What is a water meter? How to choose a water meter? And how can you save on the consumption of utilities? You can find answers to these and many other questions in this article.
What is a water meter?
The meter , or water meter, has recently become more and more popular due to the reform of the housing and communal services. With its help, the actual water used is recorded, both hot and cold. For a month it will help to save about 100-500 rubles. When installing metering devices, the savings are tangible. It should also be remembered that the tariff only needs to be paid for those who are registered in the apartment.
At present, domestic manufacturers in the Russian market are doing very well with the manufacture of measuring instruments, and the percentage of imports is small. Many manufacturers still use imported components for the manufacture of metering devices, in most cases they are imported from European countries: Germany, Italy, France, etc.
Classification
So, before choosing a water meter, you need to dwell on the varieties of these devices. A large number of water meters are available on the modern market. They are classified according to the principle of action:
- Mechanical (winged and turbine).
- Whirlwind.
- Electromagnetic
- Ultrasonic
In addition, these devices can be volatile and non-volatile. In the first case, the device operates from an electric network, and a battery is also provided in the floor structure, which is a safety (additional) power source.
If you do not know which water meter to choose, it is important to know that mechanical metering devices are also divided into two types - for hot or cold water. Their fundamental difference from each other is the material from which the counter elements are made (bearings, impeller). The counter of cold water may be used up to a temperature of + 40 ° C, hot - no more than + 130-150 ° C. The counter intended for hot water is allowed to be used for cold.
Also, water meters are divided into industrial (for metering water in apartment buildings, large industrial premises, with a nominal diameter of 25-400 mm) and household (for a private house, apartment, nominal diameter of the meter - 15-25 mm).
How to choose a water meter with a tachometer?
A tachometer is a mechanism in which the flow of water through mechanical pressure activates the blades of a wing wheel or turbine, thereby rotating them. Then the rotation is transmitted to the counting element, which registers the volume of the spent fluid.
Tachometric water meters are divided among themselves depending on design features. Distinguish turbine, multi-jet and single-jet. There are also combined metering devices that simultaneously combine turbine and vane-type water meters located in parallel. With a small pressure, the volume of water is taken into account by the vane device, when the pressure increases with the help of a special valve, the pipeline with the vane water meter is blocked, and the water is taken into account by means of a turbine meter.
Water meters: how to choose? Consumer Reviews
When choosing a meter, the fundamental factor is its cost. Low cost can not guarantee high quality, but buying an overly expensive meter is also not always justified.
Companies and experts praise electronic equipment, in other words, foreign-made intelligent devices. They have numerous advantages, but also have one single drawback - this is the price. Such water meters, even with a small pressure of water, show reliable readings, and they also cope with great pressure in the water supply system. This is a universal device used for both cold and hot water flows, while their installation does not depend on the horizontal or vertical arrangement of pipelines. And most importantly, taking an electronic water meter for metrological verification will not be particularly difficult, for this the upper part is removed, and all the connecting parts will remain in place. This particular feature of these devices is often noted in customer reviews.
Cost
So, today smart water meters are preferable. How to choose? Price - how tangibly does it hit your pocket? Such brands as Zenner and Siemens have become the brands of such metering devices; their price ranges from 1000 to 4000 rubles.
In Russia, mechanical devices are most often assembled using foreign components. Their price ranges from 300 to 800 rubles. As you noticed, the cost of such counters is much less, in addition, they are presented in stores in large quantities.
Features of choice
Before choosing a water meter for an apartment and purchasing it, you need to pay special attention to the date of the period between calibrations, indicated in the passport, it indicates its durability. The meter can be on the counter for a long time, but the date remains the same. It was found that the verification period for mechanical meters is 5 years, for electronic - 10 years.
In addition, before choosing a water meter, it is important to take into account such an indicator as the throughput of the device, in other words, its performance, which is measured in m 3 / hour.
When installing the meter in a residential building, it is necessary to coordinate this action with the management company. Not every equipment is suitable here, check out the recommended counters. Since during the verification, the device chosen by yourself may not be accepted, and the readings from it will not be taken into account when paying utility bills .
Operation and maintenance
Once you have decided on the choice of model, you need to call specialists who will install the device. Next, it must be registered and sealed, for this you need to call the representatives of the city water utility.
The average operational life of water meters is 12 years. In this case, after 4-6 years, the meter must be verified. This procedure is very important, since over the years of continuous operation, the accuracy of the readings significantly decreases.
The reasons for the incorrect readings are many. Among them, the most common is hard water and slagging of pipelines. When slags accumulate in pipelines, the pressure in them becomes higher, the opening of the device becomes impassable, and its spinner starts to rotate much faster. The readings as a result become significantly higher than the actual water consumption. To prevent this problem, it will be enough to purchase a coarse filter.
Installation Rules
Now you know how to choose the right water meter. But in order for his testimony to correspond to reality and he could function smoothly for many years, the following rules must be followed during installation:
- It is only possible to engage in the installation of the metering device in the field for completing welding and other work on preparing the installation socket.
- The direction of the arrow, which is located on the side of the water meter, must coincide with the direction of fluid flow.
- The water meter is mounted upstream of the meter.