An installation company in our city bought 6 water meters from the market, which were all unqualified products after being tested by the testing agency! Water meters are everywhere in our life. They record our life with numbers. Their accuracy is directly related to the vital interests of ordinary people. So, how can we know whether the water meter at home is accurate?

All six water meters bought in the market are unqualified

Ms. Shen told reporters that recently, an installation company where she works contracted a unit's water pipe installation project. The purchasers bought six water meters of different brands and models in the market, but they were all unqualified after being tested by the water meter testing center! Six water meters of different models were put on the ground. Ms. Shen took six inspection sheets marked "unqualified" and said, "the water meters bought all morning were unqualified, so they had to be returned and bought again, which delayed things."

The so-called unqualified refers to the situation that the error value between the water meter display value and the specified water volume exceeds the allowable error range.

The six test results in Ms. Shen's hand, in the column of common flow detection, all exceeded the allowable error range of ± 2%, and the maximum error was as high as -21.3%.

Only three districts in the city actively send water meters for inspection

"Like Ms. Shen's company, only a few take the initiative to send water meters for inspection." Duanfuzhi, director of the testing center, said that in the past two years, the developers of three new residential areas in our city have submitted water meters for inspection. Most other residential areas or private households are developers or heads of households who purchase and install water meters on the market by themselves. The quality of water meters that have not been tested is uneven, and the problems caused by this are not a few.

According to duanfuzhi, with the strengthening of residents' awareness of safeguarding their rights, in recent years, citizens have been actively carrying self purchased water meters to test, but the test results are not satisfactory. "Most of the water meters on the market are unqualified 'disposable' low-quality water meters, which are easy to be accepted by developers because of their low price. However, low-quality meters not only infringe on the interests of consumers, but also threaten their health." Duanfuzhi said.

Inaccurate water meter is easy to cause neighborhood disputes

If the unqualified water meter goes fast, it will increase the burden of water charges, and if it goes slow, it is easy to cause neighborhood disputes. Among the increasing disputes over water meters, the most common one is the disputes caused by the inconsistent data of the total meter and the sub meter.

Duanfuzhi said that at present, several households in some residential areas or family buildings in our city still share the master meter and collectively collect water to pay the water supply department. Under the condition that there is no water theft and leakage, the total number of sub meters and the total number of meters are inconsistent from time to time.

"The master meter is a qualified water meter installed by the water supply department. The reason for this error is often that the water meter installed by the user is inaccurate." Duanfuzhi said that when the total table data is greater than the sub table data, residents are not willing to share the extra water charges, and then they suspect each other of the neighbors who may have water stealing behavior, laying a hidden danger of disharmony.

There are many problems with "disposable" water meters

A qualified water meter has a service life of at least 6 years. Replace it with a new one after 6 years. The old water meter can continue to be used in the next cycle after maintenance, but many water meters sold on the market are "disposable" inferior water meters.

Zhang Guangjun, director of water meter maintenance of the testing center, said that according to the requirements of the Ministry of construction's "safety rules for drinking water and cold water meters", qualified water meter connectors and covers should be cast from copper, which can prevent rust. The meter core is processed from ABS engineering plastics with stable performance and non-toxic, and each part is removable and repairable. The connector and cover of the inferior water meter are made of gray cast iron, and the surface is plated with a layer of copper. Over time, it will rust. The watch core is made of waste plastic by one-time die-casting. Not only can the parts be disassembled and repaired, but also toxic substances will be separated out.

"Different materials provide a good way to distinguish between good and bad water meters. The weight of qualified water meters is far greater than that of unqualified water meters." Zhang Guangjun took a small caliber water meter from the water meter submitted by Ms. Shen for inspection and the qualified water meter submitted by another water meter manufacturer for inspection, and put them on the platform scale to weigh them respectively. It was found that the total weight of the water meter purchased by Ms. Shen was 840 grams, while the total weight of the other qualified water meter was 1150 grams, a full difference of 310 grams.

The reporter learned from an enterprise in Xinxiang City, which produces the qualified water meter, that the cost price of this model of qualified water meter (raw materials and labor, etc.) is 45 yuan per meter, while Ms. Shen spent only 18 yuan per meter.

"In the detection of such water meters, most of them are far beyond the allowable error range stipulated by the state, and cannot be adjusted." Zhang Guangjun said that what is more noteworthy is that the long-term use of this kind of water meter will affect people's health because gray cast iron contains ingredients that affect water quality. On May 27, 2010, the Ministry of health, the Ministry of construction and the General Administration of quality supervision, inspection and Quarantine jointly issued the notice on strengthening the supervision and management of drinking water meters, which clearly stipulates that since June 2010, water meters with gray cast iron case shall not be newly installed or replaced in the drinking water network. However, such water meters are still on sale in the market.

The testing agency suggests:

New water meters can be used after verification

According to the provisions of the Metrology Law of the people's Republic of China and the regulations of Henan Province on Metrology supervision and administration, the installation of measuring instruments can only be used after passing the verification according to law, commonly known as "compulsory verification". According to this regulation, developers are not allowed to use water meters that have not been subject to the first compulsory verification or fail to pass the inspection. At the same time, remind the general public: when purchasing commercial housing, ask the developer for the water meter verification certificate of the household. In addition, don't rush to install the water meter newly bought by the unit or individual. It can be sent to the verification institution approved by the government for testing first, and it can be used safely after passing the test.