Your Customer Interface Unit (Keypad) helps you to manage your water usage and load credit on your meter. Your keypad should be securely mounted inside your house against the closest wall to your water meter.
The keypad refresh automatically every hour or you may refresh manually by pressing the # button twice. The display shows 2 messages, changing over every 10 seconds, with a conditional 3rd message.
| 1. Credit Status | CrEdit CrEd LO No CrEd FrEE FrEE LO |
You are using your purchased credit Credit running low. Purchase more credit Credit finished. Meter closed You are using your Free Basic Water Free Basic Water is running low |
|---|---|---|
| 2. Remaining Credit | 1.980m3 | 1m3 = 1kL = 1000 Litres of water |
| 3. Notifications | LEAK LOCKEd BAtt LO Err XX |
Possible leak on property Consumer lock activated Meter battery low. Not KEYPAD battery Error present. Report to Call Centre |
Credit tokens are purchased from thousands of vendors, online, ATM’s, Unipin etc. All you need is your 11 digit Prepaid Number starting with 31..., printed next to the display on your meter or use #0# to have it displayed on your keypad. Your 20 digit token is printed on your receipt. Load the token by starting with the 1st number of the token on the keypad, followed by the rest of the numbers. After the last number is entered, the keypad automatically sends the token to the meter. The keypad responds with a message if the token was accepted or not.
| ACCEPT | Loaded successfully, followed by the credit purchased in m3 | Err xx | Write down the error code and report to your nearest Call Centre |
|---|---|---|---|
| INVALID | Token entered incorrectly. Re-try | FULL | Meter cannot take more credit |
| USED | Token already used | OLD | Token expired |
| ABSA | FNB | STANDARD BANK |
|---|---|---|
| Select “Payment” “Purchase Prepaid”, “Add beneficiary”, “Beneficiary: Waterwatch “Prepaid service “Electricity”, Meter no: 31_ _ _ __ _ _ _ Click on search and follow instructions. |
Select “Buy” “Electricity” Name: Waterwatch Meter no: 31_ _ _ __ _ _ _ Send voucher to: “Your cellphone number” |
Select “Prepaid” “Prepaid recharge” “Prepaid electricity” Type of recharged: “Electricity” Enter amount “R…..” Enter meter no: 31_ _ _ __ _ _ _ Enter pin code received on your cellphone. |
If free basic water is applicable, the keypad will display FREE until your FBW is finished. Paid credit will only be displayed once the free water is finished. To see how much paid credit is on the meter while you are still in FREE water, press #1# on the keypad. After the FBW is finished, the paid credit will be displayed.
A number of Short Codes are available to obtain additional information from your meter:
| Short Code | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ## | Refresh display | Credit / 5.950m3 |
| #0# | Prepaid number | 31 0028 5637 9 |
| #1# | Paid credit available | 5.950m3 |
| #2# | Free Basic Water available | 6.000m3 |
| #7# | Used today | 1.354m3 |
| #8# | Used this month | 35.287m3 |
| #9# | Used on average over last 3 months | 28.600m3 |
| #10# | Electronic meter reading (Totalizer) | 123456m3 |
| #11# | Leak size (Water lost per hour) | 0.009m3/h |
| #13# | Total used to date | 354.722m3 |
| #14# | Total paid credit loaded to date | 349.000m3 |
| #20# | Used last month | 30.786m3 |
| #21# | Used 2 months ago | 31.123m3 |
| #22# | Used 3 months ago | 25.777m3 |
| #30# -> #39# | Last 10 tokens entered (30 most recent) | 1234567 8901234 567890 |
| #40# -> #49# | Last 10 credits loaded (40 most recent) | Credit, 10.000m3, 31.01.18 |
| #51# | Lock or unlock meter. Press 1 to confirm | Locked, Open |
| #53# | User totalizer | 1.234m3 |
| #54# | Reset user totalizer | 0.000m3 |
The keypad is powered by 2 x AA size alkaline batteries, available from any shop.
A User Totalizer is available if you want to measure how much water you used for a specific event, for example watering your garden or to check how much your washing machine is using. On the keypad enter the code (#54#) to Reset User Totalizer to 0.000 m³. After using the water, enter the code (#53#) to read your User Totalizer. The total shown is how much water was just used.
Consumption History for the last three months can be viewed on your keypad.
A Token History is kept of the last 10 tokens entered. To see the most recent token press #30#. To see the amount of credit loaded and date for this token press #40#. The second most recent token is #31# & #41#, up to the 10th token using #39# & #49#.
You may Lock your Meter when you go away from your house to work or on holiday so that nobody else can use your water. Enter Lock Meter code (#51# and 1 for YES) to close the meter. Use the same code to unlock your meter when your return to your house.
The Keypad Lock code locks your keypad from unwanted pressing of buttons. Press and hold #, until LOCKED is displayed. This does not affect your meter at all. Press and hold # to unlock.
