Odd mix of new and old meters in the meter cupboard.

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I've just moved into a new house and the meter cupboard is a real mess. There is a new(ish) digital meter and fusebox, but also an old mechanical meter that ticks like mad, is some distance away from the new meter and doesn't appear to do anything. It is powered by (what I presume are) a live and neutral from the main isolation fuse, and has a third, thin cable going back to the new digital meter. Any idea why it's been connected this way rather than being junked when the new meter was installed, and if it could be removed without causing an issue? It would certainly free up a bit of space and remove the irritating ticking if I could get rid of it.
 
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It's usually gas meters that tick, and if that's the case, there's nothing to be done about it because that's how they work, other than build a cupboard around it perhaps. A photo would help identification.
 
Thanks for replying. It's definitely not a gas meter. I'll take a photo and upload it in a moment.
 
There you go.
 

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It's not a meter. It's a clock, for the Economy 7.
 
Oh. The digital meter is dual rate so I assumed it would have an internal clock like at my old house. Looking closer at the old ticking box it has a rotating 'face' divided up into 'day' and 'night' sections. It's currently saying it's 1am! This raises a couple of other questions now! Typical eh? 1. Does that mean since it's actually midday that I'm getting my electric at the cheaper night rate? 2. The cover appears to be lockwired on, so how do I adjust the time on the clock to be correct? 3. Could I just bin the thing off altogether?

Cheers
 
You cannot touch it, the terminals will be sealed and it is the property of the service provider, the same as the electricity meter. They will have to remove / adjust etc. And yes, if it it is still connected which it appears to be, and you are on a dual tariff, if the time is off then you will be getting your off peak rate at the wrong time. Nowadays they have radio controlled timeswitches built into the meter, so it isn't a problem anymore.
 
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you have 2 options.

1) Set your internal timers (heaters) to match the time on that clock.
2) Ask supplier to correct the time (they probably won't want to know)

Monitor usage over a day, before and afterwards just to check things.

Get it wrong and you could end up with a big bill
 
No there are no storage heaters. The house is from the 1970s so maybe there were at one time or another.
 
In that case, get rid of the dual rate / economy 7 completely and change to a single rate tariff.
It will be significantly cheaper and the timer can be removed.
 
It's usually gas meters that tick, and if that's the case, there's nothing to be done about it because that's how they work, other than build a cupboard around it perhaps. A photo would help identification.
Even before the photo was posted, I think we could be sure that whatever it was with "a live and neutral from the main isolation fuse, and a third, thin cable going back to the new digital meter", it wasn't a gas meter.
 
In that case, get rid of the dual rate / economy 7 completely and change to a single rate tariff.
It will be significantly cheaper and the timer can be removed.
That sounds like by far the most sensible option!
 
Even before the photo was posted, I think we could be sure that whatever it was with "a live and neutral from the main isolation fuse, and a third, thin cable going back to the new digital meter", it wasn't a gas meter.
:D
 
I know, but sometimes some, erm.....'unsure' posters do include a red herring. For example there may be a cable or two passing behind it that doesn't actually connect to the item, but they assume that it does. I'm sure you've come across a red herring or two in your time ;)

Also, the OP did say:
(what I presume are) a live and neutral from the main isolation fuse

So they weren't really sure, hence why I asked for a photo for confirmation. You should know from experience that you can't always take what's posted at face value. In this instance the 'red herring' was that the 'meter' was actually a 'timeswitch'.

They also said that the meter ticked, the only meter I know that ticks is a gas meter.
 

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