How to choose a water meter
A water meter is an indispensable device for any kind of housing, and the matter is not only in those requirements that are imposed by legislation to the owners of the premises, but also in the fact that water meters help save the family budget. Consumption rates without meters for one person are significantly overestimated, and to consume them completely, and even more so to overspend a typical average person with all his needs is not able to. By the way, the funds spent on the installation of meters, pay off very quickly, but for yourself you understand that you pay only for the water that you really used.
The modern market provides a huge selection of water meters with the widest range of features and prices. There is quite a reasonable question - how to choose a water meter so that it turns out to be of high quality and serve for many years?
Types of counters
To begin with, consider that there are four types of meters that differ in the principle of operation of their mechanisms:
- Ultrasound.
- Mechanical.
- Electromagnetic.
- Whirling.
Ultrasonic counters determine the volume of water consumed by using those sound waves that emit a stream, passing through the reading devices of the device. A mechanical (or tachometric) meter reads the volume using an impeller or turbine that is rotated by the flow of water. The electromagnetic counter takes into account the magnetic field that forms a liquid as it passes through the device. The design of the vortex counter includes a special body, which, when passing through the flow of water, creates vortices, their number is taken into account by the metering device.
In addition, the meters are divided into dependent and independent of electricity. Given the cost of electricity and the likelihood of its disconnection, experts recommend to give preference to those meters that do not need power supply.
What to look for
When choosing a meter, it is also necessary to keep in mind to which water the appliance needs - hot or cold. The metering device of cold water is used for water not more than 40 degrees, hot - not more than 130, but now there are also universal meters.
The choice of the meter depends also on whether it is necessary for water metering to what extent it is needed, because now there are both household and industrial meters. Household meters will not cope with the large volumes of water, but you should not overpay for industrial meters using them for domestic needs.
According to statistics, most families prefer mechanical household meters, which differ in the optimal combination of cost, accuracy and service life.
When choosing a metering device, first of all pay attention to the documentation attached to it. It contains such important indicators as the service life, the date of the last inspection (it should be done no more than a year before the purchase), the availability of a warranty and service for metering devices, a license.
In most metering devices, sensitive mechanisms are built into the water meters that are easily damaged, so pay attention that there are no chips and cracks on the equipment itself, and the packaging is intact.
There are a number of nuances that are worth paying attention to when choosing a water meter. So, take the model you are planning to purchase, and blow to the inlet (the place where the filtering mesh is located): the numbers on the counter should change equally in both horizontal and vertical position of the counter. In addition, the instrument glass should not fog up during such testing: water droplets will indicate that the meter sealing is broken.
The opportunity to purchase a meter with the ability to “twist” its indicators or otherwise deceive the device may seem tempting, but keep in mind that the legislation does not stand still, and any attempts at deception will be stopped sooner or later. In order not to reinstall the counters and not pay fines, select a model that is protected from “twisting”, or, better, has remote control devices, by means of which the meter readings are output to a remote device.
Models
The most common on the market are domestic-made water meters from components from Western manufacturers, Chinese models and domestic meters. Like most products, the western versions of meters are several times more expensive, although their quality is much higher. Chinese models have a low price, but their service life is much shorter than that of other manufacturers. The best option is to purchase a counter of domestic production and assembly. As practice shows, in them the low price is combined with good quality.
We present the most popular and popular models of counters. One of them is a series of domestic household mechanical meters NORMA SVK 15. The meters are made with protection from an external magnetic field, in a brass body with a chrome-plated coating, which creates protection against corrosion. The counter of this model can be purchased with a sensor that transmits readings to a remote device. The letters X and D in the name of the model indicate whether this or that device takes into account hot or cold water. All counters of the NORMA SVK series differ from each other by the value of the nominal flow and the diameter of the nominal passage, depending on this the price ranges from 500 to 12 thousand rubles. For household needs of the family in the apartment is quite suitable counter SVK-15 worth 500-600 rubles.
With this model, the characteristics of Kazan production GERRIDA VCS are similar in characteristics. In these devices, the impeller rotates on stone supports, which ensures accuracy and greater sensitivity of the device. Manufacturers give a warranty on the device for 6 years. The cost of the counters of this manufacturer, depending on the model, ranges from 400 to 6,000 rubles. The cost of the most popular, convenient model is 500–700 rubles.
Counters of the PULSE-15 series are made of metals, resistant to corrosion, besides, those elements of the counter which adjoin to water are made of the materials which are not changing structure of water and resistant to its influence. The cost of these devices varies around 700-800 rubles.
The cost of the meters is constantly changing, so you need to find out the real price on the manufacturer's website.
Most of the other models of meters have similar characteristics and are in the same price range, differing by manufacturers and quality of parts and assemblies. If you need more detailed advice on the selection of meters, contact the specialists who install them. For a small price, they will tell you the optimal and convenient for you model of water metering device.
After installing the counter, it must be sealed.
Video
In this video you will be told how to choose the right meter for cold water: