of the consumer; and every meter, whether stamped or unstamped, which shall be found by such inspector to register, or be so capable of being made to register, quantities varying beyond the limits aforesaid, shall be deemed incorrect within the meaning of this Act; and every meter which shall be found by any such inspector to measure and register quantities accurately, or not varying beyond the limits aforesaid, and shall be found incapable by any such means as aforesaid of being made to register quantities varying beyond the limits aforesaid, shall be considered to be correct, and be stamped as aforesaid in such manner and on such part of the meter as shall be specially directed by the authority appointing him, or in default of such direction as shall, in his opinion, best prevent fraud. Provided always, that every meter having a measuring capacity at one revolution or complete action of the meter of not less than five cubic feet, and having permanently marked upon it in some conspicuous place, the words 'without float,' shall be stamped by the inspectors, if found correct, within the meaning of this Act, in all other respects except that it is capable of being made by abstraction of water to register incorrectly against the seller of gas, but it shall not be lawful after the time aforesaid to use in the sale of gas any such meter, when so stamped by the inspector, except by written agreement between the buyer and seller, specifying that this description of meter shall be used."

46. It will be seen from the above clause that two classes of wet meters are permitted to be stamped, viz., those which are incapable, and those which are capable of being made to register more than three per centum against the seller, on condition, in respect of the latter, that such meters shall be of such size as to pass at least five feet per complete action, and be distinctly marked with the words "without float." Many, if not most, of the meters" without float," will be the kind called 66 station

meters," from the fact of their construction being identical with those used in gas works and stations for measuring the gas manufactured.

47. Meters of the kind just mentioned, as well as all others of five or more cubic feet measuring capacity per revolution, which have no float must be inscribed as "without float," and these words are best put on a badge bearing the maker's name, number of the meter, and its capacity per revolution and per hour. The badge should be screwed on to the front of an ironcased meter, and the inspector's stamp should cover one or more of the screw heads.

48. Every meter submitted for testing to an inspector appointed under the "Sales of Gas Act," must have affixed upon it a badge, specifying "its measuring capacity at one revolution or complete action of the meter, and also the quantity per hour it is intended to measure in cubic feet, or multiples or decimal parts of a cubic foot."

FIG. 10.

1

49. On every ordinary wet meter there are two plugs, one on the upper

part, called the chargeplug, and one at the lower part of the case, called the syphon or overflow plug. Both these plugs are in front of the meter case.

50. In the index of every ordinary wet meter, there is a small metal drum as shown in fig. 10; or, in lieu of the drum, an additional circle on the

FIG. 11.

index plate, as in the dry meter, fig. 11. This drum or circle is divided into 2, 5, 10 or more principal parts, representing as many cubic feet of measurement by the meter. It is by finding the quantity of gas, measured by the gasholder, which is required to pass through the meter in order to cause the index drum, or the pointer of the circle, to make an entire revolution, that the accuracy or the inaccuracy of the meter is determined.

STATION METERS.

51. Wet meters of the kind designated in the trade as. station meters, simply because they are in form and construction similar or identical to those employed in gas works, have also to be tested, and for the larger sizes of these the test gasholder is useless, and the test meter must be used.

52. A station meter may, as to its case, be a simple cast iron cylinder, or a segmental cylinder (fig. 12), or a rectangular plain or ornamental cast iron tank (fig. 13), and the measuring capacity of its wheel may range from 5 feet per revolution up to 1000, or even 2000 cubic feet.

53. With all station meters, the index is placed in the centre of the front, and the gas-inlet is in the centre of the back, the gas-outlet is also at the back and on one side of the inlet. Both the inlet and outlet openings are fitted with flanges for the

attachment of the main pipes. The water-level of the meter is indicated on a gauge, similar to a boiler-gauge, affixed to the meter case, the glass tube of the gauge being protected by a sheath or other contrivance bearing the maker's number of the meter and the water level mark or indicator. This sheath or contrivance should be stamped by the Inspector when such

CASE

METER

W

a meter is tested. Sometimes this gauge is so affixed to the meter as to be acted upon by the outlet pressure, it then shows the dead level of the water, i.e., the level when the meter is not working, but it is better to connect the gauge to the inlet, so that it is acted on by the inlet pressure of the gas as in fig. 14, where the pipe P is supposed to connect the gauge with the inlet, for a consideration of the conditions under which a meter measures gas (35 to 38), shows clearly that all meters to which gauges are affixed to indicate the water-level should have the waterline defined while the meter is in motion. The advantages are, that an Inspector may test a wet meter at any convenient or possible rate of speed, marking the "working line' while it was in action, disconnect his testing apparatus, set the tested meter in full action, and then add the needful quantity of water to make it measure correctly. Further, an inspection of the water-line when the meter is in full action will at once show whether it is properly charged. The increased accuracy of registration on this system would, in many instances, amount possibly to 2 per cent. On the usual system the gas must be shut off from the meter before the water-level can be adjusted, causing at times much trouble and inconvenience.

FIG. 14.