Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid>
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design
Subject: Re: energy in UK
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2025 14:27:51 -0700
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On 4/24/2025 11:16 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> This morning I noticed a water meter visible from the street because there was 
> no lid or door on the hole on the wall, and it was curious. The plastic lid on 
> the meter was open, and could not be closed, because on top of the glass or 
> transparent plastic there had been attached another device that occluded the 
> view of the readings completely. I suspect this "backpack" is the radio device 
> that perhaps takes a photo of the reading and sends that using some variant of 
> slow GSM.

That's likely a "retrofit" product.  Bolting onto an existing dial
indicator without requiring any plumbing work.

> Or my interpretation could be wrong.
> 
> It is only one meter; I will be looking for more in the neighbourhood. My own 
> meter is under a heavy iron lid that I do not know how to lift, so I can not 
> look at it.

Ours are installed in a small -- 12" x 18" -- vault just below the surface.
A similarly sized cover protects the meter from above.  (The meters are located
immediately adjacent to the road so automobiles often drive over them
to park alongside the road.  Or, like my *sshole neighbor, park ON them!)

The lid sits in a concrete form that surrounds the meter (no bottom).
It has an elongated hole in one side into which one can "hook"
(anything!) to grasp the lid and lift it aside.  (You can then just
slide it back until it returns to the recess in the concrete form
in which it resided).

The water *valve* colocated with the meter ("shutoff") is operable with
an open-ended wrench or, preferably, a forked tool that has a pair of
open-ended jaws that straddle the valve handle and can be rotated
from the other end of the tool.

[Old valves are notoriously difficult to operate -- likely from calcifications
in the valve mechanism from years of high mineral content water flowing.]
> It looked similar to this one:
> 
> <https://latiendadeljardin.com/contadores-agua/modulo-comunicacion-contadores-agua.html>
> 
>