Water meter running with no water usage?

[cyberia]

I have a likely water leak and would appreciate any help. :'(

• My water meter is running with no water being used in the house.
• When I shut off the main water valve to the house, the meter stops.
• So, the leak is not between the meter and the house. It is past the main shutoff valve.
• When I turn the main valve back on and shut off water at the water heater intake, the meter stops. This gives me cold water in the house, and no hot water, and no water leak.
• So, most likely(?), the leak is somewhere in the hot water piping?
• There is no visible water spill anywhere. If I read the meter correctly, it leaked about 700 galons in a 24-hour period. If it were in a wall or on the floor, I would have seen it.

Thanks again for any help.

 

[homebrew2ny]

Advice? Call your utility service immediately.

 

[Greenman]

Near 30 gallons per hour isn't a leak, it's a gusher. I'm going to guess that your water heater is running non stop.

It has to be under the house, anywhere else and you'd have a waterfall coming out of the walls.

Just occurred to me, the PTR valve might have popped and not reset properly. That would dump all the water outside.

 

[cyberia]

Just occurred to me, the PTR valve might have popped and not reset properly. That would dump all the water outside.

I don't see a way to attach a picture here. Is it not possible to add an attachment?

Anyway, is that the pipe on top, in the middle, between the cold and the hot pipes? That pipe goes along the wall right behind the water heater and to the outside. It's all dry, both inside and on the outside.

I turned off the water heater breaker and shut off its water intake valve. Is that the right thing to do? Hopefully, I will be able to get a plumber in tomorrow.

 

[Greenman]

I don't see a way to attach a picture here. Is it not possible to add an attachment?

Anyway, is that the pipe on top, in the middle, between the cold and the hot pipes? That pipe goes along the wall right behind the water heater and to the outside. It's all dry, both inside and on the outside.

I turned off the water heater breaker and shut off its water intake valve. Is that the right thing to do? Hopefully, I will be able to get a plumber in tomorrow.

If it's a burst hot water line, then yes, that is the right thing to do.

Have you looked under the house? A great deal of water has gone somewhere, and it almost has to be there. The only other thing I can think of is that someone tapped into a hot water line for a sprinkler system. That's far fetched though.

 

[waffleironhead]

That is a lot of water. One wild idea to check. Is one of your toilets running constantly? Some people run hot water to the toilet to reduce sweating. Are your toilets still refilling after the hot water being shut off?

 

[cyberia]

Have you looked under the house? A great deal of water has gone somewhere, and it almost has to be there. The only other thing I can think of is that someone tapped into a hot water line for a sprinkler system. That's far fetched though.

There sits flat on the ground, no basement or stilts or anything like that. So, I have no way to see anything below the ground. Plus, it rained heavily yesterday, so no easily identifiable wet spots either.

And the sprinkler system is maintained and controlled by the HOA, with the water coming from a lake, so that's a non-issue.

 

[cyberia]

That is a lot of water. One wild idea to check. Is one of your toilets running constantly? Some people run hot water to the toilet to reduce sweating. Are your toilets still refilling after the hot water being shut off?

No, that's not a wild idea. I had thought about it too but didn't bother to check until now (mainly because I had made sure the toilets weren't leaking anyway). They still refill with the hot water shut off.

 

[IBMJunkman]

You have an under slab or in slab leak. Contact a plumber that specializes in leak detection. I have had 2 leaks. I used Roto-Rooter once. They decided leak was under my kitchen. Jack hammered a hole through the tile and slab. Dirt was bone dry. They tried a second time and decided to cut a hole in my stucco. Still no leak. Kicked them out. Called my regular guy and he decided the leak was in the pipe coming up through the footing. He said he never goes in from the outside. Inside drywall is much easier to repair.

I had no spare tiles. Found a tile guy that put in a pattern of tiles so it looks like I have a floor mat in front of the sink.

If the water heater flame is constantly on then the leak is in a hot water pipe. There should be a valve on the pipe going into the heater. Turn it off. At least you will have cold water so you can flush the toilet. . Otherwise you need to turn off the cold. Probably the master which is most likely the meter.

