Trust, but believe. What do owners of individual water meters need to remember today in "People's Economy".
But first last news about exchange rates: dollar - 32.09, euro - 40.28.
From 23 thousand to 2 million 25 thousand rubles. The Ministry of Finance has published the possible amounts of insurance premiums for public transport passengers. And starting next year, any carrier (with the exception of the metro - it has a special status and taxis - there are MTPL tariffs) will be required to insure its civil liability for damage to the life, health and property of a passenger. The smallest amounts are just for damaged luggage. As for the costs for each passenger that carriers expect in this regard, the most expensive transport is sea transport. Up to 45 rubles. Next air - up to 20 rubles. For comparison, on commuter buses and long-distance trains the maximum is 2-3 rubles.
Separate the particular and the general. Already this fall, we should receive new receipts for housing and communal services payments, which will make it clear what is charged for housekeeping and what is charged for our private consumption. The rules come into force on September 1, but regions have a couple of months to start making calculations. And the now mandatory water, heat and electricity meters should help. Individual and collective. If there is no common appliance in the house, resource providers have the right to supply the one they see fit, and the residents will have to pay for it. Installment plan for 5 years is possible. For those who do not have meters in their apartment, compulsory measures are not provided. But formally, such owners still violate the law.
And law-abiding citizens, in turn, need to remember when exactly they got a water meter. The fact is that from time to time all such devices need to be checked in order to know for sure that they are counting accurately.
"The check can be regular or extraordinary. The next check is carried out for all meters. For meters hot water- 4 years after factory inspection, for meters cold water– in 6,” said Voronezh Vodokanal Sales Director Nikolai Peshekhonov.
What is more valuable - time or money? Pay less? This means you need to carry the water meter to metrological service. Naturally, a master must dismantle it so that the apartment is not left without water. After all, it can take several days for the device to be checked - there is a queue.
“The error can be both a plus and a minus,” says metrology engineer at FBU Rostest-Moscow Anna Nazarova.
As a rule, the meters make mistakes that are not in favor of consumers. You can check your meters right at home. Employees with special equipment will arrive.
How to understand whether verification is needed or not? In Moscow, water meters were installed en masse in 2008. Now just 4 years have passed. Those who bought it themselves need to look at the product passport. But who keeps them?
“In this case, you need to start from the commissioning act. If you don’t have it, then you need to contact the settlement center, where they can provide this information,” said Mikhail Lygo, director of the utility company.
The easiest way is to install new water meters. It costs about 200 rubles to dismantle the meter. Checking - about 500. Installing it back - again 200 rubles. The device cannot simply be screwed on - you need to issue a commissioning certificate. Another 500. Total: about one and a half thousand rubles. A new water meter costs about the same in a store.
And the worst thing is if money is spent on all this, and the device is declared unsuitable. “About 20% of the total mass is rejected,” said metrology engineer at the Rostest-Moscow Federal Budgetary Institution Anna Nazarova.
By the way, if you look at the readings, this water meter almost did not work. In 4 years, only 35 cubic meters of hot water ran up. This is very little. Usually - 150-200. And still the owner is obliged to carry out verification. Or the utility companies will deregister this device.
“In this case, he will pay according to the standard. The standard sets, for example, a certain volume of consumption per day. It doesn’t matter whether a person consumed or did not consume this volume, he will pay exactly for this standard,” said the president of the Association of Energy Service Companies and Device Manufacturers accounting Boris Portyankin.
If you install new water meters, the utility company is obliged to issue you documents. Where the old device ended its existence, where the new one begins. If it doesn't have only zeros, that's normal. The red numbers are an error; the meter was tested at the factory. We only pay for black ones.
If the water meter has cracks, there is no seal, or it is damaged in some way, there is no need to carry it for verification. You can throw it away immediately. He is not considered fit for work.
Back to barter. Unemployed Spaniards, with this problem at a record level for Europe - 25%, are increasingly using labor hours as currency. Time banks are multiplying in the country - there are already about three hundred of them. For example, you helped someone with repairs - you topped up your account, and you can count on the services of other such investors. Spaniards are now increasingly going to barter fairs, where they can exchange unnecessary things for fresh products. All this, however, is not know-how - a centuries-old practice that, by the way, frightens some experts. They say that this is a step backwards, that the economy is being driven into the shadows.
In our country, as you know, there are standards for water consumption per person. It is against them that payments for water use are made every month. In reality, almost all of us consume much less than the prescribed amount. In order to find out how many resources were actually used, set.
