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Gas Meter Ticking Or Reading Wrong
The meter dial or digits are moving with every appliance off, or the readings do not match what you are using.
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What's happening?
A gas meter measures volume passing through it, so with every appliance genuinely off it should not move at all. A meter that creeps, ticks or clicks with nothing running means either gas is passing somewhere it should not — a leaking joint, a valve seat passing on an appliance, a pilot you have forgotten about — or the meter itself is faulty. Readings that look far too high are a different question and usually turn out to be an estimated bill, a misread of the dials, a meter exchange that reset the numbering, or a genuine change in use. Both are worth taking seriously, because the first is a safety issue and the second is money.
What usually causes it?
- A standing pilot light on a fire, back boiler or water heater still burning unnoticed
- A gas valve on an appliance passing slightly when closed
- A small escape on internal pipework, a bayonet hose or a compression joint
- A meter regulator or governor fault causing the index to creep
- Reading the dials in the wrong order, or reading a dial meter as though it were digital
- An estimated bill rather than an actual reading, so the figure is a guess
- A meter exchange where the new meter's opening read was never recorded properly
Is it dangerous?
A moving meter with everything off should be treated as a possible escape until proved otherwise, and that puts it above ordinary billing trouble. If you can smell gas at any point, stop investigating, ventilate, turn off at the emergency control valve and ring 0800 111 999. Clicking or ticking coming from the meter box itself, rather than the index moving, is more often the regulator and is for the network operator rather than a gas engineer.
Can I fix it myself?
You can do the test that settles it. Turn every gas appliance off, including any pilot light you can safely extinguish, note the exact reading including the red or decimal digits, and leave it for an hour or two with nothing gas-fired running. If the reading has changed, gas is passing somewhere and you need an engineer. For billing, submit an actual reading to your supplier rather than accepting an estimate, and photograph the meter face when you do. Do not open the meter box's internals or touch the regulator.
When should you call a gas engineer?
Call a Gas Safe registered engineer if the meter moves with everything off — they will carry out a formal tightness test, which is the definitive answer. Call your energy supplier instead for billing disputes, suspected meter accuracy problems, or a meter exchange, since the meter is their asset. Ring 0800 111 999 immediately if a smell accompanies any of it.
What will the gas engineer actually do?
- Perform a tightness test on the installation and record whether it holds pressure to standard
- Isolate appliance by appliance to identify which leg of the pipework is losing gas
- Inspect and repair joints, bayonet hoses and appliance isolation valves
- Check for passing gas valves on fires, boilers and water heaters and replace where needed
- Confirm standing and working pressures against the meter and each appliance data plate
- Report meter, governor or regulator defects to the network operator responsible for them
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