I have been studying the low flow indicator on my water meter. The triangle moves EVER SO SLIGHTLY over a matter of minutes. It is calibrated to .1 Gallons for 1 revolution. If it moves 10 degrees in 5 minutes that is a lot. I only noticed it by taking a video of it and then fast forwarding to notice the movement. Is it possible that the movement could be caused by something other than a miniscule leak? I have checked all of the toilets and sinks. Nothing is wet. My baseboard heat is not wet. My furnace, water softener, and hot water heater are all secure. I do live on a slab so some of the baseboard pipes and water lines are under the slab, but nothing is damp, warped, or crumbling. Any advice? Could this just be from pressure changes on the street? or possibly from my furnace auto-bleeding on occasion? Something else I am not considering?
Low Flow Indicator
- Thread starter coombs2
- Start date
-
- Tags
- leak low flow indicator
Help Support Plumbing Forums:
Diehard
In Remembrance
Did you try shutting off the water to see if that made a difference? Then if it did stop it, then shut of different valves feeding different areas to try to narrow down the line or area.
thats going to have to be my next step... i called a plumber who specializes in leak detection and he suggested before i have him walk in the door to have the town pop over to check the meter itself since they will do that for free. then i will have to shut off the toilets, sinks, etc to see if anything is happening.
Diehard
In Remembrance
Sounds good!
I know some of the newer electronic type meters were found to be registering flow when there were not even hooked up to anything.
Doubt that applies in your case.
my father in law suggested that it could be my automatic bleeder valve on the boiler - since it is a new boiler there is a still a little air in the system so he thought i could be pushing air out and therefore the boiler needs to get a bit of water. but i notice it move when the boiler isnt on circulating water. its so frustrating to figure this out. i did have a leak over the summer a plumber fixed and he scared me about the fact that i have water pipes in my slab. suggested sooner rather than later i have them moved either behind crown molding or up in my attic wrapped with insulation. perhaps he was right...
shut off the cold water feed to your boiler and watch your meter I had a customer and the hot water pipe in the slab was leaking that's how I found it....the floor was also very hot in one spot....is your boiler firing more than normal???????
The problem is I put in a new boiler in October. It's much more efficient compared to the old one so I have no way to notice if it's firing more than usual because it is doing a great job heating my house. Albeit we haven't been colder than 40 degrees so it hasn't had to work too hard
If the town can't find anything wrong with the meter, the company who suggested I call them does do leak detection. They said they would cone in and try to find the leak for the diagnosis fee of $165. Then if they find something it's a separate fee and I am not obligated to use them. Does that sound like a reasonable fee?
Diehard
In Remembrance
I don't have the slightest idea as to what amount of water that movement could represent.
Do you have a check valve or back flow preventer or a Pressure reducing valve on your water service?
Do you have an expansion tank on a water heater?
A small shift in pressure, anywhere in the system, that could be felt at the water service, could move a minute amount of water back and forth and POSSIBLY cause that red triangle to move.
It should be fun try to find the cause.
Do you have a check valve or back flow preventer or a Pressure reducing valve on your water service?
Do you have an expansion tank on a water heater?
A small shift in pressure, anywhere in the system, that could be felt at the water service, could move a minute amount of water back and forth and POSSIBLY cause that red triangle to move.
It should be fun try to find the cause.
I do have an expansion tank. I ran a test and it looks like about 2 ounces spilled into a measuring cup in 1 rotation of the triangle. I used my slop sink as a test. Many people tell me not to even worry about this but I am a bit neurotic
Diehard
In Remembrance
It would be if they can find it. But if they can't find it after their allotted time, too bad.
Do they, or anyone, have any idea as to the possible quantity of water we could be talking about? Pose that question to the water company when they come to check the meter.
EDIT: Just saw your comment on the quantity test. So it sounds like we talking about a lesser amount then that. Like maybe a slow drip.
put your hand on the cold water make up to your boiler....it shouldn't be cold if its not feeding
i checked the cold water line as it goes to the boiler. it starts off cool but by the time it is right near the boiler it is lukewarm to warm so i dont think it is feeding anything in the boiler run. if it is not a faulty meter i suspect it is either a leak in my newer bathroom where my contractors ran PEX 5.5 years ago or the leak is the hot and/or cold water line that runs from my laundry room under my slab and feeds my bathrooms. i had a plumber here this summer and he said at some point all of those pipes leak but i figured i had a few years if not longer before i had to worry about it. his suggestion was to run the pipes in my attic or along my ceiling in the room between the laundry room and bathrooms (my dining room) and then cover it with a wide crown molding
When you say you checked the toilets did you dye test them to make sure they are not leaking through into the bowl?
Yes I did dye test them. No signs of running. The water Dept has yet to show up but I did talk to my plumber on the phone who knows the town and houses. He said the slight movement I am seeing is likely noise from the street/neighbors and he would not be concerned. He does think I need to run my water line that is in the slab through either my attic or along my ceiling and cover it with crown molding. But I don't have an immediate need to do that
so have you turned the cld water feed off to the boiler …...then looked at you meter????
