re: I’m a plumber.

Stuck on spigots:

LOOK FOR AN ALLEN SCREW LOCKING IT ON!

99% of the time this happens there is an allen screw holding the hose or vacuum breaker onto the hose bibb. If there is no allen screw then man up and twist it off with channel locks.

Yeah drip them over night or go run them every couple hours to keep water moving through the portion above ground.

I work in Baton Rouge. Still learning but I know enough to help most of you. Expecting mayhem Monday when everything starts to thaw.

If I shut the water off to my house at the meter before the freeze because I’m going out of town, do I need to do anything to a gas water heater?

We are having issues with water usage at our house we recently moved into. I suspect either a water leak, bad water meter or theft of water by a neighbor.
My house that we recently bought is about 300' from the water meter. After we closed on the house, we didn't move into it for approximately a month. Our first water bill showed we used 3200 gallons of water, when we were only there about 3 days that first month and we probably only used maybe 100 gallons. We were still living in our prior house until the movers moved us a month later.

I've checked the toilets, etc. and do not see any posiible leaks from the inside plumbing. I don't see any water leaks above ground for the 300' of water line to the water meter.

The only possible issues in my mind are either a neighbor tapped into my water line or a bad meter (if that is possible). I plan as my next step is to turn the water off at the valve just inside the house, take a water meter measurement, keep the water off for a day or 2 and see if the meter advances any (1 number increase in the meter is 100 gallons). If I see water being used that means either a leak between the water meter and house, bad meter or theft of water. Next step would be to cut the water off at the meter at about 6 am on a work day (Monday through Friday) and observe my neighbors' houses in near proximity to my water meter when they would typically be getting ready for work. I don't think they would be stealing my water, but just eliminating possibilities. If I still can't figure it out I plan on buying and attaching one of those real time water meter attachments that you attach to your water meter and it sends real time gallons being used over a radio transmitter to the receiver inside your house. I would fill up a 50 gallon container 4 times and it should measure 200 gallons. I would check that against the water meter measurement to make sure it is inline and moved exactly 2 numbers. Plus we would not use any water in the morning and see if it registers any water being used during the morning getting ready for work time for my neighbors. If I saw we were not using water but then real time I could see maybe 60 gallons used and then it stopped abruptly, then I would know a neighbor is tapped into my water.

So my questions are, does this sound like a reasonable plan to investigate my water problem. Plus, is it possible that the water is running back and forth through my water meter so for example it registers 2 gallons for every 1 gallon we use? If so could I fix this by hiring a plumber to install a check valve either just inside the house in the water line or just after the water meter very near the water meter? Would installing a check valve cause any issues. We have a tankless water heater so I assume an expansion tank would not be needed if we installed a check valve to stop water from going from our house back into the city side of the meter where we would pay for it again.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Is the leak detector (probably a small red triangle ) turning in the meter?

Have you contacted the water company?

Wait for second bill???

That doo hickey is a flush valve, they're around $20 and simple to change out. I can give you a step by step but youtube will be much more helpful.

Flapper is the "check valve" that stops the flow of water from the tank to the bowl

Thank you for the input! Any suggestions on what should be done when leaving town? Should I drop the faucets?

quote:

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Something like this in your water meter , if you have all water valves turned off and it is spinning then water is going through the meter, if it is start shutting off segements of the house one at a time and see if you can narrow down where your issue is

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Thanks for that awesome advice! I was independently googling water meter leak detectors based on your input and now understand how these work in the water meters. I will check my meter tomorrow following your advice and see if I can detect a leak via the water meter leak detector and then narrow it down by process of elimination as you recommended.

I also am going to buy some of those toilet tank dye tablets to see if there are any "invisible" leaks in our toilets. I do not see the water level in the tanks up to the water overflow tube and I don't see the water moving in the bowl any at all so I don't expect toilet leaks but I will try the toilet dye tablets and see if there are any "invisible" leaks especially in the basement toilets.

Thanks again. Any other advice from anyone would be appreciated. Especially interested to know if anyone has experience with those real time water meters that you can attach to the city water meter and receive real time water usage. Also curious if I should possibly have a check valve installed at the water meter in the event no water leaks can be found and the water company refuses to investigate/test/replace the water meter

Thanks MrBobDobalina. It's reassuring to know the water meters run in reverse if there is any backflow through the meters. I hope I can see an indication of a water leak using the water meter's leak indicator and then determine if it is inside or outside the house and then track it down.