Faulty Smart Water Meter?
Discussion
I had my water meter changed to a smart meter a few months back. Anglian Water then wrote to me saying there is a leak, 10lts/hour, they did some checks and dug the meter out, they said they found a leak on the stop tap and repaired it. However, the leak still showed, although it was now down to 7lts/hour. The meter was changed shortly after I moved in so I dont have any historical usage records.
Today a leak detection company has been out and done an investigation. They took the smart meter off and put an analogue one on. That showed no use and so their conclusion is there is no leak and either there is an air bubble trapped that is moving back and forth or the meter is faulty.
Has anyone had any experience of this? I can see this going back and forth with Anglian and them saying there is nothing wrong with the meter.
Today a leak detection company has been out and done an investigation. They took the smart meter off and put an analogue one on. That showed no use and so their conclusion is there is no leak and either there is an air bubble trapped that is moving back and forth or the meter is faulty.
Has anyone had any experience of this? I can see this going back and forth with Anglian and them saying there is nothing wrong with the meter.
Scabutz said:
I had my water meter changed to a smart meter a few months back. Anglian Water then wrote to me saying there is a leak, 10lts/hour, they did some checks and dug the meter out, they said they found a leak on the stop tap and repaired it. However, the leak still showed, although it was now down to 7lts/hour. The meter was changed shortly after I moved in so I dont have any historical usage records.
Today a leak detection company has been out and done an investigation. They took the smart meter off and put an analogue one on. That showed no use and so their conclusion is there is no leak and either there is an air bubble trapped that is moving back and forth or the meter is faulty.
Has anyone had any experience of this? I can see this going back and forth with Anglian and them saying there is nothing wrong with the meter.
You are not responsible for your meter so not sure why there would be any back and forth with Anglian. Surely they will just replace the meter with a new one.Today a leak detection company has been out and done an investigation. They took the smart meter off and put an analogue one on. That showed no use and so their conclusion is there is no leak and either there is an air bubble trapped that is moving back and forth or the meter is faulty.
Has anyone had any experience of this? I can see this going back and forth with Anglian and them saying there is nothing wrong with the meter.
Yes went through the same as you with AA and a new smart meter. 19 litres a hour leak. Insurance fitted a test meter...No leak
It turn out after I complained to the CEO that the leak was caused by the twisting in of the smart meter which disturbed the joint between the meter tail and my supply pipe
Must be 20% of houses on my estate that have new tarmac around their water meter.
Keep at them, they must know that this is happening.
I got 3 months free water because of it.
Good luck
It turn out after I complained to the CEO that the leak was caused by the twisting in of the smart meter which disturbed the joint between the meter tail and my supply pipe
Must be 20% of houses on my estate that have new tarmac around their water meter.
Keep at them, they must know that this is happening.
I got 3 months free water because of it.
Good luck
BigBen said:
You are not responsible for your meter so not sure why there would be any back and forth with Anglian. Surely they will just replace the meter with a new one.
Just based on the experience so far. Its taken nearly 3 months, 5 visits, twice digging the meter box out, they dont seem competent. Countless phone calls, getting passed to different departments. Hopefully yes they will put a new meter on and that will be the end of it, but each time I think thats the end of it and it doesnt get resolved. Just worried if they change the meter and its still showing and say its not that where do I go next.Alan H said:
Yes went through the same as you with AA and a new smart meter. 19 litres a hour leak. Insurance fitted a test meter...No leak
It turn out after I complained to the CEO that the leak was caused by the twisting in of the smart meter which disturbed the joint between the meter tail and my supply pipe
Must be 20% of houses on my estate that have new tarmac around their water meter.
Keep at them, they must know that this is happening.
I got 3 months free water because of it.
Good luck
Yes I have noticed when walking about quite how many meters have been dug out. Hopefully a new meter can be put on and that will fix it. It turn out after I complained to the CEO that the leak was caused by the twisting in of the smart meter which disturbed the joint between the meter tail and my supply pipe
Must be 20% of houses on my estate that have new tarmac around their water meter.
Keep at them, they must know that this is happening.
I got 3 months free water because of it.
Good luck
The Three D Mucketeer said:
Fortunately United Utilities don't know where my external feed / mains stop tap is located , so they can't fit any sort of meter... So I get unlimited water with a single person reduction which my lawn, veg plot and greenhouses really appreciate 
.
