How to read an Irish water meter

In our previous blog post we explained where to find and how to access your water meter. In this post you will gain an understanding of  what the figures on the meter mean. Also you will then be able to work out how much water you are using. This is essential in determining if you have a water leak.

This is a close up of the digits on the domestic mechanical meter. 

In Ireland all of the newer meters are metric as opposed to imperial. You can tell if the are imperial as it will say "Gallons" or "Gal" on the meter. The currently used meters are metric and will have a "m³" symbol on the face of them.

The black numbers are cubic metres and the red digits are litres. There is a little red dial to the bottom left of the red digits but we cannot fully see it as the automatic reader(transponder) is covering most of it. When this little dial turns one full revolution it means a litre of water has just passed through the meter.

The meter reading in the photo is 160.144 cubic metres or 160,144 Litres.

These water meters are very accurate for recording usage and will seldom give any problems. Often on a leak detection job the client would ask us if the meter might not be working correctly, hoping that it is reading too high. It is a valid question and from our 9 years experience in leak detection we have never seen this to be true on a domestic mechanical meter. When we found that the meters in question were working incorrectly, it was 100% always under-reading the actual usage. The cause of this was often a small pebble or debris trapped in the internals of the meter.

Next we will be covering basic leak detection and how to prove if you have a leak.

If you would like to know more  or suspect that you have a leak you can call us direct on (01)5376294.         Or leave a comment if you would like a topic covered.

5 steps to knowing your Irish water meter

Step 1

In order for you to quickly discover if you have a water leak it is important that you know where to find your water meter and how it works.

To locate your water meter, it is usually right outside the boundary wall or hedge of your premises. 

All of the newly installed meters will look like this. This is a meter in Dublin but it should be the same all over Ireland.

water meter box cover

Step 2

Using a pry bar as shown or a flat screwdriver, insert it into one of the 3 openings and prise the lid off.

For some of the older meter box types you will need a certain shaped key to be able to open the lid. 

yellow pry bar

Step 3

When the lid is off you will see some foam know as a frost plug. This can help prevent hard frost from freezing the meter. Dont lose it, or if you do substitute it with some old clothes.

water meter box frost protector

Step 4

This is how the water meter looks. Some of the meters may not look exactly like this one as they may have been installed some time ago as part of the planning regulations.

inside of a water meter box

Step 5

The water meter has a transponder clamped onto the top of it. This is so that the meter reading can be downloaded as the meter reader drives by, therefore there is no need for Irish Water to open the box and take a reading.                                                                                                                                

The blue handle is for turning off the water supply to the meter. 

water meter with transponder

Next time we will be looking in depth at the meter and how to determine how much water you are using. 

If you would like to know more  or suspect that you have a leak you can call us direct on (01)5376294.         Or leave a comment if you would like a topic covered.