Old gas meters - Getting usage info

[jpdw]

I've got an old rotary dial gas meter (similar to this one here in terms of the 'display').

Is there any way I can "read" it in an automated way?

Or should I just moan at my supplier in an effort to try to get them to replace it without something that might have an LED pulse that could be measured?

[toscal]

Could you use a sensor to measure the red needle passing a certain point on the dial.

[KW1816]

would this work for your meter ?

http://www.currentcost.com/gasmart.html

[TimH]

I've got an old rotary dial gas meter (similar to this one here in terms of the 'display').

Is there any way I can "read" it in an automated way?

Or should I just moan at my supplier in an effort to try to get them to replace it without something that might have an LED pulse that could be measured?

Your meter is reads in imperial units (cubic feet). Some years ago I used to have one of those but complained to the supplier that it was noisy and that I had concerns as to its accuracy. Transco came out to replace it and said the noise was normal, but replaced it for a metric unit (cubit metres) anyway.

It's a while since I read-up on it but I think my new Schlumberger(?) meter has a port for monitoring using the kit KW1816 posted about.

However, there's another solution, see here: http://bwired.nl/How_rfxcom.asp
The gas meter has a silvered panel in place of one of the digits and this is "read" with an optical sensor into another box of smarts. Not a step-by-step guide but might be enough info to get you started.

As an aside, there's some circuit details here: http://www.mollyology.com/ProjectsFl...LEDCounter.htm for flashing LED counters too.

HTH,
Tim.

[jpdw]

I was a bit lazy with my original post and found a 'similar' picture on the internet. Checking it again I realise a couple of differences -- the meter is all "numberic" (ie no needles) and it's actually in m^3 rather than cubic feet.

Actual picture:
Attachment 359

That said, I've just checked and the least significant digit does have a silvered panel in place of the zero - some the suggestion you linked to looks like something I will see if I can replicate. As my meter is only 14 years old I assume there's not chance of "natural" replacement either.

[martyn.wendon]

I had a meter similar to this, with a silver blob in the zero.....I played around over several months trying to get it to be read by various home brew bits. In the end I rang my gas supplier and said I was concerned by the intermittent clunking noise it made, so loud it can be heard over the TV in the living room

A week later they replaced it with an Actaris meter which the CurrentCost GaSmart supports - I don't actually use it with a CurrentCost, I interfaced it to an RFXCom pulse counter and I read the pulses using an RFXCom Ethernet gateway. Works well, so well in fact that once I sync the counter it is 100% accurate with the meter.

[jpdw]

I like the idea of a new meter... We are just in the process of switching supplier so probably need to wait till that is completed...