The Neptune T-10 water meter (and submeter) has a very straightforward face, and just a quick look at only the Register tells you your consumption. And then, if you want a very precise reading, the simple trick is to separate it into two distinct parts: The Register and The Dial.
The Register: The Big Picture Number
1. The Register in this example water meter displays — 102367 —
Translation: 102 thousand, 3 hundred and 67 Cubic Feet, or: 102,367.00
Now, you could stop reading your meter here, because you know, to the single-digit cubic foot, that the water meter reading is 102,367 cubic feet.
2. However, since you’re probably NOT consuming by
the hundreds of thousands of cubic feet (or haven’t got there yet),
you’ll most likely focus on just the last few numbers on the Register,
depending on your rate of consumption. In this example, those last few
numbers are — 367 —
Translation: 367 Cubic Feet.
The Dial: The Number of Cubic Feet in Tenths
3. As the red sweep hand on the Dial moves from one
number to the next number (please note the decimal point), it’s
measuring one tenth of a cubic foot, so one complete rotation equals 1
cubic foot. Tack the Dial number on after the Register numbers. The red
Dial hand in this example is at — 4 (if you practice just rounding down)
— or — 49 (if you want to be precise) —
Translation: .4 Cubic Foot (or .49), so your water meter reading is now at: 367.40 Cubic Feet, and your precise TOTAL is: 102,367.49 Cubic Feet.
So What’s My Rate of Consumption? The Final Tip: Simple Subtraction
To get your rate of water consumption between water meter readings: Take your previous water meter reading, and subtract it from your most current water meter reading.