The elusive gas meter

**Jack Feldmann** · 03-20-2015, 02:48 PM

A first for me (after 26 years). I could not find the gas meter on a condo today. I was inspecting the 2nd unit in a 4 unit building. On one end of the building as an a/c unit and one gas meter. On the other end of the building was an a/c unit, one gas meter, and the electrical meter base that had four 150 amp breakers.

I finally got around to looking for the gas meter, and looked in the usual places. Not in the front, not in the back. Each unit has their own courtyard with a 8' brick wall around them, with a gate. The a/c units for the middle two units are in the rear, next to an enclosed patio.

I walked around the complex four times trying to locate the meter. The shrubbery was not all that big, so its not like it was overgrown.

I even boosted the gas water heater up to kick on the burner, and fired up the gas furnace, then went outside to look at the two meters to see if they were moving at all. No such luck!

The seller was home, and she had no idea where it might be, but was going to call the utility company and ask them to come out and locate the meter.

I wasted about 45 minutes walking around searching for the meter.

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Bill Chinook · 03-20-2015, 03:26 PM

I've found them to be inside closets on the exterior of the buildings, possibly in a removable panel if the meter was put in a location where the sight of it would be detrimental to the "view". Did you thoroughly check the neighbor's yards? It's probably hiding behind something.

**Jack Feldmann** · 03-20-2015, 05:08 PM

The seller called her neighbor (the other inside unit), and he thought it was in the front yard (water meter). The rear yards are not that big, and there were no panels or closets to be found. These are all brick homes. I was able to check all of the back yards.

**Jerry Peck** · 03-20-2015, 06:08 PM

Maybe it was like a couple of condos I found in the past - the one gas meter on each end was for the end unit and the one next to it, the gas meter on the other end was for the other two units.

**Jack Feldmann** · 03-21-2015, 01:54 AM

Jerry, I thought of that, but when I was running the water heater and furnace, neither one of the meters changed their settings.

**Jerry Peck** · 03-21-2015, 07:39 AM

Originally Posted by Jack Feldmann

Jerry, I thought of that, but when I was running the water heater and furnace, neither one of the meters changed their settings.

That's a very good indication that the meter for that unit is not one of the two which were visible.

**Jim Robinson** · 03-21-2015, 09:34 AM

I have a rental condo that doesn't have a gas meter. There is one meter for the entire building, and gas cost is included in the HOA fee. Same with the water.

**Jerry Peck** · 03-21-2015, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by Jim Robinson

I have a rental condo that doesn't have a gas meter. There is one meter for the entire building, and gas cost is included in the HOA fee. Same with the water.

I have seen that too for water and gas (as Jack likely has), but there are two gas meters ... which raises the following questions: Why two? Why not four? Why not just one? But mainly - Why two?

**Jim Luttrall** · 03-21-2015, 01:27 PM

Don't be too quick to discount the explanation that it was where the neighbor indicated. I have found them below grade inside an cover just like a water meter. An entire small town nearby has this on virtually all the single family homes.

**Jack Feldmann** · 03-21-2015, 02:31 PM

Jim,
I went out to the front yard and there were two water meters, and nothing else. I should hear something next week from the buyer's agent.

**John Kogel** · 03-24-2015, 06:01 AM

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

That's a very good indication that the meter for that unit is not one of the two which were visible.

Thanks, JP.

Jack I know you are frustrated so let me help you find it. It is at the other end of the gas line.

**Lon Henderson** · 03-24-2015, 06:26 AM

Over the years, I have failed to find the meter several times. But I confess, I don't spend a pile of time looking for it either. In the mountains, they're sometimes down on the road, behind a bush or in a snow drift, a quarter mile or more below the house that's high up on the mountainside.

Do you try to identify the specific meter for your condo? When I see a bank of eight blank meters, I just check them all for leaks and move on without trying to identify which meter goes to my condo. I've driven back down to the road to look for them.