Are the RF water meter readers and their ability to detect potential leaks accurate?

[Justice]

I have a strange problem. At a small retirement community, at one 4 unit building, the water district guy tells me that his reader is saying "Potential Leak Detected". Neither of us could find anything leaking, inc. faucets, toilets, outside spigots, tub/showers, boiler, or attic (there are copper runs in attic w/ pex coming off of it here and there). He supposedly ran some numbers and somehow determined that the leak was around 9 gph (Yikes!). We probed and listened and couldn't hear anything. Checked everything again (this is all the next day- yesterday, and he's saying that the leak still exists). Today I get a call and he says, "Whatever you did must have fixed it because it's not leaking anymore". I told him I didn't do anything which is true - I did absolutely nothing. Now he's saying, "Well, you must have because it's not leaking now". I'm at a loss, but starting to lean towards his radio freq. reader is giving him a false "Potential Leak" warnings. Is this possible? I finally got a look at the actual meter today and see that we should be able to confirm any suspected leak there. If he calls and says "It's leaking right now", I can ask each of the 4 tenants to not use any water for 1 hour, then compare before and after readings right on the mechanical meter. It has a counter for cu. ft. then a large dial graduated in 0.1 cu. ft. increments, then a little blue spinner that moves even with a very small trickle of flow. Does this make sense? Any comments or suggestions? - esp. regarding if anyone has heard of the RF readers giving false leak warnings.

Thank you!

 

[phishfood]

Do any of the residents have RO systems? I have seen the valving in those malfunction and cause something similar to what you are describing.

 

[Justice]

No. No RO systems.

 

[johnjh2o]

The little blue spinner is what we call a leak detector. If that is moving with no water being used then you have a leak.

 

[DIYeverything]

Smart money is on a defective toilet flapper.

 

[Justice]

Thanks guys,

I am more interested to know if anyong experienced RF readers giving false leak warnings. I'm going to say that they do as the "blue spinner" mechanical leak detector was NOT moving if tenants weren't running water and the water district's remote reader was flashing "Potential Leak".

 

[IFIXH20]

Justice, I think you can get a false reading. I do not have any scientific proof but I have three regular customers on different sides of town that had extremely high water bills and we could not find a leak and still to this day haven't found a leak but the water usage returned to normal. The one common denominator in the three false reading is underground utility (phone,cable) within 2ft of the meter.

 

[Justice]

Thank you. This is the info I'm interested in. Boy, the www is ripe with reported instances of folks getting a bill for many x their normal usage after remote meter readings started. Also with the water companies standing by their billing - saying, "Well you must have a leak".
In my case the water district guy says I have a leak. I put in 5 hrs. over the course of 3 days trying to locate a leak then he says, "Hey you fixed it. It's not leaking anymore". Hmmm... well OK...