Water meter ?

[A K]

Anyone know what this is?

It is at the outskirts of an apt. building.

The manager had some plumbing done in the middle of the property when this was dug up.

[Rod Speed]

Its just a gate valve for the line, turns it off and on.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Can't tell for sure, but could be a pressure reducing valve next to the shut off. .

[gfretwell]

That does look like the main water shut off for an apartment building but I don't see a meter.

[gfretwell]

Looks more like a back flow preventer.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Possible, often required for commercial and now even some residential.

[A K]

It interesting that you have to dig it up, to turn off the water.?

Andy

[Xeno]

Just laziness on the part of the builder/plumber in not putting in some form of access pit.

Around here the gate valve (called a *stop tap* here) to each house is perched *above ground* and left exposed, often in the middle of the front lawn of a house. Apart from looking ugly, they often get broken by vehicles.

They are also exposed to the possibility of freezing during very cold frosts. Luckily such frosts are unknown along the coast here in the sub tropics.

Mine has this type of tap;

But it is in a garden bed behind a low block retaining wall. No possibility of vehicular damage.

[Xeno]

Could have both. There are two items after the gate valve. An apartment building would need a large pipe like the one shown in order to feed fire hoses.

Most likely each unit in the building would have their own individual valve for domestic water.

[Rod Speed]

Likely burying it happened later.

[Rod Speed]

Ours werent initially, but then they redid everyone's so it is now, without turning the water off in the street either.

Ours are all in the corner of the block, not the middle.

My neighbour planted a small bush next to mine because its just off his drive and so was easy to run over.

The most stupid meter readers have had to ask me where it is a couple of times now.

I am nowhere near the coast in the sub tropics and mine never freezes.

So is mine, but the meter is much bigger and the whole thing is higher.

There is with mine and he did run over it a few times before he planted the bush. Or his wife did anyway.

[gfretwell]

Everyone needs one here and apartments (MFDs) usually have to follow commercial rules just about everywhere.

[gfretwell]

They probably had a tub around it at some time and it just crumbled away.

[Ed Pawlowski]

You missed the part on the left that the vale is bolted to.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Sure, but the building could also be isolated. There has to be a way to turn off the main feed for repairs.