dimension) |
#26
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Water meters
On Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:13:13 +0100, Hugh Jampton wrote:
They have a caravan, with unmetered water, 15 miles away. They have installed a twin tub washing machine in the caravan (bought in a sale for £10). They drive to the caravan 3 times a week to do their washing. 90 miles at 12p/mile(ish) just for fuel is £10.80. Water is about 0.2p/l (supply & sewage) so 5,400l. I doubt very much that a washing machines uses 1,800l/wash. Thats 1.8 cubic meters... I'm *not* joking :-( Sadly I'm not surprised. -- Cheers Dave. |
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