Accuracy of water meters during their operation

Abstract

The article describes the study on water meters after their five-year period of operation. Water meters were tested at a certification stand to check for possible reading errors. The following devices have been included in the study: water meters with a diameter of 20 mm (single-jet, multi-jet and volumetric) as well as single-jet and screw water meters with a diameter of 50 mm. The faulty
water meters were disassembled to identify causes of damage specific for various types of water meters. The percentage of faulty water meters differed among individual types of water meters, as well as among single-jet water meters of different manufacturers. The tests carried out should verify the actual errors of water meter readings during and after operation, and check whether the errors vary for different types of water meters. After many years of operational experience, it may be concluded that
water meters, if lose their correct metrological properties, they usually show a smaller values than the actual flow. In such cases, faulty water meters cause the apparent water loss. Based on the study the authors found that volumetric water meters had the highest reliability among household water meters while screw water meters among industrial water meters. The studies have confirmed that damaged water meters can contribute to higher apparent water losses.