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Posted By: bert1 Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 12:45pm
I was talking to my mates young son and he seemed to be interested on how the meter system worked, as far as putting a shilling in, etc. Obviously many on here will remember all this but there will be many who have no idea at all. My memory only takes me back to meters that we had to put a shilling in to receive gas or electric, i believe there were penny meters but i don't remember them. Unlike today there wasn't any credit buttons, so if you never had a shilling you went without. Every quarter the gas and the electric man would come and empty the meter, this was a good time for us kids, he would come in and remove the cash box from the meter, undoing the pad lock and then he would snip the seal with his pliers. The seal was to stop someone picking the lock and helping themselves ( household member). He would then sit on the couch with a coffee table in front of him and count the contents, stacking the shillings in one pound stacks, he then sorted out what the bill was and gave my mum her rebate and i always got a couple of bob off my mum. He then put all his shillings in brown paper bags and deposited then in his, sort of large heavy leather hand bag and off he went, on his way out he would put the cash box back, put the lock on and reseal. My mates lad accepted all that but i had trouble convincing him that a neighbour had a TV that you had to put a shilling in or perhaps more, can't quite remember.
Posted By: Nigel Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 12:51pm
My late father had a clock that you had to insert 10p to get it to work, It was like a savings scheme to pay the insurance I think Pearl provided it, In the end they gave him the clock when the direct debit system came into use, but it worked on a similar principle to the electric & Gas meters Bert1 is talking about.
Posted By: Hiekel_Essterol Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 1:00pm
It was called Telebank. You would rent the tv. Part of the power lead was a big assed digital clock, you would put money in that and it would give you time credit to watch the tv. If the time credit ran out and you didnt have any more money to put in it the power to the tv was disabled.

Worked very similar to the leccy meters as described above.

We called our leccy meter 'The God Box'. For some reason any time anyone in our house said Oh God, or something similar the meter would run out lol.

Story linked to Telebank type set up
Posted By: nightwalker Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 1:12pm
My memories about the gas and electric meters ate exactly the same as yours Bertione. I also remember my dad had about ten foreign coins that fitted the electric meter and they would be sorted out by the leccy man and handed back as part of the rebate (and went straight back in again). There were big celebrations when a new man didn't notice them and the rebate was all 'proper' money. Happy days.
Posted By: BossFan Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 1:33pm
I remember collecting "Tanners" to go in our gas and leccy meters. If you ever got a tanner you had to ask your mum or nan if they needed it. We used to keep a little pile of them in the meter cupboards to put in when they ran out.


Telebank, that was were my Better Half worked until it shut down in 1984.
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 2:06pm
I remember my mum and dad had a tv that you put 50p in for 4hours of tv time, it was from Radio Rentals I'm 36 now so must of been about 1981-1984 would always go off 1/2 way into the love boat on sundays.
Posted By: kimpri Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 2:24pm
we had a rented TV,when the rental ££ was in box

i would disconnected it smile

free TV popcorn
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 2:30pm
In my youth I worked for a while in the TSC Dept. (Time Savings Clock) of a Life Assurance Co. in L'pool. The insurance agent would give you a clock and you had to pop a florin (2/0d or 10p) into the slot at regular intervals to keep it ticking away. It had a sealed compartment in the base which the agent would undo every month or so and the loot inside was the basis of your premium on a Life Assurance Policy.

Although the actual clock mechanism was reasonable quality, the coin feed side was very crude and you could put anything in to keep it going. Payback time though when the agent called !

The clocks pop up on fleabay quite often. In fact there's a similar one on now (if you are quick). Item.130452764679

Posted By: diggingdeeper Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 7:00pm
Radio Rentals coin boxes, people used to borrow money from the box and pay it back. Collectors used to come and find £5 notes in the coin box, usually the money was ok 'cos people didn't want to lose the tele. After a customer became trustworthy, sometimes the coin box was "accidently" left unlocked to avoid any further damage. Only problem with that was that some "friendly" visitors used to check if the coin box was unlocked when tenant wasn't watching.

All good fun, cowboys and indians wink
Posted By: _Ste_ Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 7:19pm
Beet there's one of those meters in one of the garages were I work in mint condition complete with new seals, I'll get a photograph up tomorrow smile
Posted By: bert1 Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 8:18pm
Originally Posted by _Ste_
Beet there's one of those meters in one of the garages were I work in mint condition complete with new seals, I'll get a photograph up tomorrow smile


look forward to seeing it Ste
Posted By: jimbob Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 12th Nov 2010 9:32pm
as a youngers in the 1940s the gas meter was a 2d, around about 1949-1950 electric cable was run along the street and we where connected up to the electric. The electric meter wa a shilling fed one. both these meters where in a cupboard by the front door. Even in those days there was ... THAT FORCED THE FRONT DOORS OF HOUSES AND BROKE INTO THE METERS TO ROB THE MONEY. There was nothing else in peoples house to rob in those days. the area i was brought up in was lower Tranmere.
Posted By: uptoncx Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 13th Nov 2010 7:54am

From a report on the proceedings of Birkenhead Town Council in the Liverpool Mercury on the 6th June, 1895



Attached picture gas1.jpg
Posted By: bri445 Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 13th Nov 2010 10:20am
Originally Posted by bert1
My memory only takes me back to meters that we had to put a shilling in to receive gas or electric, i believe there were penny meters. Every quarter the gas and the electric man would come.
He would then sit on the couch with a coffee table in front of him and count the contents, stacking the shillings in one pound stacks, he then sorted out what the bill was and gave my mum her rebate and i always got a couple of bob off my mum. He then put all his shillings in brown paper bags and deposited then in his, sort of large heavy leather hand bag and off he went, on his way out he would put the cash box back, put the lock on and reseal.


