Hello:
With natural gas for home heating being so expensive now, was wondering a bit about the calibration of our gas meter.
a. How well do these things hold calibration ?
b. If they do "drift" some, is there a recognized tendency for them to show more or less usage ?
c. What's a good rule of thumb regarding how often to request the gas company to re-calibrate them ? Do they have to honor your request (by Law) ?
Thanks, Bob
They only fail in the low direction. If it starts reading too low the gas company will calculate based on typical useage and temperature and send you the bill. Don't bother calling them. They will just treat you like a moron.
Gas pressure usually don't change much unless you get dirt in the valve. A slight variation won't change performance much. I never heard of anyone calling them just to have the calibration checked. I'm pretty sure they'd charge you unless you have a service contract that covers it.
I only use NG for heating, so every April the gas company replaced my "NR" meter (it's on the door tag). ;-) Since there was zero use during the previous month, they are positive it was Non Registering. Then I get to call every fall to see if they can turn the gas back on.
Finally got wise... now turn it off end of March for the summer ("summer shunt"), and save $25. $50 total monthly base fees - $25 turn on fee in November.
Last summer I set up two 55ga barrels to hold washer and bath water, to run the commode and minor lawn watering. Cut water use in half, the water dept replaced my meter last month, just love it...
28 years, 6th gas meter, 4th water meter (one was a pilot electronic reader program), and same electric meter.-larry / dallas
Pretty stupid gas company. My electric company came through a few years ago and installed electronic meters that send the usage right back to the main office. Then they laid off all the meter readers.
I've complained about ridiculously high readings with virtually no response from the gas company. Waste of time.
John Churchill Builder and Cont. Ed. Instructor at Emory University Author of
If your gas valve pressure is correct and put a timer on the furnace, you should be able to come close with a little math. A cubit foot of natural gas is about 1,024 BTUs. If you have an 80,000BTUH input furnace, and it runs for one hour, divide that by 1024 to get the cubic feet.
I don' know about all states, but we have gas at work. We got a notice that the meter would be replaced as required by law after 10 years. This is an industrial meter but check local regulations. Chances are, you utility has a web page with all the information you need.
I think we have that now, but they have to drive down the street -- I thought -- to read the electric meters. ( OTOH, maybe that was 10 years ago. If the cable company can tell when one customer buys pay per view, maybe the electric company can tell what I'm using without driving down the street??????)
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Sounds like a very good idea, if one wants to know.
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UPDATE I just saw the letter on my desk. It is every 7 years as required by the Department of Telecommunications and Energy. That is in MA, your local laws may differ.
Those guys really have a cushy job now. I wonder if the electric company knows about this.
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and installed electronic meters that send the usage right back to the main office. Then they laid off all the meter reader
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