 

[cyberia]

You have an under slab or in slab leak. Contact a plumber that specializes in leak detection. I have had 2 leaks. I used Roto-Rooter once. They decided leak was under my kitchen. Jack hammered a hole through the tile and slab. Dirt was bone dry. They tried a second time and decided to cut a hole in my stucco. Still no leak. Kicked them out. Called my regular guy and he decided the leak was in the pipe coming up through the footing. He said he never goes in from the outside. Inside drywall is much easier to repair.

I had no spare tiles. Found a tile guy that put in a pattern of tiles so it looks like I have a floor mat in front of the sink.

Not looking forward to any of this.

If the water heater flame is constantly on then the leak is in a hot water pipe. There should be a valve on the pipe going into the heater. Turn it off. At least you will have cold water so you can flush the toilet. . Otherwise you need to turn off the cold. Probably the master which is most likely the meter.

Yeah, did that already.

 

[gururu2]

You can also check the washer lines to make sure hot water isn't continuously running through it.

 

[cyberia]

You can also check the washer lines to make sure hot water isn't continuously running through it.

Yes, another great suggestion, and I had checked that too.

 

[calahan]

I would suggest to you close all your faucets in house, one by one and look at your water meter, that s is easy way to find leaky faucet.

 

[NutBucket]

Don't worry OP. It's very unlikely there are any water lines under your slab. When building on slab most of the time the water lines are located in the attic. So you're right, if you had a major leak it should be pretty obvious.

 

[cyberia]

Don't worry OP. It's very unlikely there are any water lines under your slab. When building on slab most of the time the water lines are located in the attic. So you're right, if you had a major leak it should be pretty obvious.

Keeping my fingers crossed. :thumbsup: I have a plumber coming out later today.

 

[NutBucket]

When was your home built?

It is very puzzling how you could be losing that much water without any visible leaks.

 

[cyberia]

When was your home built?

It is very puzzling how you could be losing that much water without any visible leaks.

It's a 2-story home built in 1995.

 

[jaha2000]

700 gallons would cause a swimming pool someplace if it was really a busted pipe, that would be VERY obvious.

It has to be going down a drain someplace. Make sure you let us know your results!

 

[NetWareHead]

Im going to bet it is the water heater itself. You mentioned that when the water heater input is shut off, the meter report the flow stops. Im assuming you checked every faucet and nothing to report back.

How old is the water heater? Do you have a drip pan underneath it that flows into a drain?

 

[master_shake_]

maybe your neighbour and you are connected somehow?

garden hose perhaps?

do you have a pool?

does he?

 

[slag]

These normally wouldn't apply to hot water, but maybe someone plumbed it incorrectly

Do you have a sprinkler system? Maybe a broken line out away from the house?

Do you have a water softener that the purge valve is stuck open on? What about a whole house humidifier that continuously flushes itself?

 

[cyberia]

The plumber just left. Yes, it is the hot water line. The leak is inside the wall that separates the garage from the house, not far from the water heater. He said I wasn't seeing the leak because the walls were soaking it up. So, now it is the plumbing work + the restoration work + dealing with the insurance company.

It's probably a case of "It could have been worse". The leak could have been in a less convenient spot and could have gone longer with no detection. For now, I'll leave it up to the professionals to fix and will update you guys when the ordeal is over.

Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions you have provided :thumbsup: - and wish me luck. :'(

 

[master_shake_]

The plumber just left. Yes, it is the hot water line. The leak is inside the wall that separates the garage from the house, not far from the water heater. He said I wasn't seeing the leak because the walls were soaking it up. So, now it is the plumbing work + the restoration work + dealing with the insurance company.

It's probably a case of "It could have been worse". The leak could have been in a less convenient spot and could have gone longer with no detection. For now, I'll leave it up to the professionals to fix and will update you guys when the ordeal is over.

Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions you have provided :thumbsup: - and wish me luck. :'(

gonna need to see some pics during construction.

you know to see if he's doing it right

 

[highland145]

[FONT=GENEVA, HELVETICA, ARIAL][SIZE=-1]Not to fear monger but is it Polybutylen? I think there was a law suit but the $$ has run out for reimbursements....iirc....Would be a good idea to see if the whole house it poly, imo.

Good luck.
[/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[Greenman]

Don't worry OP. It's very unlikely there are any water lines under your slab. When building on slab most of the time the water lines are located in the attic. So you're right, if you had a major leak it should be pretty obvious.

It's actually a common practice here in CA. Might be different where that annoying white stuff falls from the sky.