Water meters, like other metering devices, are sold after factory verification, but the technical passport that comes with the device clearly indicates the period when the next check needs to be carried out. Without it, the accuracy of the meter readings cannot be guaranteed, so there is nothing left but to check according to the current rules. This can be done in one of the following ways:
- dismantle the meter and provide it to metrologists;
- call specialists to your home who will check the device without removing it from the installation site.
Note! People prefer to check the meter “on the spot”. Firstly, it’s more convenient. Secondly, installation/dismantling procedures cost 200 rubles each, inspection costs 500 rubles, and re-commissioning costs another 500. A total of 1,400 rubles.
Quite a large amount, considering the fact that a new meter costs the same. Therefore, we will talk about how to check the water meter yourself.
Video - Checking water meters
You can check the water meter directly at the installation site using a special device - inlet flow metering installation. You contact the metrological service. There you will be given a date when a specialist will come to you with the appropriate metrological equipment. Try to submit your application in advance, since it often happens that the service life of the meter has already expired, and, alas, the turn for inspection has not yet arrived.
How is the check performed?
To check the accuracy of the meter, a metrological service employee will weigh the water that has passed through it using a high-precision scale. Let's look at how a water meter is checked, taking as an example the most popular installation today - the German "Vodouchet-2M".
Note! When installing a new water meter, you should be given documents from the utility company that would indicate where the old device “stopped” and where the new one will “start.” Don’t worry if the new water meter shows more than just zeros – red numbers indicate an error, because the device has been factory tested. You will only pay for black ones.
Benefits of flow meter testing
- You will save a lot of time.
- Such a check will cost approximately half the cost of a new meter, while the dismantling option will cost its full cost.
- If the pipeline is old, then you will not risk damaging it. The fact is that any kind of dismantling work on it will most likely lead to a violation of integrity and, consequently, to additional costs.
Flaws
Despite the obvious advantages, this testing method also has disadvantages.
- If the meter turns out to be faulty, you will need to purchase a new one, but you still need to pay for the testing work.
- Checking at home will not reveal the full picture of the technical condition of the water meter. It is quite possible that some of its parts are in critical condition and will soon fail, after which you will again need to buy a new meter.
Who should pay?
Obviously, it is not profitable for the water utility when residents install individual water meters. Without them, as already mentioned, residents were required to pay a certain consumption rate, which can sometimes exceed the actual consumption several times, and when water meters are installed, the water utility suffers losses, so the organization’s employees are not interested in this.
Who should pay to have the water meter checked if required? If such expenses are provided for in the supplier’s tariff schedule, then he must pay. The concluded agreement must have a corresponding clause, and if you do not have such an agreement, then this is a clear sign that the water utility wants to “cheat” you.
Note! Residents are often forced to pay for water according to established standards during the inspection period. Of course, residents overpay. Is this legal? In no case! According to the law, during this period residents are required to pay for the average water consumption in the last three months, and when the meter is installed back, a recalculation will be made.
How to report?
When the inspection is completed, the inspector will provide you with a certificate of technical condition counter. If it is satisfactory, then you must transfer the act to the management company.
From the point of view of the law, there are no penalties for late inspection. Friction is only possible with the management company, whose database contains information about the technical condition of all water meters. And if new data is not provided on time, you may be automatically charged a fee according to the established rate.
Self-check of the water meter
You can independently check the accuracy of the water meter readings, but this is more for personal peace of mind, because you will not receive objective data. There is one way to check - take readings, fill three ten-liter buckets with water, and then look at the readings again. In reality this is extremely inaccurate way. There is another, more reliable option, which we will now describe. For this you will need:
- electronic balance;
- calculator;
- any container with a volume of more than 10 liters.
First, weigh the container and write down the result. Also record the current water meter readings. Then fill the container with water, preferably at medium pressure. Weigh the already filled container and take readings from the device again.
As is known, a cubic meter of water weighs 1 ton. Based on this, compare the entire volume of water in the container with the water meter readings (in liters), then divide the cubic meter by a thousand.
This method is more accurate than the bucket procedure, although accuracy depends primarily on the scale. The average error is from 1% to 2.5%. But remember! Self Test Results are not legal, with them you will not prove anything to anyone.
What is better - checking or replacing the meter? Feasibility of the procedure
Not long ago, Estonia began testing and systematizing water meters. Research has shown that more 40% of devices failed testing. Often the cause of breakdown is the plastic elements of the devices that are in direct contact with water. Their surface wears off over time, and the counter cannot be repaired.