Moving too a meter from rates is still optional I think. If you already have a meter they can whack in a smart one without your consent. . The funniest thing of all is Ive only recently moved in, due to divorce. The water bills at the family home were huge, £90/month. AW thought our usage was too high and fitted a smart meter there also. It showed now leak, we were just using loads of water. The washing machine as on every day at least once, often more. Now it goes on twice a week, once for clothes, and once for towels and bedding. So much easier on my own
Scabutz said:
I had my water meter changed to a smart meter a few months back. Anglian Water...
Sorry to hear about your smart water meter problems.I don't want any surprise water bills and so I manually read my water meter every month but this entails crawling head first into a hedge with my arse pointing down the road. I asked Thames Water for a smart meter but no joy so far.
I'm not actually sure what a smart water meter would do for me. Can you view your water consumption from inside the house? Does the water meter send real time updates to the supplier using a radio signal? How does it work from underground and how does it get power? Is the smart bit only because a water company employee can get the meter reading from a range of a few meters?
Actual said:
Sorry to hear about your smart water meter problems.
I don't want any surprise water bills and so I manually read my water meter every month but this entails crawling head first into a hedge with my arse pointing down the road. I asked Thames Water for a smart meter but no joy so far.
I'm not actually sure what a smart water meter would do for me. Can you view your water consumption from inside the house? Does the water meter send real time updates to the supplier using a radio signal? How does it work from underground and how does it get power? Is the smart bit only because a water company employee can get the meter reading from a range of a few meters?
There is no in home device. You can use the app or website and see the usage by hour. It sends the readings by radio waves every 30mins but seems to take a while to update in the app. I don't want any surprise water bills and so I manually read my water meter every month but this entails crawling head first into a hedge with my arse pointing down the road. I asked Thames Water for a smart meter but no joy so far.
I'm not actually sure what a smart water meter would do for me. Can you view your water consumption from inside the house? Does the water meter send real time updates to the supplier using a radio signal? How does it work from underground and how does it get power? Is the smart bit only because a water company employee can get the meter reading from a range of a few meters?
Seems to have no problems being underground.
Not sure it realy has much use to the user. I think the water companies are using them to find leaks more that anything else.
Scabutz said:
Not sure it realy has much use to the user. I think the water companies are using them to find leaks more that anything else.
When we moved to this property I didn't know where the water meter was located and Thames Water provided an estimated reading and a few days later sent a bill for £800 which was later withdrawn.I now take a water meter reading every month. The smallest unit of charge is a cubic metre of water and our usage is consistently 7 m3 per month and the bill is £27 per month based on actual readings.
I am paranoid that if there was a leak then it could cost me an unlimited and astronomical amount and I might not even know for 6 to 12 months.
How about, turn off your internal stopcock.
See if it’s still moving?
I had a severe leak between South East waters meter & my stopcock last year.
Replacement pipe (moled in) eventually paid for by buildings insurance. £2k.
Unexpectedly my insurance renewal was the same price last month!
South East Water were great. As my excessive usage was due to a leak. They averaged out. Reduced the leakage period to the average. Couldn’t have been more helpful.
See if it’s still moving?
I had a severe leak between South East waters meter & my stopcock last year.
Replacement pipe (moled in) eventually paid for by buildings insurance. £2k.
Unexpectedly my insurance renewal was the same price last month!
South East Water were great. As my excessive usage was due to a leak. They averaged out. Reduced the leakage period to the average. Couldn’t have been more helpful.
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 14th March 18:48
James6112 said:
How about, turn off your internal stopcock.
See if it’s still moving?
I had a severe leak between South East waters meter & my stopcock last year.
Replacement pipe (moled in) eventually paid for by buildings insurance. £2k.
Unexpectedly my insurance renewal was the same price last month!
South East Water were great. As my excessive usage was due to a leak. They averaged out. Reduced the leakage period to the average. Couldn’t have been more helpful.
That check has been done, there is no leak anymore its the meter that's faulty.See if it’s still moving?
I had a severe leak between South East waters meter & my stopcock last year.
Replacement pipe (moled in) eventually paid for by buildings insurance. £2k.
Unexpectedly my insurance renewal was the same price last month!
South East Water were great. As my excessive usage was due to a leak. They averaged out. Reduced the leakage period to the average. Couldn’t have been more helpful.
