# Painting guy here...need opinion of a plumber...



## SeanATL (Apr 6, 2007)

This is a personal problem I'm having at my home. I'm about to strangle my water provider.

Townhouse community, use to be on a community water bill or whatever you want to call it, now each unit has it's own individual meter.

1,200 sq place, just me and my wife. Water bill and sewer normally $50-60.

The first month of the new meter, my bill is $160. WTF?

The water company tells me we used 4,000 gallons of water. They arrive at that number by measuring hotwater usage, then using some multiple for cold water to arrive at total water used.

I'm like this is bull****, obviously, so I have a plumber come out. He says the meter is connected to the coldwater line, so he's not sure how in the hell they measure the hot water. He says there is absolutely no leak.

So I call them back and they say they know its hooked up to the coldwater and they can read it correctly that way. Again....WTF?

Is there any way me and my wife use 4,000 gallons of water? We don't even use hot water for clothes, only showers and dishes.

I'm not sure what to do. The water company basically says, "yeah, that seems really high, but tough ****."

Now I've had to pay for a plumber to come out, and I'm still at the same spot I was before.

Help!!!!!


----------



## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Do you have individual heaters, one per unit?


----------



## SeanATL (Apr 6, 2007)

We have a unit in our townhouse....is that what you're asking?


----------



## Ron The Plumber (Oct 10, 2006)

Sorry but there is no way one can decide who much hot water gets used, one only can tell how much water is used all together.


----------



## SeanATL (Apr 6, 2007)

Ron The Plumber said:


> Sorry but there is no way one can decide who much hot water gets used, one only can tell how much water is used all together.


I'll speak to them again tomorrow. The guy on the phone told me I should be able to go home, turn on the cold water and the meter should not register any water flow. I told him I'd do it and call him tomorrow.

Sure enough I come home, crank on the cold water and the meter runs like hell.

these people are killing me!


----------



## Ron The Plumber (Oct 10, 2006)

Tell them to come out and show you how they caculate the charges.


----------



## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Unless something has drastically changed, they have no way of determining your HOT water consumption. You pay for your hot water through the elec. or gas bill. They are only measuring the total flow through your unit. You could have a bad meter but usually that works in your favor, they are slow or stop.

Keep in touch, I want to hear how this ends.


----------



## PIPES (Nov 8, 2006)

So if you consider you each work out of the house. You each shower for 10 min a day, 
use the toilet a least 4 times each while at home. You also do 4 loads of laundry a 
week and cook 1 meal at home and clean your dishes. 

2 people 1 shower each for 10 mins = 50 gal a day X 30 days = 1500 gals.
2 people wc usage 4 times a day = 12.8 gals a day x 30 days = 384 gals.
laundry for 2 say 4 loads a week = 140 gals a week x 4 weeks = 560 gals. 
Dishes and meal prep. 10 gals. a day = x 30 days = 300 gals. 
Total = 2444 gals

This is an educated guess, I would say you probably use closer to 3000 a month actually


----------



## Ishmael (Mar 14, 2007)

SeanATL said:


> The guy on the phone told me I should be able to go home, turn on the cold water and the meter should not register any water flow.


*This guy you're talking to is clearly an idiot. You need to get a hold of somebody else at the water department - someone who knows what they're talking about. The meter is on the cold water main, and will measure any water you use whether it's hot or cold.:no: *

*One thing you may want to check is the toilets. Make sure they're not leaking by at the flappers...sometimes it isn't always easy to tell. If you look in the bowl, you may see a little rippling at the edges. If so, the flapper should be replaced. It's amazing how much that will run up a water bill.*


----------



## Ishmael (Mar 14, 2007)

*P.s.*

*Almost forgot...it could also be the ballcock or fill valve in the tank. If it doesn't properly shut off, the water will just keep running and draining down the overflow tube. That's actually what would cause the rippling at the water's edge in the bowl.*


----------



## Ron The Plumber (Oct 10, 2006)

Just shut the water off to the toilet/s before you go to sleep, in morning, left the tank lids, if water is low in them them suspect water leaking from tanks into the bowls.


----------



## tzzzz216 (Dec 25, 2005)

the only way it can be read on the hot side is if they installed a meter there, 1, another thing you may want to check see if the sprinkler system is feed off that meter ,2, also maybe their billing your depoist into that figure, 3,shut off all your faucets in the house and go to your meter and see if the dial is turning, if it is you have a leak somewheres .


----------



## SeanATL (Apr 6, 2007)

tzzzz216 said:


> 3,shut off all your faucets in the house and go to your meter and see if the dial is turning, if it is you have a leak somewheres .


I did this as well as the plumber and he said there was no leak.

But, I guess the issues with the toilet would not be a steady leak that could be easily seen on the meter. I'll have to check for that.