Free Basic Water (FBW) may be activated on your meter and will be available automatically at the start of each month. Only after your FBW is finished, your purchased credit will be used.
| Shower | Top of the range showerhead | 17 Litres per minute | 5 minutes = 85 Litres 10minutes = 170 Liter per shower |
|---|---|---|---|
| Efficient showerhead | 8 Litres per minute | 5 minutes = 40 Litres 10minutes = 85 Liter per shower |
|
| Bath | Half full | 80 Litres | |
| Full | 140 Litres | ||
| Toilet | Single flush | 12 Litres | (Stuck cistern : 17 liters per minute = 1020 liter per hour) |
| Dual halve flush | 3 Litres | ||
| Bathroom | Brushing teeth shaving with tap running | 5 Litres per minute | 5 minutes = 25 Litres |
| Kitchen | Washing dishes by hand | 18 Litres | |
| Old type dishwasher | 60 Litres / wash | ||
| Modern dishwasher | 18 Litres / wash | ||
| Laundry | Modern front loader | 60 Litres | |
| Twin tub | 70 Litres | ||
| Top loader | 200 Litres | ||
| Irrigation | Sprinklers (Household) | 1 400 Litres per hour | 4 hours = 5 600 Liters |
| Sprinklers (Larger diameterpipes) | 3 800 Litres per hour | 4 hours = 15 200 Liters | |
| Leaks | Leaking toilet | 0.5 up to 7 liters per hour | 0.5 l/min = 720 liter day
7 l/min = 10 080 liters per day |
| Leak in pipework | Up to 1 400 liter per hour | 10 hours = 14 000 liters |
Keypad gives ‘FAILED’ message
The keypad is unable to communicate with your meter. Make sure there is no major obstruction between your meter and your keypad, for example a vehicle parked next to you meter. During installation, the best position for your keypad was selected for the best radio communication. If this problem persists, contact your Call Centre.
Meter not dispensing water
On your keypad check if the Water Tap icon is displayed. If displayed, then you have credit and the meter is open. Check if your neighbour has water, as it is possible that the whole area is without water. If the Water Tap icon is not displayed, you meter may be locked or you do not have credit on your meter.
No Free Basic Water (FBW)
Confirm if you are eligible to receive FBW, if it is daily or monthly and from what time it is available. For daily FBW the keypad should display ‘FREE’ every morning automatically. Monthly FBW starts on the first day of each month. The keypad displays ‘FREE’ until your FBW is finished. If you did not receive it, contact your Call Centre. They will be able to determine if FBW is activated on your meter, or when and how much FBW you already used. You may also not receive your FBW automatically, but have to collect your FBW tokens from your nearest vendor.
Water gets finished quickly
Check for leaks on your property or maybe somebody else is using your water. Lock your meter when you are away from home, and check for any leaking pipes, taps and toilets. The ‘Leak’ icon should never be visible on your keypad.
No Credit on my meter
When the ‘No Cred’ message is displayed, you have no credit on your meter and it is closed. Purchase more credit.
Possible water Leak
If there is a water leak, a water drop as well as a ‘LEAK’ message is displayed on your keypad. Press #11# to see how much water is lost per hour due to this leak. It is important to fix this leak, as it will finish your credit very quickly. Once the leak is repaired, the message disappears the next day.
Keypad is not switching on
Replace the batteries in your keypad. You can purchase any AA size Alkaline (Penlight) battery at your local store, and fit them. If it still does not work, report to your nearest Call Centre.
There is an error message on my keypad
Write down the error code and report to your nearest Call Centre.
My token does not work
Make sure the Prepaid Number on the receipt is the same as on your meter. You cannot enter a token from another meter. See Loading Credit for possible messages returned by your meter. If the meter returns an error code when you enter your token, contact the Call Centre and give them the error code.
How do I know if I get my Free Basic Water?
The keypad indicates which credit is being used. ‘Credit’ means purchased credit and ‘Free’ means Free Basic Water. If your keypad display ‘FREE’, but you want to see how much paid credit you have available, press #1#.
How much water do I get for my credit?
The credit available on your meter is displayed in Cubic Meters (m3). 1m3 equals to 1kL or 1000Litres. If the credit on your meter is displayed for example as ‘5.321 m3’, this means you have 5.321 kL or 5321 Litres of water. If you buy credit for example for R10.00, the Vendor calculates how much water (m3) you should get, based on the water tariff, and your monthly consumption pattern.
How much water do I use?
Press #7# to see how much you used today.
Press #8# to see how much you used for this month.
Press #9# to see how much you used on average over the previous 3 months. (Accurate after 3 months from installation)
Press #20# to see how much you used last month.
I want to measure how much water I use when watering my garden?
First press #54# on your keypad to reset your User Totalizer. Open the tap and use the water that you want to measure. When done, close the tap, and press #53#. The keypad displays how much water you just used.