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Directly measuring natural gas consumption of water heaters and furnaces and other natural gas appliances can be expensive and will always require hiring a professional. However, it may be possible to approximate gas flow consumption without the additional cost. When the fuel input rate of an appliance such as a furnace or water heater is fixed (e.g., the appliance does not have a modulating burner), obtain a one-time measurement of the fuel input rate. Once the gas input rate is known, that can be combined with monitoring of the time the gas valve is open to obtain total fuel use over time.
Two-stage appliances may also be monitored using this approach, if the controls allow holding operation in one stage long enough to complete a test. Pilot light gas flow is typically about 0.4 to 1 cu ft per hour, which means several hours of observation would be needed to complete this test for pilot light flow. Clocking of a partial turn of the smallest meter dial can provide an approximate value for pilot flow.
3. The state logger should indicate an open current switch until the gas burner fires and then should indicate a closed switch within a second. The clamp-on ammeter should indicate no current until the gas valve opens. 4. If the current through the gas valve wire is too low to operate the current switch, the wire may be wrapped around and passed through the current switch a second time, doubling the effective signal that the switch senses. 5. Allow the heating cycle to run to completion or turn the thermostat down. Note the sequence. The ammeter should show the gas valve current going to zero when the valve turns off, and the state logger should indicate switch open within a second. 6. If there is current flowing on the selected wire before or after the gas valve is operating, investigate other wires at the gas valve.