Our gas meter (installed about 5 yrs. ago, Peterborough ON) registers in ccubic metres. Duncan
-----Original Message----- From: Joseph B. Reid <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: February 8, 2002 15:01 Subject: [USMA:18059] Re: metric for IP products >Robert Bushnell wrote in USMA18015 > >> 2002 February 7 >>I just received this note from R. Schulte, President of ASTM. >>At one time I was employed in the gas utility industry. I related to you the >>difficulties that this one business sector, the natural gas and propane >>distribution industry, faces in moving to the use of SI units. Gas utilities >>in the U.S. are delivering fuel to an estimated 200 million gas-fired >>appliances installed in residences and commercial buildings. The industry >>has not been able to figure out how it could switch pipe and thread sizes to >>metric units without introducing large gas leak (safety) problems into the >>gas distribution networks where service and installation technicians would be >>dealing with a mix of metric and IP threads. This one, narrow example has >>led me to understand why the adoption of metric units in ASTM standards >>remains a committee-by-commitee and sector-by-sector issue. > > >I believe that both European and American plumbing use British pipe >threads. In Toronto our gas is billed in cubic metres, although the old >cubic feet metres have not been replaced. New metres record cubic metres. >Customers with cubic feet meters receive bills with the cubic foot >readings, but with an arithmetic conversion to cubic metres for calculating >the amount owed. > >I suspect that the American gas industry is using false, or at least ultra >purist, arguments against metrication. I have not met such arguments from >South African, Australian, New Zealand, British or Canadian gas industries. > >Joseph B.Reid >17 Glebe Road West >Toronto M5P 1C8 TEL. 416-486-6071 >