In Russia, such studies have not been carried out until today, or their results were not disclosed to the public. But even without any research, you can be sure that things are no better with our meters. Moreover, almost all water meters, after 5–6 years of use, no longer survive to be tested.
Video - Is verification of water meters necessary?
When checking the meter, you take a risk in any case, regardless of whether it is carried out with or without dismantling.
After all of the above, one conclusion suggests itself: in most cases, it is more profitable to buy an old meter than to start an inspection. It will cost less.
Installing a water meter makes it possible to save money, because you pay for the water consumed, and not for mythical standards, which, to be honest, are greatly inflated. But all this is true only if the device is working properly. If the operation of the device is disrupted, then perhaps it calculates water consumption by inflated standards. Let's talk about how to check the water meter at home.
Causes of water meter breakdowns:
- Natural wear and tear. The technical documentation indicates the working life of the water meter and the time after which the device must be submitted for verification. If you do not do this, the device may show incorrect water consumption data.
- Hard water. Over time, the parts become covered with limescale, which makes the water meter work incorrectly.
How to check a water meter at home?
If you suspect that water accounting is being carried out incorrectly, you can do two things:
- Call a technician to dismantle the device. After this, you will have to take the water meter to the water utility department for verification. In this case, you will waste not only time, but also money. Installation and dismantling of the metering device are paid services. Add in transport costs and think: wouldn’t it be easier to buy a new device?
- Self-check.
Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. Calling a technician involves additional costs, but he will issue a document stating that the meter is working properly. Self-checking the serviceability of the device has no legal force and can only be carried out for self-soothing.
Check by a specialist without dismantling the device
This is a very convenient method, especially if the time is right to send the device for verification. To call a specialist to your home, it is advisable not to wait until the end of the verification period, but to write an application to the metrological service. At the specified time, the technician will come to your home with the appropriate equipment (spray installation-flow meter) and conduct a check according to the following algorithm:
- Installation measuring instrument to the shower hose opening.
- Preparing scales and containers for measuring water consumption.
- Checking the water meter: whether its wheel is spinning if all the taps are closed.
- Recording the initial parameters of the device.
- Drawing water into a container and then recording the device readings. This test is carried out using cold and hot water.
- Carrying out the necessary calculations, drawing up average size water meter errors.
Important! The procedure should be performed several times at different pressures. The standard percentage of error ranges from 2-10%. If the error obtained during the calculations falls within the specified range, the device is in working order. If the error value is larger, the meter must be replaced.
Certification of the result
At the end of the check, the technician issues a certificate to the owner stating that the device is in good working order. The document must be presented to the management company. You cannot miss the inspection time. Otherwise, the management company may present you with a water bill based on the notorious average data.
The advantages of such a check:
- Affordable price. In any case, it will cost much less than completely dismantling the device.
- If the house has an old pipeline, it will not be damaged. Dismantling the meter is no small test for old pipes.
- Saving time, and at the same time, energy and nerves.
Important! The downside is that the diagnosis is quite approximate. It is quite possible that some parts of the meter are worn out, and soon the breakdown will fully manifest itself. In this case, you will have to pay both for verification of the old one and for the purchase of a new meter.
How to check the water meter at home yourself?
In principle, this can be done, but such a check will not have legal force. It is advisable if the verification period has not yet expired, but you have a sneaking suspicion that the device is “lying.” To check, prepare 2 measuring buckets: 10 and 25 liters.
Important! If metrologists check the correct operation of the meter at different water pressures, then we will do the same.
Follow this algorithm:
- Record the water meter readings for cold and hot water.
- Let the water flow in a thin stream and fill a ten-liter bucket. Record the new readings from the device again.
- Using 25 liter containers, fill 1000 liters of water at medium pressure. Dial continuously, no need to close the tap. It is possible that you will need an assistant. Did you dial it? Now record the readings from the device again.
- It remains to use 1000 liters, or, as people say, “cube”. Proceed according to the same principle as in the case of 1000 liters, only now turn on the tap completely. Write down the indicators again.
So, you have used 1110 liters of water. All that remains is to determine by simple calculations what flow rate the device recorded. If the error is in the range from 2 to 10, then the device can be used.
Important! If the water meter works correctly, then at low pressure it slightly undercounts the liters. With medium pressure the calculation is correct, but with strong pressure it slightly exaggerates the readings.
Now you know how to check water meters at home. The following information is for those who have had their water meter tested. There can be no talk of any payment according to the standards. While the water meter is removed, you pay according to the average water consumption for the last 3 months. If they want to force something else on you, it is illegal.
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