Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-09-20
HOW THE
METERS WORK

Reading the electric light meter Is
che thing. and understanding just how
& operates is quite another. How
many of Us have electric and gas
meters in the house can explain how
they operator
The electric meter is really tiny
electric motor. of the most delicate
structure and the best workmanship.
Housed in little iron and glass box
The revolving part of the motor is
an aluminium disk mounted between
two electromagnetic through which
the current to be measured is passed.
The current In the magnets induces a
current in the disk and this current
flowing in the field of the electric
magnets causes the disk to revolve
with speed directly proportional to
1.-The amount Of current that is passing
through the magnets.
There are four dials on the face OF
! the meter box and the disk is geared
| &c them in such way that when one
! kilowatt-hour passes through the me-
/, ter the disk revolves sufficient
number of times to cause the indica-
! tor of the right-hand dial to move one
tenth of the distance around its
circle. That Is, If the meter is set
at zero. the Indicator on the right
hand dial will move from zero to one
in measuring one kilowatt-hour OF
electricity.
In reading q dial of a meter is is
necessary to read the number last
passed by the pointer. This Is i'm
portant for accurate reading. On a
given day the dial farthest to the
right is read and the number set
down. Then the next dial to the left
is read and the number Is written to
the left of the first number, and so
on until the four readings have been
taken and recorded The numbers
are not added together but are read
as one whole number just as they
stand. NJ
As an example, suppose the pointer
! to the left-hand dial has just passed
four, the hand of the second dial is
between one and two, the third Is be-
tween three and four, and the pointer
tef the fourth or right-hand dial is be
tween two and three. Then the me-
ter reads four, one. three. two. and
four thousand one hundred and thir-
Ity-two kilowatthours have passed
Through it since II started from zero.
/ The right hand dial registers the kilo-
,swatt-hours sinely. the next registers
them BY tens. the third by hundreds,
and the fourth or lefthand dial thou
sands. In every case the number
printed above the dial Is the number
lof units registered by one complete
revolution Of the dial hand. The read
| ing of the previous month is subtract
ed from the new reading and the re-
sulting number is the amount or
power consumed during the month in
terms of kilowatt-hours. II the resi-
dents rate Is. twelve cents per kilo
Ewatt-h6ur, a Simple multiplication
gives the amount Of the months bill.
!, The Gas Meter.
The gas meter is very simple. Each
of the meter boxes incloses q little
engine which is operated by the pres
sure of the gas just as steam en-
CINE is operated by steam OF course
the engine does not run except when
the gas is turned on beyond the me-
ter, any more than steam engine
would operate if the exhaust were
closed. All the gas that is used by
the consumer passes through the cyl
ipders of the gas engine and each
complete pulse of the engine means
that two cubic feet of gas have passed
the meter.
The sole business of the little mech!
anism is to operate the dial hands on
the face sof the meter box. The up
permost of the four dials is marked
"Test Gu. it.. The indicator on this
6ial makes one complete revolution
each time two cubic feet of gas gass'
through the meter. Each revolution
each time. two cubic feet of gas
goes through the meter. BY
watching the dial the consumer may
find out just what 1t cost him to cook
a dinner or heat bathtub full of
water.
The indicators on the other dials
ere geared as in the electric meter
and are read in the same way, the
Iight-hand Indicator registering hum
dreds of cubic feet, the next thou
sands, the third or left-hand indicator,
tens of thousands. The reading taken
the month previous is subtracted
from tf1e. new reading and is figured
at the rate of per thousand cubic feet.
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