Rules and procedure for installing water meters: how to properly install and seal

Install on your own or through a company?

Under current legislation, the installation of water meters is at the expense of the homeowner. That is, you must buy a meter, install it at your own expense.The installed water meters are sealed by representatives of the water utility or the DEZ free of charge.

Self-installation procedure

Self-installation of water meters is possible. Nobody should object. You just have to do everything with your own hands - and set the counter, and call a representative of the Housing Office for its sealing. What you need:

• purchase a meter and all the necessary details;
• agree and pay for the disconnection of the cold / hot water riser (contact the operational campaign, set the date and time);
• install a meter, turn on the water;
• call a representative of the water utility or DEZ (in different regions in different ways) to seal it, get the commissioning certificate in hand;
• go with the act and passport of the meter (there must be a serial number, a stamp of the store, the date of factory verification) to the DEZ and register the water meter.

Self-installation of water meters is not prohibited

All papers are considered, a standard contract is filled out, you sign it, on this it is considered that you pay for water according to the meter.

How to hire a good firm and what they should do

There are two ways to find a company that installs water meters: take a list in the DEZ or find it on the Internet yourself. The list will already include firms that have licenses, but obviously not all that work in this area. On the Internet, it is necessary to check the availability of a license. A copy of it must be posted on the site.

Then, in any case, you should read the standard contract that the company will conclude with you. It should contain a complete list of services.The conditions can be different - someone provides their counter, someone puts yours, someone comes with their spare parts, someone works with what the owner has. By combining the list of services provided and make a choice.

No hassle, but decent money

Previously, the contract contained a clause on service maintenance, and without it, firms did not want to install meters. Today, this item is recognized as illegal, since it is not necessary to actually service the meter, and it should not be in the clause, and if it is, you have the right to refuse these services and not pay for them.

Preparing for installation

If you have chosen a different campaign, you must leave them an application. There are two options - some firms accept applications on their website and may even offer a discount for this, while others prefer to see you in the office and sign an agreement.

First, company representatives inspect the installation site

In any case, first a campaign representative arrives (you agree on the date and time of arrival), inspects the “field of activity”, assesses the condition of the pipes, takes measurements, and often takes photos of communications. All this is necessary in order to be able to develop a meter connection diagram and quickly assemble it. Then you should call and clarify the date and time of installation of the water meter. In this conversation, you need to find out who is negotiating the shutdown of the risers with the operational campaign. Normal firms take it upon themselves.

Installation of water meters by campaign representatives

At the appointed time, a campaign representative (sometimes two) arrives and does the work. In theory, they should agree with you what and how to put, but this does not always happen.At the end of the work (usually takes about 2 hours), they give you a certificate of completion and a special paper on which the factory numbers of the metering devices are written. After that, you must call a representative of the govodokanal or DEZ to seal the meter (different organizations deal with this in different regions). The sealing of counters is a free service, you will only need to agree on the time.

In the normal condition of the pipes, the installation of water meters for professionals takes about 2 hours

In the act that you were given during installation, the initial readings of the meter must be affixed (they are different from zero, since the device is verified at the factory). With this act, a photocopy of the organization's license and your water meter's passport, you go to the DEZ, sign a standard contract.

Tips for purchasing and registering water meters

mechanical apartment meter.

All devices designed to measure water consumption must have a certificate of conformity. If they entered the distribution network, the certification was passed

You should not focus on this, because after installation and sealing, the company that carried out all the work will be responsible for the devices.

The exception is cases when users break counters by negligence

Devices for metering hot and cold water differ in designs. It is difficult to make a mistake when buying - the counter for cold water is marked with a blue stripe, for hot water - with a red stripe. If you buy and install two devices with a red stripe, nothing will happen except that the purchase will be more expensive. But putting the device with a blue stripe on hot water is not allowed. The inspector will simply not allow it to operate.