Edited by James6112 on Thursday 14th March 18:48
Anglian Water have did once its fixed they re do the bill and take the excess off. They've been pretty helpful but just seem to have spent a lot of time looking at the wrong problem
Scabutz said:
That check has been done, there is no leak anymore its the meter that's faulty.
Anglian Water have did once its fixed they re do the bill and take the excess off. They've been pretty helpful but just seem to have spent a lot of time looking at the wrong problem
Out of interest can you post a picture of the meter? I was involved in the design of one such device so would be interested.Anglian Water have did once its fixed they re do the bill and take the excess off. They've been pretty helpful but just seem to have spent a lot of time looking at the wrong problem
As for how they work they send an update periodically (every minute or so) using a radio link that is specifically tested to work from in a hole in the ground. The benefits are leak detection (assumign it works) and ease of meter reading for the water companies. They are powered by a battery which will last the ten year+ life of the meter.
BigBen said:
As for how they work they send an update periodically (every minute or so) using a radio link that is specifically tested to work from in a hole in the ground. The benefits are leak detection (assumign it works) and ease of meter reading for the water companies. They are powered by a battery which will last the ten year+ life of the meter.
Wow, to actually work from underground is impressive. Does it use the cell phone network? We are rural and the mobile reception is weak and there are countless anecdotes about electric smart meters being dumb due to no signal being available.I really want a water smart meter now. Does anyone have any idea how I can get Thames Water to fit one?
Actual said:
Wow, to actually work from underground is impressive. Does it use the cell phone network? We are rural and the mobile reception is weak and there are countless anecdotes about electric smart meters being dumb due to no signal being available.
I really want a water smart meter now. Does anyone have any idea how I can get Thames Water to fit one?
I think they use their own cellular towers so it's not just a case of slapping a smart meter at your house , it needs infrastructure behind it. So you might not be in place its possible right now.I really want a water smart meter now. Does anyone have any idea how I can get Thames Water to fit one?
Anglian Water seem to be changing to them on properties with above average use and whenever the occupier changes.
Scabutz said:
Actual said:
Wow, to actually work from underground is impressive. Does it use the cell phone network? We are rural and the mobile reception is weak and there are countless anecdotes about electric smart meters being dumb due to no signal being available.
I really want a water smart meter now. Does anyone have any idea how I can get Thames Water to fit one?
I think they use their own cellular towers so it's not just a case of slapping a smart meter at your house , it needs infrastructure behind it. So you might not be in place its possible right now.I really want a water smart meter now. Does anyone have any idea how I can get Thames Water to fit one?
Anglian Water seem to be changing to them on properties with above average use and whenever the occupier changes.
In future meters may use a wider area system like LoRa wan but this requires infrastructure which really doesn't exist outside of a few test locations. This would be good as it can cover all meters and other smart infrastucture in an urban environment but is some years off.
BigBen said:
No cell towers involved they use a system called W-Mbus (wirelss metering bus) and are still read by a bloke in a van doing a driveby. Cellular can't be practically used a reasonable sized battery would not last ten years (which is not a problem for electricity meters for obvious reasons)
In future meters may use a wider area system like LoRa wan but this requires infrastructure which really doesn't exist outside of a few test locations. This would be good as it can cover all meters and other smart infrastucture in an urban environment but is some years off.
I was wold when mine wasn't working that there was a problem with the tower.In future meters may use a wider area system like LoRa wan but this requires infrastructure which really doesn't exist outside of a few test locations. This would be good as it can cover all meters and other smart infrastucture in an urban environment but is some years off.
They can't be driving past everyday reading from a van surely. It updates every 30 mins
Scabutz said:
I was wold when mine wasn't working that there was a problem with the tower.
They can't be driving past everyday reading from a van surely. It updates every 30 mins
Water meters don't update every 30 minutes they broadcast a new reading about every 60 seconds, there is usually no one there to receive it. The drive by in a van will be once per quarter (or whatever your billing cycle happends to be)They can't be driving past everyday reading from a van surely. It updates every 30 mins
BigBen said:
Water meters don't update every 30 minutes they broadcast a new reading about every 60 seconds, there is usually no one there to receive it. The drive by in a van will be once per quarter (or whatever your billing cycle happends to be)
I can see readings upto the previous day in the app. These are new smart meters like the gas and electric ones that send readings regularly. Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff