Most water meters have five or six dials, though some may have as many as eight. The numbers on the dials represent the amount of water that has been used in gallons. To read a water meter with six dials, start by looking at the far left dial and finding the number that is directly beneath the pointer.
This is the first digit of your reading. For example, if the pointer is between 0 and 1, your reading would be 0 gallons.
- Locate the water meter
- In most cases, the water meter will be located near the curb in front of your home
- Find the dials on the water meter
- There should be six dials in total, with each one representing a different number
- Determine which way the dials are supposed to be read
- Usually, the dials should be read from left to right, but this may vary depending on your specific water meter
- Look at the first three digits on the dials to determine how many hundreds or thousands of gallons have been used
- For example, if the first three digits are “456,” then 456 gallons have been used
- Check the next two digits to see how many tens or twenties of gallons have been used
- Continuing with our previous example, if these next two digits are “78,” then 78 additional gallons have been used for a total of 534 gallons so far
- 6 Finally, look at the last digit on the dials to determine how many single gallons have been used
- In our example above, if this last digit is “9,” then 9 more gallons have been used for a grand total of 543 gallons
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How Do You Read a Water Meter With Dials?
First, you will need to find your water meter. It is typically located near the street in a concrete box. Once you have found it, remove the lid and take a look at the dials.
Each dial represents a different number and each number has a specific meaning. The first dial represent units of 10, the seconddial represents units of 1, the third dial represents tens of 1, and so on.
To read your water meter, start by looking at the first digit on the left hand side.
This is your starting point and will help you determine which way to turn the knob on your water meter. For example, ifthe first digit is a 9, you would turn the knob clockwise untilthe pointer is directly above the 9. Next, look at the second digit tothe right of this one – this will be your next reading point.
In our exampleof a 9 followed by an 8, we would continue turning our knob clockwisethe 8 position (again stopping whenthe pointer is directly abovethis number). You can then read offall ofthe remaining digitsin this same manneruntilyou reachthe lastnumberontheright-handside – thiswill beyour finalreading pointand corresponds toyour totalwater consumption(inunits) for thatbilling period!
How Do You Read an Old Water Meter?
If you have an old water meter, it is probably a mechanical one that uses a spinning disk to measure the amount of water that flows through it. To read this type of meter, you need to find the small number next to the hand that points to the current reading on the disk. This number will be in gallons or cubic feet, depending on your location.
To read your water meter, start by looking at the face of the dial for two numbers: The larger of these is the “cumulative” or “total” reading of all water that has flowed through your meter since it was last reset; The smaller number is the “rate” or “flow” reading that indicates how much water is currently flowing through your meter per minute.
Find out which unit of measurement your meter uses—gallons or cubic feet—and write down the readings from both numbers. For example, if your total reading is 1034 and your flow rate is 7, then you know 1034 gallons (or cubic feet) of water have passed throughyour meter since it was reset, and 7 gallons (or cubic feet) are passing through each minute.
How Do You Manually Read a Water Meter?
Most water meters have a knob or dial on the front. To read your meter, simply turn the knob or dial until the pointer is lined up with the number 1 on the face of the meter. The numbers that you see represent how many gallons of water have been used.
How Do You Read a 8 Digit Water Meter?
To read a 8 digit water meter, you need to first find the dial with the smallest numbers. This is your 1000s digit. The next number over is your 100s digit, followed by the 10s and then the 1s.
You read these digits from left to right just like you would any other number. So, if your 8 digit water meter reads “01234567”, then you would know that your reading is 12,345 gallons.
METER READING | GRADE 6
How to Read Analog Water Meter
If your home has an analog water meter, it’s important to know how to read it in order to accurately bill yourself for water usage. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
1. Find the dial on your meter that is labeled “gallons.”
This is the dial that will tell you how much water you’ve used.
2. Use a watch or clock with a second hand, and line the hand up with the pointer on the gallons dial. Start counting when the hand moves past 12 o’clock.
Count until the hand goes all the way around and lines up with 12 again – this will give you your total number of gallons used.
3. Write down this number so you can track your usage over time. Check your meter at least once per month to get an accurate reading.
Conclusion
If your home has a water meter with six dials, you may be wondering how to read it. Here’s a quick guide:
To start, find the pointer needle on the dial and note its position.
The number next to the pointer is the one you’ll want to pay attention to.
Next, take a look at the numbers around the outside of the dials. These numbers represent tenths of gallons.
So, if the pointer is pointing to “3” on one of the dials, that means you’ve used 0.3 gallons of water.
Keep track of these numbers until you reach 1,000 gallons (10dial x 100). At this point, you’ll need to reset all of thedialsto zero and start again.
With a little practice, reading your water meter will become second nature!
