Water Meters— Selection, Installation, Testing, and Maintenance AWWA MANUAL M6 Fifth Edition Copyright © 2012 American Water Works Association. All Rights Reserved. Manual of Water Supply Practices — M6, Fifth Edition Water Meters—Selection, Installation, Testing, and Maintenance Copyright © 2012, American Water Works Association All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information or retrieval system, except in the form of brief excerpts or quotations for review purposes, without the written permission of the publisher. The authors, contributors, editors, and publisher do not assume responsibility for the validity of the content or any consequences of its use. In no event will AWWA be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of information presented in this book. In particular, AWWA will not be responsible for any costs, including, but not limited to, those incurred as a result of lost revenue. In no event shall AWWA’s liability exceed the amount paid for the purchase of this book. AWWA Publications Manager: Gay Porter De Nileon AWWA Project Manager/Sr. Technical Editor: Martha Ripley Gray AWWA Sr. Production Editor: Cheryl Armstrong AWWA Manuals Specialist: Molly Beach AWWA Manuals Coordinator: Beth Behner Revision Project Coordinator for M6, 5th ed.: Polly Fulton Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Water meters--selection, installation, testing, and maintenance. -- 5th ed. p. cm. -- (AWWA manual ; M6) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-58321-862-4 1. Water-meters. I. American Water Works Association. TD499.W383 2012 628.1'44--dc23 2012004592 Printed in the United States of America American Water Works Association 6666 West Quincy Avenue Denver, CO 80235-3098 ISBN 978-1-58321-862-4 Printed on recycled paper Copyright © 2012 American Water Works Association. All Rights Reserved. Contents List of Figures, v List of Tables, vii Foreword, ix Acknowledgments, xi Chapter 1 History of Water Measurement and Development of Water Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Introduction, 1 Water Supply in Ancient Times, 1 Measuring Devices of More Recent Times, 5 Acceptance of Meters by Water Utilities, 25 Standardization, 25 Remote-Reading Devices, 28 Plastic Parts and Components, 29 Chapter 2 Selecting Meter Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Introduction, 31 Small Flows, 32 Medium Flows, 33 Large Flows, 33 Chapter 3 Effects of Water-Flow Friction, Increased Usage, and Pressure Losses on Service Adequacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Introduction, 37 Factors to Consider in Sizing Mains, 37 Friction-Loss Data, 38 Sample Service Installation Calculation, 41 Chapter 4 Meter Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Introduction, 43 Indoor Versus Outdoor Settings, 43 Meter Installation, 44 Chapter 5 Testing of Meters—Test Procedures and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Introduction, 53 Accuracy Limits, 54 Testing New Meters, 57 Field Testing, 80 Chapter 6 Maintenance and Repair of Water Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Introduction, 87 Meter Replacement, 88 Meter Maintenance and Repair, 89 Disassembling, 89 Mechanical-Drive Meter Reassembly, 91 Repair of Magnetic-Drive Meters, 91 Conclusion, 91 iii Copyright © 2012 American Water Works Association. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 7 Maintenance Shop Layout and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 Introduction, 93 Meter Shop Equipment, 94 Shop Layout, 97 Chapter 8 Meter Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Introduction, 103 Elements of a Good Record System, 103 Paper Meter Records, 106 Summary, 106 Chapter 9 Remote Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 History, 107 Current Status, 108 Bibliography, 109 Index, 111 List of AWWA Manuals, 113 iivv Copyright © 2012 American Water Works Association. All Rights Reserved. Figures 1-1 Roman adjutage, 3 1-2 Pitot tube, 6 1-3 Modified Pitot tube, 6 1-4 Improved form of the Woltmann meter, 7 1-5 Cutaway of an “open or interchangeable” internal mechanism Woltmann-type turbine meter, 8 1-6 Cutaway of a “closed” Woltmann-type turbine meter with magnetic drive, 8 1-7 Original form of the Woltmann meter, 9 1-8 Class I turbine meter, 10 1-9 Class II turbine meter, 11 1-10 Venturi tube, 11 1-11 Orifice meter and differential pressure sensing mercury manometer instrument, 12 1-12 Original duplex-piston meter, 14 1-13 Early rotary-piston meter, 14 1-14 Displacement-type oscillating-piston meter with magnetic drive, 16 1-15 Displacement-type nutating-disc meter with magnetic drive, 17 1-16 AWWA standard C710 positive displacement meter, nutating-meter type, 17 1-17 Cutaway of a dry-head multijet meter without a “frost protection” device, 18 1-18 Cutaway of a dry-head multijet meter with a patented “frost protection” device, 18 1-19 A section view of the fluidic oscillator internal mechanism, 19 1-20 An isometric view of the fluidic oscillator internal mechanism, 19 1-21 Simplified drawing of the singlejet meter, 19 1-22 Design details of the singlejet meter, 20 1-23 Large meter, singlejet design, 20 1-24 Compound meter, double-register type, 22 1-25 Compound meter, single-register type, 22 1-26 Fire-service meter, 24 1-27 Propeller meter, 24 1-28 A 4-in. ultrasonic meter, 26 1-29 A battery-powered electromagnetic meter, 27 1-30 A turbine meter with electronic enhancement, 27 1-31 Typical plastic-body small-disc meter, 29 4-1 Two types of meter setters for vertical indoor piping, 45 vv Copyright © 2012 American Water Works Association. All Rights Reserved. 