Before buying, you must make sure that the devices are fully equipped. Along with the meters, connectors with nipples, a filter, a check valve and nuts with gaskets are sold. In the markets, sometimes counters are sold separately, components - separately. Therefore, to purchase such important devices, it is better to choose a specialized outlet.

As for the stopcock, it should have an eye for a seal. If it is not there, it will not be possible to seal the knot. Without an eyelet, you can turn off the water tap, disconnect the pipe section and collect as much water as you like at zero flow. Both metal and metal-plastic stopcock are suitable for the meter. Experts recommend buying and installing an additional faucet on the toilet flush tank at the same time to ensure that it can be used during repairs in the bathroom or in the kitchen.

A very important point is the passports for counters. You should not buy devices for which a passport printed at the printing house is not provided (a photocopy is not good)

In addition, it is important that the serial number on the device matches the serial number indicated in the documents.

When installing counters, some problems may also arise:

• the taps that shut off the water supply to the apartment are out of order;
• it is impossible to get into the plumbing cabinet;
• pipelines have expired.

To solve the first problem, you need to order taps from the company that will install the devices and turn off the water for the duration of the work. The problem with the cabinet is also most often solved by a specialist who has arrived to install the meters. And the old pipeline is best replaced (at least partially).

To register meters, you need to submit an application and information about the owner of the housing: full name, passport details and contact numbers. If the devices are installed at an enterprise or organization, then you need to specify the name, state registration address and contacts. In the application, it is also desirable to indicate the desired timing of sealing. It is also necessary to make copies of the instrument passports in advance. If for some reason it is impossible to carry out the work within the specified time frame, the service company must agree with the customer on a new date, but no later than 15 days after the application is submitted.

In a country house, there may also be a central water supply. There, too, it is best to put the meter on cold water. If there is hot water, then it comes from a boiler or boiler. When installing the device outside the city, it should be taken into account that it can only be installed in a room where the air temperature is not lower than +5 ° C during the cold season. Otherwise, insulation of pipes, the meter and the room itself will be required. The second option is to install a special camera for the counter

The second important requirement relates to lighting. It should be sufficient to be able to carry out maintenance and take readings from the instrument.

Stopcocks

The water meter is most often equipped with a special stopcock. It has a feature: an eye with a hole on the outgoing pipe for sealing. Without this, you can turn off the tap, disconnect the pipe, draw a water tank, then reconnect the pipe, and the meter will show zero flow.If the pipeline is plastic at welded joints, it is allowed to install a shut-off valve without sealing. But he decides whether it is possible or not, the inspector of the city water canal is on the spot. What follows, of course, requires no explanation.

If the stopcock is complete, make sure that it does not turn out to be silumin. Silumin faucets are subject to sudden destruction from intergranular corrosion, and the nearest point where in this case it will be possible to shut off the water flowing into the house will at best be in the basement, or even in the well on the other street. The metal-plastic shut-off valve is quite usable.

It is also recommended to immediately purchase a second, ordinary, stopcock. It is installed immediately after the outlet to the flush tank. If you start a renovation in the bathroom or in the kitchen, then the toilet can be used as always.

Step-by-step instructions on how to connect at home?

Once smart flow meter water has been selected and purchased, the consumer needs to install and properly adjust it.

The installation of such a meter, in principle, does not differ from the installation of a conventional apparatus, but it is necessary to establish automatic data transfer to the management company. Therefore, its assembly is carried out by a utility service specialist.

Wiring diagram

Meters for hot and cold water are mounted on pipes running in a horizontal or vertical position. After assembly, the structure is connected via wire to the controller, which will send data to the utility accounting organization.

Installation work

To install a water meter, you need to prepare the following tools for work:

• grinder;
• soldering iron;
• hacksaw;
• sgons, corners, couplings;
• adjustable or gas key;
• FUM tape.

To connect the water meter to the water pipe, if desired, the corners and spurs can be replaced with a flexible rubber hose, the walls of which are covered with aluminum braid on the outside.

