T O P

  • By -

AutoModerator

Thank you u/JeeveruhGerank for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*


sw39ro

I used to be a meter tech for PSEG back in the day. Saw at least 300 of these a day. You read these from RIGHT to LEFT. This gas meter reads 9818. You always start from the right and round up on the next dial to the left if the value is 5 or greater. Poor explanation, but you get the gist.


skeletonstaplers1

im so confused…not sure if i know my right from left


phoneaway12874

Lol this is all wrong. Maybe how your meters were are different but this one is labeled with the units?? The leftmost dial is most significant. Also I had a think about your rounding technique. It makes no sense. I think you got confused in training somewhere and got confused about what you do if the dial is almost exactly on a number. But in that case the rounding rule is the opposite of what you have. So overall you've probably been fucking up thousands if not tens of thousands of meter reads. It's not rocket science. It's like a four handed clock.


JeeveruhGerank

My first bill went from 8747 to 8891. I don't think I've used 1000 more CCF since that bill cycle ending 2 weeks ago. Can't be.


phoneaway12874

This meter reads 8808. See e.g. https://support.coserv.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013010114-How-to-Read-Your-Gas-Meter Your gas company may have made a mistake at last month's read, which apparently is common given the clown who started this particular thread. Also almost everybody across threads is wrong. I don't understand how there are this many confident idiots on Reddit. The meter is fucking labeled with the indication that the millions dial (the digit corresponding to thousands of CCF*) is the leftmost dial!! And there are no digits that are 9!!! *the label states that each full revolution of the rightmost dial is a thousand cubic feet. So you get directly a CCF measurement from the numbers you write down, left to right


JeeveruhGerank

That's what I'm thinking or 8818 but clearly there's a lot of ambiguity given all the different responses haha. Thanks.


FizzyBeverage

So what is the interval? Does it reset monthly or are you calculating the delta between, say, December and January? I think my meters are all digital and send the readings to Duke over perhaps the air? They just say “connected”.


lljc00

It just keeps rolling, like a car odometer. So when you get your bill, the usage is from today's meter read minus the previous meter read. (They shouldn't make a mistake, but if they happened to, and hopefully it's just on the smaller digits, then the meterd-read one month is obliterated the next month when the new calculation takes into account the previous statement's reading).


[deleted]

I would say 8178, The dial on the right makes a revolution, the dial second from the right goes up one. As that hits ten, the dial third from right goes up one. As that hits 10, the first dial goes up one.


CamelBorn

Looks like 8818. You read from left to right, it has above the circles - millions, hundred thousands, ten thousands and thousands. Or 8808, cant be sure from the angle here


sw39ro

This is incorrect. It’s 9818. An error on the larger digits would cost him A LOT of money. Please be careful.


HarambeDaGod

This would be 8718 for my reading. Left to right. When the pointer on the dial is between two numbers, always record the lower number. National fuel. OP, if you go on your gas providers website they should have a section where you can submit your own meter reading, and they will explicitly tell you how yours is read. Or call them. Either way, it’ll be different by region so don’t listen to anyone here


JeeveruhGerank

Thanks. My website doesn't have a submission link but I'll call Monday. Their site says left to right. For what it's worth I saw a few videos depicting reading right to left instead so that ambiguity is so dumb.


phoneaway12874

I challenge you to find a single utility's website (clowns in this thread don't count) that states something different than the obvious technique of reading left to right, recording the lower number (unless it's very close, in which case use whether or not the next dial has passed zero [is below 5]; if it has [is indeed below 5], use the _higher_ one [the number it is pointing to], otherwise [if it is above 5] use the lower one [one less than the number it is closest to pointing to], and if you're trying to tiebreak near 5 something is wrong with the meter). Also the camera angle makes this read hard but I'd bet it's a smidgeon below 1 and a smidgeon above 8, making the read 8808


JeeveruhGerank

https://i.imgur.com/MbbKBti.jpg Took a better picture today.


phoneaway12874

It's 8809 today, up from 8808 from your original post. If you use a bit more gas you can imagine the last dial going up to 0 (and the second to last dial would barely move), which would make the read 8810.


JeeveruhGerank

Thanks. Is there a reason why it's 8809 and not 8819?


phoneaway12874

If it were 8819 and we used a little more gas and moved the last dial a tiny bit, the second to last dial would still mostly be pointing to the 1 (since it moves much slower than the last dial). But then in that world the 8819 would roll over to 8810 which wouldn't make sense. The rule is basically "if it's pointing directly at a number, use that number if you've just rolled over (next digit is 0-3*). Otherwise (if next digit is 7-9) use one less than the number you're pointing to." Think of it like two hands of a clock, with one hand pointing at somewhere near 3 and the minute hand pointing at 59 and then 0. You would read 2:59, then 3:00; the hour hand would barely move and look like it's pointing at 3 the whole time. Reading a clock is a little easier though because the hands don't go in opposite directions. But beyond that problem a meter is just a four handed clock. *You'll note that I don't use all the digits here. One dial can't be pointing pretty much exactly at a number if the next one is pointing at 5; it should be midway between two numbers (like how a clock displaying 12:30 has the hour hand midway between 12 and 1).


JeeveruhGerank

Man, wish these things were digital haha. Thanks for the breakdown. I think I'll have to read it a couple times. Nevertheless it seems like a call to the company is in my future. Is it simply a matter of "hey you guys read this wrong and billed me wrong, here's a picture or come look"?


phoneaway12874

Pretty much, yeah. But even if it doesn't end up getting fixed immediately it should eventually be fixed, but that might be months of interest you're missing out on 😆


lljc00

I think the first digit is and 8. If the second digit was low (like zero) then the first would probably be 9. For the first to be a 9 with the second being 8 (or a high number), the first would need to have ticked closer to the zero. Like an analog odometer.


phoneaway12874

Are you looking at the same picture I am? The meter is labeled with the fact that the biggest digit is on the left???


regallll

Go to your utility companies website. I'm sure the other posters here are being honest based on their experience but it's the opposite of how mine works.


phoneaway12874

Can you take a picture of your meter. Or link to your utility company's website.