The WM-NLD series water meter might look a little complicated, but a quick look at just the Register tells you your water consumption. And then, for a complete reading, the simple trick is to separate it into two distinct parts: The Register and The Dials.
The Register: The Big Picture Number
1. The Register in this example water meter displays — 1023 —
Translation: 10 thousand, 2 hundred and 30 U.S. Gallons, or: 10,230
Now, you could stop reading your meter here, because you know that the water meter reading is 10,230 gallons. And, to simplify, many landlords will only read the Register because typically, consumption under 100 gallons isn’t that expensive.
2. However, since you’re probably NOT consuming by
the tens of thousands of gallons (or haven’t got there yet), you’ll most
likely focus on just the last few numbers on the Register, depending on
your rate of consumption. In this example, those last few numbers are —
23 —
Translation: 230 U.S. Gallons.
The Dials: The Single-Digit Reading for That Static Zero with Bonus Sub-Gallon Reading
3. The Large Dial: As the red sweep hand on the Large
Dial moves from one number to the next number (e.g., 0 to 1), it’s
measuring one gallon, so one complete rotation equals 10 gallons. That
static zero is the placeholder for the Large Dial number reading. In
this example (and remembering to round down) it is — 6 —
Translation: 6 U.S. Gallons, so your water meter reading is now at: 236 U.S. Gallons.
4. The Small Dial: As the red hand on the Small Dial
moves from one number to the next, it’s measuring one tenth of a gallon
(note the decimal point), so one complete rotation on the Small Dial
measures one gallon. In this example, it is — 7 —
Translation: .7 U.S. Gallons, so your water meter reading is now at: 236.7 U.S. Gallons, and your TOTAL is: 10,236.7 U.S. Gallons.
So What’s My Rate of Consumption? The Final Tip: Simple Subtraction
To get your rate of water consumption between water meter readings: Take
your previous water meter reading, and subtract it from your most
current water meter reading.