The elements of the structure must be arranged in the following order:

• ball shut-off valve;
• mesh filter;
• water meter;
• check valve.

It is important to arrange all the elements of the system according to the arrows indicating the direction of the water flow. If this is not done, then the meter will show distorted results. The installation of the structure is carried out according to the following steps:

Installation of the structure is carried out in the following steps:

1. First of all, the stopcock is connected to the filter so that its nozzle is directed downwards.
2. A union nut with a gasket is mounted on the filter nozzle.
3. A counter is screwed to this nut in a position where the dial looks up.
4. The second union nut connects the check valve.
5. The second branch pipe of the meter is connected to the check valve.

The installation of the meter for cold water is carried out using rubber gaskets, and for hot water supply using them from paronite.

To connect the finished structure to the water supply, it is necessary to measure it. The resulting length of the mounted device is marked on the pipe, and this fragment of it is cut off, starting from the previous shut-off valve.

A complete system is connected to a water pipe. If it is plastic, then fittings are used for connection. If the pipe is metal, then the thread is pre-cut, and then the entire structure is connected.

Before starting installation work, it is necessary to agree with the management company on turning off the water in the riser for a certain time.

After installing the meter, it is not recommended to open the tap at full power, as water hammer and incorrect operation of the device are possible. After the water passes through it with a small pressure, and the mechanism starts to spin, it will be possible to open the taps all the way.

Activation

The meter is supplied by the manufacturer in sleep mode. To activate it, before using it, you need to bring a neodymium magnet to it, which is held until the blue LED indicates. Further settings are carried out through a personal account.

Step-by-step instruction

To seal water meters, you must perform the following steps:

1. contacting a service company and submitting an appropriate application;
2. waiting for the appointment of a time and date when the inspector comes for sealing;
3. at the appointed time, the inspector will check the metering device, the quality of its installation and documents for it;
4. sealing of the metering device by the inspector;
5. receipt by the owner from the inspector of the relevant act.

Important! The installation of the meter itself can be carried out independently by the owner or other involved organization. After installation, you must contact the service company for sealing the meter

The coming inspector will check the correct installation of the meter

After installation, it is necessary to contact the service company for sealing the metering device. The inspector who came will check the correct installation of the meter.

Where to apply?

As noted above, to seal the water meter, you must contact a service company that has the appropriate license to carry out this type of work. Such organization can be DUK, Vodokanal.An application for sealing can be submitted both at the office of the service company, and left by phone.

City	Phone number of Vodokanal, where you can leave an application for sealing the water meter
Moscow	8
St. Petersburg	8
Nizhny Novgorod	8
Vladimir	8
Rostov-on-Don	8

Statement

As mentioned above, an application for sealing the meter can be submitted both at the office of the service company and by phone. Regardless of the method chosen, the following information must be provided in the application:

• information about the person making the application (contacts, passport details);
• the day on which it is convenient to carry out a filling;
• serial number of the metering device (this information is in the passport of the device);
• date of scheduled verification of the device (this information can also be found in the device passport);
• the address at which it is necessary to seal the meter;
• meter readings.

Important! When an inspector visits, it is necessary to provide him with a metering device passport, a certificate of its verification (in the event that the meter is not new and its service life has already required verification). You can learn more about the nuances of operating and checking the counter in this article.

You can learn more about the nuances of operating and checking the counter in this article.

We do not recommend that you complete the paperwork yourself. Save time - contact our lawyers by phone:

Work completion time

The inspector must seal the meter before the expiration of fifteen working days after the submission of the relevant application to the service company. As a rule, this happens faster - before the expiration of seven business days.

Paid or free?

In accordance with 416-FZ of the Russian Federation, sealing of water meters is carried out at the expense of service companies. That is

Paid sealing of the metering device can only be in the case when the seal is re-installed due to its damage due to the fault of the owner or third parties. The cost of a secondary installation of a seal varies from three hundred to two thousand rubles. How much it costs to seal the device again depends on the city in which the sealing is performed and on the service company.