Then again, the morons I keep getting on the phone are saying it only measures hot water........????????

I'll speak to them again today and let everyone know what they say this time.


----------



## SeanATL (Apr 6, 2007)

Just got off the phone with the guy......he said the meter SHOULD NOT be running when I turn the cold water on. They're going to have someone come out to my house now.

I don't know how the hell this stuff works, but at least I've now got them thinking something in fact may be wrong.

I had never heard of this "new" type meter. Maybe this is common, but the thing is inside my house and the water company just drives by my house a shoot a "gun" that reads the meter. When they first hooked it up, I wonder how in the heck they were going to read it. Technology. If I was a guy who checks meters every month, I'd be nervous. It won't be long before its all computer automated and the meter reading just gets transmitted back to headquarters......no one having to go by and read it each month.


----------



## Dustball (Jul 7, 2006)

SeanATL said:


> Just got off the phone with the guy......he said the meter SHOULD NOT be running when I turn the cold water on. They're going to have someone come out to my house now.


If this is true (which I don't believe), you can use all the cold water you want for free which would include washing your cars, watering your grass, filling your swimming pool, etc...


----------



## fireguy (Oct 29, 2006)

On meter reading, Cascade Gas reads meters electronically, the meter reader drives down the street and a device in the cab reads the meter. No more going into yarrds and alleys to read meters. 

The power company has installed meters in the rural areas that read the meters and sends the information over the high voltage lines to a computer in the office. It is very slow, but faster than going out to the outlying areas. The cost, about $40.00 for the special meter. Previously, there were meter that were not read for several months in the winter time. 

fireguy


----------



## tzzzz216 (Dec 25, 2005)

SeanATL said:


> Just got off the phone with the guy......he said the meter SHOULD NOT be running when I turn the cold water on. They're going to have someone come out to my house now.
> 
> I don't know how the hell this stuff works, but at least I've now got them thinking something in fact may be wrong.
> 
> I had never heard of this "new" type meter. Maybe this is common, but the thing is inside my house and the water company just drives by my house a shoot a "gun" that reads the meter. When they first hooked it up, I wonder how in the heck they were going to read it. Technology. If I was a guy who checks meters every month, I'd be nervous. It won't be long before its all computer automated and the meter reading just gets transmitted back to headquarters......no one having to go by and read it each month.


Unless they are heating the water at the water planet and this is some type of new system its BS ,all buildings are feed with cold water and another thing you have to watch for is when they read the meter,we had a high water bill years ago and my wife called them and they told her that all they do is estimate the useage and that there was no way they can read every meter in town, how this all come about the day we got the bill i check the meter which is in a valve box in the ground opened it and there must have been 2" of dirt over the meter, so how in the world could they read it.Let us know how you make out with it . If you want to see if your tank is leaking put about 6 drops of food coloring in the tank and wait 30 mins if it is leaking you'll see it in the bowl .


----------



## SeanATL (Apr 6, 2007)

thanks for your help guys. It probably is all BS, I have no idea, I'm just glad they've agreed to come look at it and that they've acknowledge something isn't right.


----------



## tzzzz216 (Dec 25, 2005)

SeanATL said:


> thanks for your help guys. It probably is all BS, I have no idea, I'm just glad they've agreed to come look at it and that they've acknowledge something isn't right.



I'm glad you got your point across over to them, I'm still interested as to what they find ,let us know if you dont mind . You can do us all a favor if you would please ,ask them what size water heater they have at their plant to heat the water for the town ,lol


----------



## Glasshousebltr (Feb 9, 2004)

If water companies would had been in place during the exodus ......Moses would have been broke on the other side.


----------



## SeanATL (Apr 6, 2007)

tzzzz216 said:


> I'm glad you got your point across over to them, I'm still interested as to what they find ,let us know if you dont mind . You can do us all a favor if you would please ,ask them what size water heater they have at their plant to heat the water for the town ,lol


It's the city of Atlanta.......so that must be one BIG water heater :laughing:


----------



## Glasshousebltr (Feb 9, 2004)

They pump it in from yellowstone.:blink:


----------



## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

Lay a damp mop on the electric meter. Slow it down and get the money back on electric! Just remove the mop a day or two before the meter reader comes by. Just kidding! Know a guy that claims he did that for a while. He said he went on vacation once and was not there to remove the mop. They caught him. LOL! I wouldn't swear to that be true, but he told it. Once the gas co. thought something was wrong with my meter. Said it was not registering like it should. I had done some thing (storms, close vents, etc) to the house and they thought my bill was not what it should be, I guess. They changed the meter and my bill went up!


----------



## trptman (Mar 26, 2007)

so how did this turn out? Methinks the water co. is screwing you.....only reads hot water...what a bunch of BS.


----------

