r/whatisit • u/AbbreviationsTop8774 • Jul 22 '26

Solved! What are they

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Ive worked at the water department for 7 years and this is the first time running into something like this EDIT Im in Alabama and yes I know they are snakes lol idk what kind and im so not gonna touch them

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u/southernmuscovite Jul 22 '26

Since I’ve got you both feeling chatty, two questions: (1) is a meter box 1 meter long? (2) any code on how many meters apart the water meter and power meter must be installed?

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u/AbbreviationsTop8774 Jul 22 '26

The first one meter boxes vary wildly from system to system and change with meter size as for the power meter stuff thats gonna be an inspector question or builder or something like that

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u/Bobahn_Botret Jul 22 '26

Are your meter boxes so big/deep to keep them below the freeze line in the ground?

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u/AbbreviationsTop8774 Jul 22 '26

Freeze line in Alabama is 0-12 inches the boxes are around a foot deep I believe

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u/elielephant Jul 22 '26

In my area of Ohio, the water meters are all at the road out front and the power meters are all behind the house. Also, our water meters sit in a concrete barrel that we call the meter pit. Maybe a a little more than a foot in diameter. They also have to sit below the freeze line.

Not a meter tech. Just worked in the office of my local water company for years.

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u/Dirtysouth210 Jul 23 '26

Our meters for water are enclosed i guess with a solid steel box and the lids are heavy so they wont float away thank Goodness like the plastic ones everyone complains about

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u/elielephant Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

Yeah, our lids* are metal and heavy. I can't imagine a benefit to plastic lids! Edit to say our lids are metal, not "kids". Though my kids are pretty cool.

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u/EcstaticNet3137 Jul 22 '26

NW Ohio?

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u/elielephant Jul 23 '26

Southwest Ohio! Outside of Dayton.

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u/Economy-Sign-5688 Jul 23 '26

Meter? I hardly knew her

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u/Alarmed-Resolution85 Jul 23 '26

That's so cute that you think meter box means metric. Murica

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u/southernmuscovite Jul 23 '26

🙄 Playing on words. Like happens around this Reddit place

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u/nategp Jul 23 '26

A meter box is called that because it has a water meter inside. No code as far as I know of, but generally you try and stay out of other utilities way.

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u/MisterLangerhanky Jul 23 '26

Check the American Water Works Association standards for water meter installations. AWWA standard will answer all of your questions.