Order and procedure

Water meter sealing is necessary in the following cases:

• The counter is installed for the first time;
• The seal is damaged;
• After another verification;
• After repair of the water meter.

The water meter must have a printed passport. Otherwise, the product is invalid. The serial number is written on the document. It must be checked with the prescribed number on the case.

You can install the water meter yourself, you can call a specialist. Then you need to perform a seal.

How to seal a water meter

First you need to find out which organization is engaged in sealing in a particular house. The products are sealed by an official organization that supplies water to homes, charges for it and can draw up documentation for the procedure. These are HOA, water utility, management companies.

• submit applications for sealing the water meter to the relevant service;
• you will be assigned a date for the installation of the seal;
• the master will check the correctness of the installation, the operability of the water meter, the availability of documents (passports for the water meter);
• device sealing;
• the owner is issued a certificate of acceptance.

What you need to apply:

• full information about the person submitting the application, his phone number, passport;
• the desired day when the meter will be put into operation;
• serial number of the water meter;
• installation address;
• installation data;
• readings of the previous meter at the time of installation of the new one;
• date of scheduled verification (it is in the passport).

It is important to note that if the owner has recently purchased an apartment and meters are installed in it, there is no need to make a new seal. Replacement is required when there is no passport and certificates confirming verification and sealing.

When the master comes, you need to check the following:

• make sure that the specialist came from the water supply service;
• ask for a license to conduct the procedure;
• he must have samples and forms for filling out documents.

When the above is checked, you can allow the master to put a seal on the counter. It also checks the integrity of the product.

• equipment diagnostics, its first launch;
• printing installation;
• issuance of documents.

The installer is responsible for whether the water meter is properly sealed.

Regulations and documents

There is no separate law on sealing. In 2011, the Law “On Water Supply and Sanitation” (FZ 416) was adopted, a new edition appeared in 2016. Frequency of inspections and terms fillings are regulated by this law.

According to the rules, the homeowner receives an application form for sealing and fills it out.

When the application is considered by the services, the master comes. Upon completion of the procedure, he writes out an acceptance certificate in two copies - for the owner of the apartment and the organization involved in water supply. The owner must carefully study the act - it must contain the basic data. The documents are then signed by both parties.

What should be written in the act of acceptance:

• date of filling;
• Name of the inspector who carried out the procedure;
• company name, contacts;
• installation address;
• day of verification, fixed values;
• device number, information from the passport;
• scheme of the water supply unit;
• print serial number.

Paid or free

According to Federal Law 416, starting from 2017, sealing of water meters is carried out at the expense of utility companies and free of charge for the consumer.

The owner pays only in one case. If the seal is unsuitable (broken or torn off), the counters are sealed for a fee. The cost of installation and re-sealing is paid by the party responsible for the incident.

approximate cost

Meters should be installed free of charge. The owner must pay when it is damaged through his fault. The cost of sealing one meter starts from 300 rubles. The maximum price is 2000 rubles. Accordingly, the sealing of two devices will cost twice as much. How much it costs to seal a water meter depends on the city of residence and the company providing the service.

Rules for installing a water meter for a dwelling

Recently, companies involved in providing residential buildings with water oblige residents to install a meter outside the house, and sometimes the land itself. To place a water meter outside the house, the owners must equip a specialized well. Water supply companies argue this need by limiting the ability to use additional natural resources in an illegal way, by laying parallel paths for water flow.

note

Despite the requirements of water supply companies to install water meters in specially equipped wells, the punishment for failure to comply with this request will be illegal. The obligation to install meters outside the home is nowhere regulated by law, and therefore is not mandatory.

There is a rich jurisprudence on the issue of installing water meters outside the home. Many proceedings are aimed at clarifying the legality of the requirement to install such a meter. In almost all cases, actions by water supply companies that forcibly tried to force citizens to install water counter outside the homehave been declared illegal. Such a verdict of the court entails a fine.

