Gas and Water Meters

Gas and water meters that are equipped with dial registers are read just like electric meters. However, above each dial is a number that indicates how much consumption can register on the dial. On water meters, this figure is expressed in gallons; on gas meters, it is expressed in cubic feet.

If you have a five-dial water meter, your reading begins with the 10 million (10,000,000) gallon hand. If your meter only has four dials, your reading begins with the one million (1,000,000) gallon hand. Read each hand, ending with the one thousand (1,000) gallon hand.

If your water meter has a ten gallon hand, you can use it as a leak indicator. When the water is turned off inside your house, this hand should not move. Digital water meters have a red dial or a small triangular shaped leak indicator that moves as long as water passes through the meter.

Gas meters are read the same way as dial-register water meters. Five-dial meters start with the 10,000,000 cubic feet hand and end with the 1,000 cubic feet hand. Four-dial meters start with the 1,000,000 hand and end with the 1,000 cubic feet hand.