A growing number of apartments and private houses are equipped with water meters. Their installation has recently become mandatory. Owners of apartments in new buildings are sometimes lucky, and they move into the apartment with already installed appliances. But all those who have long been living on their living space have to do this on their own. In both cases, the sealing of water meters is an obligatory action that must be carried out before starting their operation. Otherwise, their testimony will not be considered valid.
Finally
, water
metering devices are installed, the happy owner of the apartment pays significantly less for water, but do not forget that, like any technical device, the meter requires attention. First of all, this concerns the verification of its serviceability.
Verification of counters is a procedure that is carried out in order to determine the correct operation of a given measuring instrument, carried out at limited intervals. The latter, in the definition of metrologists, are defined as inter-check intervals. For devices measuring the consumption of cold water, they are 6 years, hot - depend on its model and can vary in the range of 4-6 years (with a total life of 10-12 years).
Checking counters - how does this happen?
This event can be held in two ways:
- the device is dismantled and taken to the testing laboratory, another, temporary one is put in its place, if the “native” device is deemed suitable, it is installed in its original place;
- verification of water meters at home is carried out on site, without removing it.
A couple of years ago, most of the companies operating in the field of servicing metering devices offered only the first option. In this case, the procedure takes a lot of time, and its cost-effectiveness is a moot point, since the work on dismantling the meter is not free. Most likely, this was due to the fact that in order to conduct verification, the company must undergo a certification procedure, which confirms that its staff has specialists accredited to carry out these works, and there are the necessary technical means. And the removed device can be taken for testing to any certified laboratory.
Today the situation has changed, the mass distribution of metering devices has led to the fact that an increasing number of organizations receive the necessary licenses and verification of meters is carried out on site. It will not take more than an hour, even if the apartment has not one, but two water distribution nodes.
Checking counters or replacing them?
Sometimes, when reading a testimony, the homeowner himself notices something wrong: while maintaining the previous level of consumption, the device records its significant increase. Such cases are rare, but there are. Only in this case it is worth thinking about the early replacement of the device.
Some companies involved in the installation of meters often offer to install a new meter, instead of believing the existing one. The motivation is extremely simple - the condition of the
water pipes leaves much to be desired, despite the long operating life declared by the manufacturer, few devices work it out completely. In fact, the manufacturers of the meters determine the period of operation taking into account the conditions of their operation, and there is no need for such a replacement.
According to statistics, no more than 2% of devices fail calibration, so you should not think about a new device if the old one worked for only 4-6 years.