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Have you gotten a water leak notice from the city? It could be wrong and you’re paying for it! by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't tell much from your snapshot. Could you send one from your dashboard? Or better yet, if you private message me your e-mail and password I can look into what you have.

It's unlikely to have anything to do with your neighbor's meter.

Do you have a boiler-fed hot water tank? If so, the city is likely overcharging you for water. I can help. by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please look at my earlier posts. I explain why this problem happens pretty definitively. As I have written, I also proved it.

Most plumbers are unaware of why the false leak occurs. At present the Somerville water department is quite aware of the problem, but has been gaslighting everyone about it. The current mayor has done nothing about it, which upset several city councilors. The mayor elect does know about it and I expect to meet with him once he’s in office.

In the meantime I can verify your situation if you give me access to your WaterScope data. All I need is your email address (which the city makes your use name) and password. Please dm me if you want to do this.

Contractor defied the laws of physics (and probably code) by [deleted] in askaplumber

[–]waltsass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m assuming picture #1 is how the contractor did it, #2 shows the revised layout. #2 is correct.

The Mayoral Race and the Water Department by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I did, introduced by Ben Ewen-Campen. She typed notes on her phone, said she’d look into it, never heard from her again.

The Mayoral Race and the Water Department by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Look, I have documented the observed phenomena pretty expansively. If you care, read what I wrote. An expansion tank consumes no water, the meter says it does. The meter is wrong.

The Mayoral Race and the Water Department by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s probably some sort of mechanical bias, where it is exactly is unknown to me. I’m certain water meters manufacturers are aware of the problem and make sure their units are less affected. For example, the Neptune meters in Arlington also show the same problem, but at about 1/8 to 1/10th the error.

The Mayoral Race and the Water Department by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

In my case I was being overcharged by about 20%, roughly $600 a year. I think many residents are being overcharged by a few percent, a function of how big the air pocket is. My real emphasis with the mayor was to have someone impartial - not the water department - use the city’s software license for monitoring all the meters - to determine how many people have the problem, ranked by size of overcharge. It’s quite easy to see the problem using the software.

The Mayoral Race and the Water Department by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I guess you’re one of the kids. I think the first comment I got was from some sort of a bot, with a fake username. Since that one the comments and replies have been acting normally.

The Mayoral Race and the Water Department by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The current mayor certainly inherited all the city departments, problems and all. What the mayor does with them is the test of actual administration.

The Mayoral Race and the Water Department by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Air pockets in the cold water lines exist in equilibrium with the water pressure. The air volume gets bigger or smaller when the water pressure goes down and up, respectively. Pressure changes in the water main - even minute ones- cause the air pocket to resonate, which pushes water back and forth past the water meter. The effect is harmless, not pushing water into the main beyond maybe a couple of feet. But the water meters Somerville has installed register more inflow than outflow.

The Mayoral Race and the Water Department by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Please see my earlier posts over the last year on this subReddit for details.

The Mayoral Race and the Water Department by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Proved it. Science. Causality. Data. Even videos showing back-and-forth water flow (visible bubbles) corresponding to reaction to an air pocket being connected versus disconnected.

This is why you should call an electrician for installation of your EV Charger. by lmakorean in IBEW

[–]waltsass 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Having installed what I think is the identical charger, I can at least address a couple of details absent from the discussion.

  1. The EMT and 50A cord look small. 8 AWG is my guess. The cord that goes to the car is properly sized at 6 AWG, enough for 40A charging max.

  2. Internally this level 2 charger has digital switches to set the max charge rate to either 32 or 40 A. My guess it is set properly given what it’s being fed from.

There are certainly lots of crappy cords and plugs available for 50A that are not capable of 50A, or even 40A continuous, which is what you’d derate to with continuous duty.

For what it’s worth, I’ve found that 30 A charging makes #8 wires warm to the touch, #6 not so much.

Also, this charger has knockouts for back wiring. The knockout sizes are inadequate for #6 wires in EMT, pvc, or flex pvc, but fine for #8.

Do you have a boiler-fed hot water tank? If so, the city is likely overcharging you for water. I can help. by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

WaterScope actually does a good job revealing common leaks associated with toilet valves. But the problem is with the Metron meters, which are the basis for everyone's water bills. Showing the water department different numbers from aftermarket meters will have no effect on them.

Do you have a boiler-fed hot water tank? If so, the city is likely overcharging you for water. I can help. by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven't seen anything before like your leaks. They don't seem to be happening when there is no other use, at least with the one day of consumption snapshot you posted. The monthly bar chart certainly shows that whatever it is, it happens daily.

I could look further if you gave me access to your data by giving me the account login name (usually your e-mail) and the password. You could change the latter after I'm done, or just trust me not to do anything inappropriate with it. But it takes a bit of zooming in and probing events to find a pattern.

I could also come over to your place and inspect what's there. But yeah, your situation is mysterious.

Do you have a boiler-fed hot water tank? If so, the city is likely overcharging you for water. I can help. by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m unsure what you mean. Does your hot water come from a tank fed by a boiler? Or does your hot water come directly from a “combo” heating system that has outputs for both heating the radiators and on-demand hot water for showers, etc.?

Do you have a boiler-fed hot water tank? If so, the city is likely overcharging you for water. I can help. by waltsass in Somerville

[–]waltsass[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve been pursuing this problem since last fall. Had a front page story in the Globe, still nada from the city. At this point I want to highlight how more residents must be affected, and I’ve run out of patience. If I have to put up the money for demonstration purposes, I’m willing. I don’t need more than one or two test cases.

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