Automatic meter readers.

[Restoman]

Like the title says does anyone here have experience with automatic meter readers. I'm trying to keep people out of my back yard and they are trying to charge for it. I've got an idea to get around this, but wanted to hear what others had done. Apparently this saves the gas and electric company boat loads when they can just drive by instead of going in every back yard and manually entering the information. They want to charge me for their convenience.

[M-technik-3]

Most companies install them free of charge since they recoup the money considerably faster. Takes one car with proper equipment to drive around neighborhood and get readings vs maybe 5-10 people for a town.

Tell them they want the convenience of having them, then they install em for free.

I had these when I was living in VA, they do speed up the process.

[Devil Inc]

I used to work for a municipal water dept. approx. 85% of our meters were drive by radio reads. We installed these with all new service installs. Occasionally when an old style meter would go bad or freeze during the winter, we'd install the new ones. There was a $50 meter charge, but that was to help offset the cost of the new meter, which cost around $300 bucks.

I'm sure in your situation a new, updated electric/gas meter would cost more than $300 for the company. What are they wanting to charge you for the swap?

[StereoInstaller1]

The big Q, IMO, is do you own or rent?

I would think renter would not care but an owner certainly would.

Are they talking about a monthly fee in addition to the normal charges, or just a 1 time charge for the meter?

[Restoman]

I own my own house, I have for 4 years now. I really like the no smoking app you have. I've been smoke free for 9 months now. Hell, I smoked for 9 years! that's when I said I had to quit. Yeah, I need to get this meter, the guy came out to do some troubleshooting and he didn't even have any on the truck. We got to talking about how easy it is to steal electricity and there is virtually no repercussions from doing so. However if you steal cable you go to prision? WFT!

[ben312]

[quote=Restoman;1756049 I'm trying to keep people out of my back yard [/quote]
biggest question of all is how many bodies are you hiding?

[M-technik-3]

Yeah, I need to get this meter, the guy came out to do some troubleshooting and he didn't even have any on the truck. We got to talking about how easy it is to steal electricity and there is virtually no repercussions from doing so. However if you steal cable you go to prision? WFT!

Steal electricity? Care to elaborate on that one? Meaning some one plugs an extension cord into your house and takes it that way or off the power pole junction box?

[xLibelle]

biggest question of all is how many bodies are you hiding?

my first thought is he's growing weed

[Red88]

Steal electricity? Care to elaborate on that one?

My family steals >85% of our electricity from the sun, yo!

[Restoman]

First off no dead bodies, trying to prevent that. Second to steal electricity (don't kill yourself doing this) The meter connects the input and output and reads draw. Pop the meter off and replace it with at least 16 gage metal. Too thin and it acts like a fuse and will pop. Snip the meter leads off and cover up. The meter never spins and you get juice unmetered. I've never done this, but it's not hard to figure out.

[europeanplates]

First off no dead bodies, trying to prevent that. Second to steal electricity (don't kill yourself doing this) The meter connects the input and output and reads draw. Pop the meter off and replace it with at least 16 gage metal. Too thin and it acts like a fuse and will pop. Snip the meter leads off and cover up. The meter never spins and you get juice unmetered. I've never done this, but it's not hard to figure out.

This is terrible advice. If someone where to read this wrong and/or try to f with meter connection they could get killed. Your post should be deleted.

Tyler

[transatlantic0207]

First off no dead bodies, trying to prevent that. Second to steal electricity (don't kill yourself doing this) The meter connects the input and output and reads draw. Pop the meter off and replace it with at least 16 gage metal. Too thin and it acts like a fuse and will pop. Snip the meter leads off and cover up. The meter never spins and you get juice unmetered. I've never done this, but it's not hard to figure out.

LOL my roommate in college did that and practically lost a finger...it's funny because karma caught up with him and he laughs about it too anyway LOL

This is terrible advice. If someone where to read this wrong and/or try to f with meter connection they could get killed. Your post should be deleted.
Tyler

even if he deleted you reposted it....uh oh so did I

[Hallen]

Yeah, well, either way, the electric company and the local police watch for power consumption with no billing. They might not be able to pin-point it, but they can narrow it down. Then, they look for an occupied house that isn't using any juice. Then, we'll see if you don't go to jail.

They usually do this to find illegal grows. People with big gardens, lots of time buried in the back yard (sometimes an old school bus is used. They back it down a ditch and cover it up), or in a basement, will tap power from the system and use it for their grow lights. That's how we used to find a lot of gardens.