Thus, water meters not on the territory of the house should be installed at the request of the owners. In this case, the meter is taken in the standard order for accounting by the water supply company.

Important fact

If the appliance is self-installed, it must be certified, which gives grounds for legality for its installation both inside and outside the home.

All meters must be installed close to the water source. When installing the meter outside the home, the following order must be observed:

• dig a hole for a future well. The dimensions of the pit must be clarified with the employees of the water supply company;
• the walls of the dug pit must be insulated, as well as made more resistant to weather changes;
• the bottom of the dug hole must be leveled. The most common option is concrete masonry;
• after arranging the pit, it is necessary to build a special crane into the pipeline, which is installed in front of the meter;
• after these actions, the counter itself is installed;
• after installing the meter, an employee of the residential water supply company will seal the well by installing a cover on it.

At the same time, without a seal on such a meter outside the house, the company providing water supplies to the house will not take into account the readings of the device. Therefore, payment for such costs is not accepted. However, if the meter is installed and accepted for accounting, but not sealed, this situation entails proceedings, corrections and sometimes fines.

Preparatory measures for installation

Any metering devices should be bought in specialized stores, and not from hand or on the market. At the same time, when buying, you need to check the complete set of the product, the availability of a technical passport, and also check the number indicated in the document with the number on the device itself. So you can be sure that you have purchased certified products that are suitable for use.

After the purchase and before you put the meter in the house or apartment, you need to take it along with the accompanying documentation for verification to the state office of instrumentation (KIP) of the housing office or to the water utility department. It is not forbidden to use the services of private firms to check the operation of metering devices, however, the company must be licensed.

After checking the technical product, a stamp will be put in its passport, and after installing the meter on the water, a seal will be installed on it, which absolutely cannot be damaged or removed, otherwise there will be problems with registering the device. After checking the meter, you can begin to develop a water meter connection diagram and prepare for installation.

Meter installation specialists advise you to prepare in advance all the necessary tools and materials for installation work. First of all, you need to purchase paronite gaskets for a hot pipeline and rubber gaskets for a cold one. Also, most likely, special sealing pastes and sanitary tow, or synthetic threads, which already have silicone grease in their composition, will be required.

The set of necessary tools depends on the type of pipeline, a certain section of which will have to be cut, so you will need a hacksaw for metal or a saw for plastic. You will also need:

• prepare a tool for cutting threads on metal pipes in order to install a block of counter and nozzles;
• purchase cutting scissors, connecting fittings and a special soldering iron if the pipes are made of plastic.

In addition, you will need ring and adjustable wrenches of the appropriate diameter to tighten the connections.

At the same time, it is important not to overdo it so as not to “tighten” the installed threads.

To check the completeness of the device, it is necessary to lay out on a flat surface all the elements of the block in the direction of the water flow:

1. A shut-off valve (if included) allows you to shut off the flow at the right time. A valve is also required to regulate the water supply.
2. A mechanical filter for retaining insoluble impurities and a coarse filter for water purification from debris. Able to extend the life of the meter, installed in front of the device.
3. The first connecting pipe (with a union nut - American).
4. The water meter.
5. The second connecting pipe.
6. A non-return valve that retains water in the system prevents the impeller from turning back when the water supply is turned off.

When laying out the elements of the metering device block, you need to pay attention to the arrows that indicate the direction of flow. All arrows must be in the same direction.

Before you install meters for hot and cold water yourself, you must turn off the water supply. In an apartment building, it will be necessary to block the entire riser, which only public utilities have the right to do.

Place in the house for the counter

It is desirable that the water meter be as close as possible to the input of the pipeline itself in the room. When such a meter is put into operation, a specialist from the water utility will see if it is still possible to somehow crash into the pipe itself up to the meter. In practice, there are no questions if the water meter is installed in the toilet near the toilet, even if the stopcock is half a meter back. If the pipes run along the floor in the room, then the installation of the meter will also be approved, because in which case it will be almost impossible to hide the traces of work on the pipes.