I can relate to that exactly, except the gas was still paid for in pennies. It must have been a lot cheaper than the electricity! He would count out the pennies into shilling piles (12d = 1s) at a very fast rate off the edge of our kitchen table, which always fascinated little me. I used to try the same when he'd gone and usually ended up with a lot of them on the floor! Not wise, with the cracks in the floor boards.
Us kids had simple pleasures in those days!
Bri



Posted By: _Ste_ Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 13th Nov 2010 10:41am
Got some piccies bert, I cannot upload them from my phone so I'll put them up later smile
(I think it's the one you're talking about)
Posted By: bert1 Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 13th Nov 2010 10:46am
Originally Posted by _Ste_
Got some piccies bert, I cannot upload them from my phone so I'll put them up later smile
(I think it's the one you're talking about)



thumbsup
Posted By: suey30 Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 13th Nov 2010 3:32pm
what memories this brought back we moved to a house in school lane bebington in the early 70s there was a meter to put a shilling in for electric,and in the winter my dad would lend us the money to get the kids winter coats and boots then we would pay him back when we got our rebate, so it was like a saving box to us,
Posted By: chris7777 Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 14th Nov 2010 3:48pm
I remember those meters, ours was in the corner of the 'front room', the leccy man would come and sit at the kitchen table to count it out and then give mum the rebate, never what it was called then i just knew when he came he gave mum some money.
ours was a shilling meter and had a butterfly handle to turn when you put the shilling in.
Who remembers the coal man coming? those heavy sacks full of coal they carried on there backs! and the bin man when they would come round and get your bin and carry it on his back, you didn't have to put it out in those days and it didn't matter how heavy it was or what you put in it, not like today!!!!
Posted By: tigertiger1953 Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 14th Nov 2010 4:06pm
I thought you still had to put a shilling in the meter?
Posted By: bri445 Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 14th Nov 2010 4:06pm
Yes, bins were heavy in those days with the ashes from the coal fires!
Posted By: yoller Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 15th Nov 2010 12:58am
Thanks for all the wonderful memories of coin-in-the slot gas and electric meters. Does anyone remember the absolute misery of the light going out and not having a shilling to put in the meter?

You'd scrape around frantically to get together enough pennies, threepenny bits or sixpences to make a shilling - looking everywhere for odd coins, including the turn-ups on your Dad's trousers! Then you'd have to hope there was a shop or pub open to get them to change the money to a shilling coin - or a 'silver shilling' as we called it.

Despite the meters being a real pain, it was a fantastic day when the man called to empty the meter and you watched him counting out all those lovely coins and finally handing you a rebate. That rebate was a lifesaver for many families.

One thing that still amazes me is that a bloke such as the leccy man could walk round from house to house with a bagful of cash in complete safety in those days - 1950s and 1960s.

The same was true for the rent man, who called every week to collect your money (if you were a council tenant) and had a big leather bag which must have been filled with hundreds of pounds - an absolute fortune in those days. I never heard of any of them being robbed, but perhaps they were and I was too young to know about it.
Posted By: _Ste_ Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 15th Nov 2010 8:34am
As promised, heres some photos of one in a garage at work, the guy who owns it said it was in the back of a van he was weighing in along with a load of scrap metal.

"I couldn`t let that be destroyed" He said, so now it`s a feature on his garage wall! smile

Attached picture IMG_1413.jpg
Attached picture IMG_1415.jpg
Attached picture IMG_1417.jpg
Attached picture IMG_1418.jpg
Posted By: bert1 Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 15th Nov 2010 10:33am
That's excellent Ste, well done mate and many thanks.
Posted By: tigertiger1953 Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 15th Nov 2010 9:28pm
That's the same as in my house!
Posted By: _Ste_ Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 17th Nov 2010 9:59am
Originally Posted by tigertiger1953
That's the same as in my house!

Do you still have one of these up & running tiger?

Originally Posted by bert1
That's excellent Ste, well done mate and many thanks.

happy
Posted By: polo_phil Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 17th Nov 2010 11:19am
Too young. But I remember the Bradshaws episode when the money runs out and in the dark a box lands on Alfs head that Billy had set as a trap laugh
Posted By: BandyCoot Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 17th Nov 2010 11:37am
Remember all those meters, as for running out of cash...that's what rooting down the back of solfas was for. I know someone who had a prepayment TV with meter just a couple of years ago, they used it as a piggy bank.
Remember the penny ones as well as the shillings. There were still some houses with gas mantles for lighting too.
Also remember the first meter robbery that I had heard of. It was in the Massey Street, Cleveland Street area. Caused shock waves because people had to shut their front doors after that whereas they were always left open before. To me that is when the bad ass days began. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
Posted By: polo_phil Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 17th Nov 2010 11:41am
Originally Posted by BandyCoot
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.


raftl
Posted By: Nigel Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 17th Nov 2010 6:34pm
Anyone had a new "Smart meter" installed by British Gas yet? What do you think of them? I have had a letter saying they want to replace my electicity meter with a "Smart meter".
Posted By: chris7777 Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 18th Nov 2010 2:23pm
those pics are great, brought back lots of memories, i used to love putting the shillings in them----not my money of course!!

Have'nt heard of smart meters? i have card and key meters, are they the same?
Posted By: Nigel Re: Gas, Electric meters, etc. - 18th Nov 2010 2:54pm
Originally Posted by chris7777
those pics are great, brought back lots of memories, i used to love putting the shillings in them----not my money of course!!

Have'nt heard of smart meters? i have card and key meters, are they the same?


Yes, they are dual function for either credit or pre-pay, and have a simm card for transmitting readings to HQ. Gas or electricity meters are available.

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