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Years ago for a laugh I tried to stop the rotating aluminum disk in my power meter from rotating by holding a powerful ex-magnetron magnet near the one in the m

Years ago for a laugh I tried to stop the rotating aluminum disk in my power meter from rotating by holding a powerful ex-magnetron magnet near the one in the meter. It made not one iota of difference to the disk's rotation speed as the poles of the meter's magnet are so close to the disk that there was no way to alter the strength of the magnetic field that was at right angles on to the disk. Electricity utilities have been in the game a long time, they already know all the tricks and design their systems accordingly.

cassepipe 6y ago
Make a pin hole in the box with the disk right above the disk, unroll a paper clip, put it trough the pin hole. When the wire is against the disk it should stop. You can scotch the wire from the outside to maintain it in its exerting pressure position.
- hilbert42 6y ago
  Yeah, I've no problem actually doing that. But there's the problem of the meter guy noticing! This was a proof of concept experiment after I had had a discussion about a decade ago with a friend of my then boss who in his younger years actually designed electricity meters - he was also president of my local IEEE chapter so he was highly regarded (unfortunately he's now dead). Anyway, he challenged me to alter the metering rate on one of my meters (I've four 3-phase + off-peak) without actually tampering with the meter or breaking the lead seals. He said I'd have Buckley's chance and he was right. He said they not only go to inordinate lengths in the design of meters to ensure that it's not possible to stop them but also that they don't change their rate (run slightly slow, etc.) when heated, cooled, exposed to magnetic fields etc., and that before a meter is approved it's tested by certifying authorities for strict compliance. Mind you, some meter readers don't seem to give a damn. We rented some short-term space off site to the main factory (which itself was an old factory) and some of its meters no longer even have glass covering the dials and others had their lead seals missing altogether. Anyway whenever the meter reader turned up he was never the slightest bit concerned. The boss said for no one to fiddle, for as sure as eggs, someone will forget to remove the 'tweak' before the next reading and the consequences of that would be much more trouble/far outweigh any potential savings gained on the account. :-)

cassepipe 6y ago

Make a pin hole in the box with the disk right above the disk, unroll a paper clip, put it trough the pin hole. When the wire is against the disk it should stop. You can scotch the wire from the outside to maintain it in its exerting pressure position.

hilbert42 6y ago
Yeah, I've no problem actually doing that. But there's the problem of the meter guy noticing! This was a proof of concept experiment after I had had a discussion about a decade ago with a friend of my then boss who in his younger years actually designed electricity meters - he was also president of my local IEEE chapter so he was highly regarded (unfortunately he's now dead). Anyway, he challenged me to alter the metering rate on one of my meters (I've four 3-phase + off-peak) without actually tampering with the meter or breaking the lead seals. He said I'd have Buckley's chance and he was right. He said they not only go to inordinate lengths in the design of meters to ensure that it's not possible to stop them but also that they don't change their rate (run slightly slow, etc.) when heated, cooled, exposed to magnetic fields etc., and that before a meter is approved it's tested by certifying authorities for strict compliance. Mind you, some meter readers don't seem to give a damn. We rented some short-term space off site to the main factory (which itself was an old factory) and some of its meters no longer even have glass covering the dials and others had their lead seals missing altogether. Anyway whenever the meter reader turned up he was never the slightest bit concerned. The boss said for no one to fiddle, for as sure as eggs, someone will forget to remove the 'tweak' before the next reading and the consequences of that would be much more trouble/far outweigh any potential savings gained on the account. :-)