The situation is stricter when checking a private house. Here the rule must be observed: installation must take place at a distance of no more than 20 cm from the outlet of such a supply pipe. If there is a well on the territory of the house, it is necessary that it be capital and with a lockable lid, otherwise it will also be sealed.

Technical features during installation:

1. If there is a fire drain in the room where the meter will be installed, it is necessary to install a valve on the bypass pipe. When a specialist from the water utility comes, he will seal it too.
2. Rarely, but it happens that the DHW system works on a two-pipe system.For such an apartment, when installing a meter specifically for hot water, you will need to buy a bypass valve for a circular pipe. Otherwise, the counter will constantly wind too much.
3. The temperature regime of the air in the room where the meter will be installed should not be lower than + 5 degrees Celsius. Such a temperature issue may arise if the installation is carried out in an unheated and cold basement of a private house. At the same time, the issue must be resolved with the water utility, it may be easier and cheaper to insulate the pipe in the basement, and put the meter in the toilet itself.

When sealing water meters happens for money and without: what does the law say?

Consider several cases of sealing meters and how paid or free this procedure will be.

When installing the flowmeter for the first time

The newly installed device must be sealed. After that, it is put into operation. This procedure is always free of charge. This is stated in paragraph 81 (9) of the Government Decree of May 6, 2011 under the number 354.

Paragraph 81(14) of the same Decree explicitly states that the installed flow meter is sealed without charging a fee from the consumer. This rule also applies to the situation when the sealing of the water meter is carried out after its verification.

The fact that the sealing of accounting devices is carried out without charging a fee is also stated in paragraph 5 of Art. 20 of the Law of December 7, 2011 under the number 416-FZ.

When replacing it (re-installation)

If the water meter needs to be changed due to its failure for reasons that do not indicate unauthorized interference with its operation, then sealing the device will also be free of charge.

This is indicated not only by paragraph 5 of Art.20 of Law 416-FZ and paragraph 81(14) of Decree No. 354, but also paragraph 81(11) of Decree No. 354.

When a seal breaks

Violation of the integrity of the seal is the case when a fee is charged for its subsequent installation. If its failure occurred due to the fault of the tenant or other persons, then a fee will be charged for re-sealing the water meter.

This, as an exception, is indicated as in paragraph 5 of Art. 20 of Law 416-FZ, and in paragraph 81 (14) of Resolution No. 354.

During its renovation

The service in this case (clogging of the flow filter, depressurization of the meter).

But if during the breakage of the water meter the seal was broken, then the consumer will have to pay for its re-installation.

Otherwise, the rules of paragraph 81 (14) of the Decree number 354 and paragraph 5 of Art. 20 of Law 416-FZ on free sealing of flow meters also apply to cases of their forced repair.

Types of seals

Power engineers in their work can use various types of seals.

Lead seals

This type is used most often. A special wire is threaded into the knot to be sealed, and a lead seal is attached to it, pressing it with a numbered sealer.

Plastic number seals

Such seals have an individual number, thanks to which the electricity supplier keeps strict records. The seal is closed on the rotary system, it is impossible to open such a seal imperceptibly, in case of an attempt, a special latch will be broken.

Seals clamps

These fillings are rarely used. This seal looks like a plastic collar. The tip of the clamp is threaded into a bracket in which it can only move in one direction. It will be possible to open the seal only by breaking the clamp.

Sealing stickers

These are brightly colored stickers with the words "sealed, do not open."If you remove this sticker, then the inscription “attempted opening” will appear on the seal.

Antimagnetic seal

Unscrupulous citizens sometimes use a magnet to change the readings of an electricity meter. To protect the device from the effects of a magnet, an antimagnetic seal is installed. It's a sticker with a magnetic suspension capsule in the middle. If the consumer tries to influence the electric meter with a magnet, then the particles of the suspension will fill a special capsule, and this cannot be corrected.