Private water meter -What type and flow rate

[FozzieBear]

Our village hall and the two attached residential cottages are supplied by a single water main through a Utility Company meter which splits after the meter to serve the three buildings. The building is over two hundred years old and short of digging up all the forecourt and front gardens we have no idea where the main splits.
Our current water bill is over £1200 per year and we belive most of the water is used by the two residents either side but without separate meters we cannot prove that. A compromise option therefore is to fit a private meter on the rising main in the village hall to meter the hall usage, which means the remainder must be used by the two residents.
My question is what type of meter to have fitted and what size. The water main is only 1/2" (screwed barrel) which serves the cold tap in the kitchen and the storage tank in the roof. Water to the toilets and hand basins is gravity fed from the tank. On several websites they talk about single jet or multijet meters and the Wiki talks about PD meters.

I doubt the hall uses any more water than a large domestic house, probably less, so would a 1/2" Single jet meter of 1.5 m3/hr such as this be suitable http://www.pipestock.com/water-meters/single-jet-cold-water/ or should we fit a 3/4" at 2.5m3/hr?
Also these meters appear to be designed for external/burial usage. Are there private meters available for domestic/wall mounting use
many thanks
Fozzie

 

[picasso]

http://www.bes.co.uk/

Have a look at 11356 might be more suitable, the 1/2 inch would be enough for what your using, good luck getting your neighbours to cough up.

 

[Charnwood]

Also these meters appear to be designed for external/burial usage. Are there private meters available for domestic/wall mounting use
many thanks

You can get secondary water meters. These are primarily designed for use where a single property has been split into flats and are to be fitted internally. They are cheaper than primary water meters and are less robust.
11356 from BES, as suggested by picasso, is such a beast.

Buy 3 and get your neighbours to cough up for what is clearly metered into their property. Might be worth the extra initial expense versus the saving.

 

[big-all]

what are you charges ??
a unit is a ton off water is around £2
a very very large consumption would be £500 or 1000 tons or 1'000'000 litres
i use 32 tonnes off water a year a more normal amount would be 200-500 or £250-£300

i would expect a leak/feeding a whole estate/faulty meter

 

[FozzieBear]

Many thanks Picasso that sems to be the one we need. it will go in the kitchen cupboard under the sink where the rising main comes in to the hall.

what are you charges ??
a unit is a ton off water is around £2
a very very large consumption would be £500 or 1000 tons or 1'000'000 litres
i use 32 tonnes off water a year a more normal amount would be 200-500 or £250-£300

i would expect a leak/feeding a whole estate/faulty meter

£1200 per year and although a leak has been considered there is no visable sign of a leak either in the property or outside.

Sorry not sure whats going on with the formatting on this forum, but thanks for all your replies and suggestions
Fozzie

 

[big-all]

read the meter at midnight or as near as you can read it again half an hour later
if the red dials move between 250-to 999 you will have a big leak

you are using nearly 3 tonnes of water a day 2700L that is an industrial amount thats the same amount i use in a month i would expect 3 houses on average to use 350L or 1050L total
ok looks like you pay £3 a unit so top figure is around 670000L

"Standard Measured Charges (from 1st April 2012 to 31st March 2013)

Charge type Water Sewerage
Service charge (meter size up to 20mm)** 8.76p
per day 20.55p
per day
Service charge (meter size 25mm)** 25.75p
per day 65.75p
per day
What you have used (per cubic metre) £1.3032 £1.6086

**The meter size will be shown on your bill."

 

[FozzieBear]

read the meter at midnight or as near as you can read it again half an hour later
if the red dials move between 250-to 999 you will have a big leak

you are using nearly 3 tonnes of water a day 2700L that is an industrial amount thats the same amount i use in a month i would expect 3 houses on average to use 350L or 1050L total
ok looks like you pay £3 a unit so top figure is around 670000L

"Standard Measured Charges (from 1st April 2012 to 31st March 2013)

Charge type Water Sewerage
Service charge (meter size up to 20mm)** 8.76p
per day 20.55p
per day
Service charge (meter size 25mm)** 25.75p
per day 65.75p
per day
What you have used (per cubic metre) £1.3032 £1.6086

**The meter size will be shown on your bill."

Thanks yes did a quick calculation using water company figures and calculated nearly 1100 tonne per year. Veolia will check meter anc charge £70 if found within calibration tolerances so may go with that but in the meantime will do some checks of our own.
Thanks again
Fozzie

 

[big-all]

s/charge could be a problem if your meter is less than 20mm you pay £107 standing charge and 364units off water

or £334 s/charge and 288 units for your £1200
is the supply 20 or 25mm

seperate meters may be the answer they can fit remote meters on the properties that are scanned from the street

i would check for leakage find out what size you feed is before spending £70

 

[FozzieBear]

Firstly many thanks to all who have responded and your suggestions. As forum members have highlighted the main cause of the excessive water usage is most probably a leak. We have now been in touch with Veolia who agree the sudden increase over previous years is unlikely to be from the corresponding change in tenants in the two properties and are sending someone to investigate a leak. If we find out anything definitive I will post an update in the future.
Again Many thanks
This forum and the people who contribute has been invaluable to myself and others on a number of occasions.
Fozzie

 

[FozzieBear]

Just a quick update to say Veolia have confirmed we have a leak after the meter of about 2litres per minute so we now have to find someone to replace the main.
We are in the south east in Hertfordshire right near the Essex border and Harlow. Can anyone recommend a reasonable contractor who could do this preferrably with a mole as there is a lot of concrete to dig up otherwise.
Fozzie