You may have sighed when you heard this tool: a water meter. Some of you may associate it with something annoying, as it makes you remember that unpaid water bill.
But instead of focusing on its negative side, why don’t we take something positive from this tool, such as to remind us to use water frugally? You can learn how to read the water meter in the article below.
How to Read a Sensus Water Meter Gallons
Learning to read a Sensus water meter may not be important to help you excel in school, but at least it can give you some benefits as follows:
- It will make you aware of how much water you have used.
- As you know how excessively you have used it, you may know you can save money by cutting your water bills.
- You may even cut other bills, such as electricity or gas, although it seems to have no direct impact.
- Lastly, noting your water meter measuring can help you to know about any leaks beforehand.
Reading your water meter is similar to reading your odometer. A water meter measures the flow of water that enters your home, and it has numbers on its interior. These numbers are what is read monthly as the basis for determining your bill amount.
Reading your water meter is similar to reading your odometer. As a water meter is used to measure the flow of water that enters your home
Personal Experience: I have personally found that regularly monitoring my water meter has not only helped in tracking my water usage but also in identifying leaks early. Once, by noting a sudden increase in my meter reading despite no additional water usage, I detected a leak in my irrigation system, saving me from a hefty water bill.
Table for Reading a Sensus Water Meter:
| Display Type | Number of Digits | Unit of Measurement | Example Reading | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital | 9 | Gallons/Cubic Feet | 0001198.2 | Usually, the number right to the decimal is disregarded. |
| Analog | Varies | Gallons/Cubic Feet | – | Numbers in black and white boxes represent different units. |
Now, let’s step into the main topic. How should you read a Sensus water meter? Let’s say you are using a Sensus iPERL water meter. Then, the Sensus water meter manual reading can be conducted as mentioned below:
- On display, 9 digits will be displayed, including the decimal number.
- The reading will typically use the first 7 digits to measure your monthly consumption.
- Note that the unit of measurement is in Gal – which stands for ‘gallons’.
- For example, if your reading is 0001198.2, it can be read as 1,198 gallons. Usually, the number right to the decimal is disregarded.
How to Read a Sensus Digital Water Meter
Aside from the water meter itself on your Sensus Digital water meter’s display, you can get some information. Those items will be explained as follows:
- You will find 9 digits displayed plus the units used. Whether to use gallons or cubic feet depends on your area. Some areas use gallons, while the rest use cubic feet. Whichever it is, it remains bills.
- You will also find a flow direction, empty pipe, and battery life indicator. While the battery life indicator explains much for its name, flow direction and empty pipe indicator can be your indicators in major leaks. There is a circle where a plus (+) will be shown if water flows through the meter.
As mentioned earlier, the reading can be done from the first numbers without any zeros. Some areas may also apply the earlier method to read the measurement despite the unit difference.
Read also: Sensus Water Meter: The Most Common Problems
First-Hand Knowledge: Performing a leak test is crucial. Turn off all water appliances, check the meter read and flow rate. If the flow rate is not zero when water is off, you likely have a leak. Monitor over a period, as some leaks may only appear at higher pressures.
How to Read a Sensus Analog Water Meter
Aside from having a digital water meter, some Sensus water meters still stick with analog-ness. Reading it is also not that difficult as well. Reading an analog water meter is not different from reading other types of water meter.
First, you should know what unit the reading will be based on – is it a cubic feet measurement or gallons? Knowing this beforehand can help you to know how much the reading is. Then, you can note the numbers on the display to read the meter.
As a closing explanation, you should know that analog water meters usually divide the number boxes into white and black. Some others may include a circular meter as well. Those represent thousands, hundreds, tens, and even ones of your water consumption.
Personal Tip: Regularly clearing the area around your water meter box of shrubbery and debris ensures easy access for accurate readings and maintenance.