4-2 Meter arrangements for fire services, 46 4-3 Residential fire service fitting, 46 4-4 Outdoor meter settings with integral yoke (left) and meter yoke (right), 48 4-5 Manifold of large meters, 49 4-6 Optimum turbine meter installation, 51 5-1 A typical accuracy curve for a ⁵⁄₈-in. (15-mm) meter, 55 5-2 Basic requirements for a volumetric meter-testing assembly, 73 5-3 Rotameter rate-of-flow indicator, 74 5-4 Test bench for small meters, 75 5-5 Testing of large meters, 75 5-6 Large meter testing facility, 76 5-7 Detail of calibration scale of testing tank and sectional view of tank with outlet valve, 77 5-8 Automatic cutoff valve, 79 5-9 Large multiple-meter test bench, 80 5-10 Field-test apparatus for small meters, 82 5-11 Field testing flanged meters, 83 5-12 Mobile meter test van, 83 5-13 Mobile test unit, 84 6-1 A meter technician maintaining modern concept water meters, 88 6-2 Opening of disc chamber and gauging of chamber ball socket, 90 6-3 Examination and assembly of chamber and disc, 90 7-1 Suggested layout for small modern repair shop, 99 7-2 Suggested layout for medium modern repair shop, 100 7-3 Suggested layout for large modern repair shop, 101 8-1 Meter history record, 105 8-2 Report of meter test and repairs, 106 vi Copyright © 2012 American Water Works Association. All Rights Reserved. Tables 2-1 Types of meters for water measurement, 32 3-1 Elevation above supply main—elevation head, 39 3-2 Comparison of computed water flow friction losses for service line, psi/ft, 39 3-3 Computed pressure losses for service components, psi, 40 3-4 Discharge from fixtures and faucets at various operating pressures, 42 4-1 Large meter installation guides for compound meters and class I and II turbine meters, 49 5-1 Accuracy limits for compliance with guidelines, 56 5-2 State public service commission regulations for periodic testing of water meters as of Nov. 30, 1994, 60 5-3 Test requirements for new, rebuilt, and repaired cold-water meters, 63 5-4 Percentage registration tables for test quantities other than 10, 100, or 1,000 gal or ft3, 67 5-5 1999 sample test meters test results—set date, 70 5-6 1999 sample test meters test results—purchase date, 71 5-7 1999 sample test meters test results—consumption, 72 vviiii Copyright © 2012 American Water Works Association. All Rights Reserved. viii Copyright © 2012 American Water Works Association. All Rights Reserved. Foreword This manual is a guide to selecting, installing, testing, and maintaining water meters. The manual discusses recommended practices; it is not an AWWA standard calling for compliance with certain specifications. It is intended for use by new and existing utilities of all sizes, either as a textbook for those not fully familiar with meters or as a reference manual. Water utilities may use this manual as a tool to obtain the best rev- enue for their investment in meters and maintenance facilities. Design engineers and consultants may use this manual in laying out new meter installations or repair shops. Most readers will first use this manual for assistance on an individual problem; however, for adequate knowledge of the field of water meter usage, the entire manual should be studied. This manual references applicable AWWA standards for the various types of meters. These standards may be purchased by calling AWWA Customer Ser- vice (800.926.7337) or through the Bookstore section of the AWWA website, awwa.org. The AWWA manual on water meters was first published in a series of articles in the June, July, August, and September 1959 issues of Journal - American Water Works Association and was compiled as a separate reprint in 1962. A second edition of the manual was published in 1973, as a complete revision, updating and substantially enlarging the 1962 serial edition. The third and fourth editions, published in 1986 and 1999, respectively, reflected the latest revisions of the AWWA meter standards at the time and included substantial updates to the text and photographs. This fifth edition contains current information from the latest AWWA meter standards, including new AWWA standards on singlejet meters and fluidic-oscillator meters. Since 1999, much has changed in meter reading technology, and the future holds even greater promise. ix Copyright © 2012 American Water Works Association. All Rights Reserved. x Copyright © 2012 American Water Works Association. All Rights Reserved.