Okay, here is where we are today. I found the house main cut-off and turned it off. When I do that, the meter stops running. I wasn't expecting this, I really thought I would find a leak in the ground between the city main and the house main.
No toilets are running, I shut them off and the meter still crept. I turned off the HW heater, didn't do anything (the drain was dry anyway...200Gallons a day, it would be noticable.)
Well...I will keep trucking, certainly interesting.
F
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6000 gal/30 day/24 hr/60 min --> ~ 1 pt/min if I followed your thread your 6k gal in a month above long-term usage.That's the size of leak you're looking for...toilet flappers could do it, but I'd think they would be evident. Not know what all you got, don't have much else specific...
Exactly. When I shut off the house main, the meter stops. I have outdoor faucets that run off the sprinkler system and are direct from the city main. I turned on one of the faucets to emulate the speed of the meter turning to see how much of a leak I am looking for--it is really slow---just adds up over time.
Well--After checking the entire house again, turning off every single water cut-off--not sure what else to do. I agree the meter is fine, since it does stop when the house main is off. I don't hear a leak, I don't see signs of water anywhere in the house, and I if I didn't see that meter turning with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe there to be a problem.
I have an additional home insurance policy (American Home Shield) that covers plumbing issues--so I opened up a service ticket with them. We'll get a pro in here and see what he comes up with.
Thaks for your suggestions---you all helped me troubleshoot as much as I could.
Best,
ER
I suspect a fire in the squirrel's underground nut-mines.
The boogers often tap into homeowner's water mains to provide emergency fire suppression.
I know this sounds wacky, but what else could it be?
I have a flat-slab house. Had a major failure of a half-inch line under the slab one night that brought water up between the slab and the footing and flooded the carpet. If it had been as small as your leak, it probably would have drained through the soil and never become apparent in my total usage.
Don't know if this has any bearing on your situation, but you might want to look at the possibility of any buried pipe between the house cutoff and the house -- or any other buried pipe beyond that cutoff. --- SJF
Thanks! And this is exactly what is my worst fear. I have a pro coming out this week, I will update the group with what the final outcome is.
I found a similar leak by listening to the pipes.
Turn off everthing in the house in the middle of the night (less nois from overhead planes and road traffic)
start in the basement and listen to the drain pipes
if there is water leaving the house via a drain, it will make a trickl sound as it hits the bottom of the drain.
follow the sound back to the source.
I found a laundry tap left on only enough to feed a bleeder line. Nothing in the laundry tub.
Could be a dishwasher, water softener, refrigerator with wate connection, or toilet.
good luc
-- clare in brampton
Bear in mind that turning the valve all the way in the cutoff direction.. doesn't mean the water is cut off.. (like to the toilet) These shuttoff valves get crud in them from not being used and fail to seal when shut off...
this sounds like a tough one. given that the water is far from free, i would take extraordinary measures. i would turn off the hot water first. and check if it was still flowing. and check if the meter still showed flow.
presuming it's cold water i would touch pipes here and there and see what was coldest. i would open the walls in my sink cabinets to check pipes there. and while open i would install all the shutoffs that i could. then i would start shutting down branch lines from the basement up. i would say a little prayer.
i don't know how you USers meter your water. in canada, we have the meter IN THE HOUSE. so if it shows usage there's no doubt it's me. you guys apparently have the meter somewhere outside so you could be leaking into the ground! hard to believe. i don't have any ideas there.
finally, if nothing panned out, i would call a good plumber. ...thehick
Surely you have a valve in your house to turn off your whole house. Do that. If meter shows that flow stopped, the leak in your house.
What is the pipe between the meter and the house made of? When was it installed?
Squirrels live in trees; that's where the nuts are. Maybe OP's water main runs up into squirrel's tree. Other than this flaw, I like your reasoning. You should be in the profession.
"JerryMouse" wrote
Keep up...this was already done a week ago or so... :)
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