I'm in the habit of checking the water meter on a regular basis for leaks etc...

It looks like the "tell-tale" thing on the water meter moves by like 10-20 degrees once in 5 minutes (that too not everytime), but the main arm (that has 0.1 to 0.9 cuft) written does not move.

So I did an experiment:
Turned the ice-maker off (to make sure it does not refil the tray), left the house and returned after 3 hours. The main arm didn't move (even one sub-division), but the tell-tale thing chnaged angle.

Inspected walls, ceilings, crawlspace, around tubs, added food color in flush - didn't find anything...

Would this be an ultra slow leak or it moved because of an after effect of using water... (lets say heater refilling etc... )

I've suffered because of water damage, maybe I'm just a little paranoid.

I feel safe in telling you not to worry. The amount of water is so small it is likely a leaky flapper in your toilet or a bad ballcock in the toilet tank. If you want to feel safer try closing the stops under all your toilet tanks as well as the ice maker. Do you have a humidifier or anything else that may use a small amount of water, close them too.

Thanks ballengerb1... appreciate the quick response!

I did try adding food coloring, didn't see it down the bowl... examined all the toilet bowls, water is stadnstill... don't have humidifier or anything else that takes water, shut the icemaker off too... checked dishwasher/fridge/washer connections for leaks, they look okay...

I'm going to try few more experiments over the weekedn, we'll see what happens (like shutting off water to individual appliances/toilets)

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Originally Posted by ramasund

thanks ballengerb1... appreciate the quick response!!

I did try adding food coloring, didn't see it down the bowl... examined all the toilet bowls, water is stadnstill... don't have humidifier or anything else that takes water, shut the icemaker off too... checked dishwasher/fridge/washer connections for leaks, they look okay...

I'm going to try few more experiments over the weekedn, we'll see what happens (like shutting off water to individual appliances/toilets)

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If it was just the tell tale moving back and forth, it was likely thermal expansion from the hot side pushing back at the meter.

I agree with Growler,
Great explanation of a "phantom leak". If you had a leak the pointer would creep steady. Thermal expansion from the water heater nails the answer. Dynamite job of analyzing the problem! Tom

Ahhh... great reasoning...

It might be just the thermal expansion/contraction thingie... Although I've never seen it move backward, it moves forward (which I assumed would be a late after-effect of using hot-water, also think it might take some-time for the water level to settle down through the house)


Thanks both for the response... just so I could sleep better, I'm going to monitor the meter for 5-6 hours when we are not at home, however slow the leak might be we should be able to see it right?