Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

ELECTRIC METER

Date

1963

Materials

METAL, GLASS, PAINT

No. Pieces

1

Height

15.8

Length

38.2

Width

22.5

Description

METER, ELECTRIC. LARGE BLACK METER HAS ROUNDED TOP, SQUARE BOTTOM WITH ROUNDED EDGES. TWO WINDOWS ON FACE, ONE OVAL, ONE RECTANGULAR. OVAL WINDOW HAS BLUE “X 160” STICKER ON IT (BLUE TAPE WITH WHITE RAISED TYPE). RED “4L3” STICKER AT TOP OF OVAL WINDOW. TWO PLATES BELOW OVAL WINDOW 1- “RATIO OF SPEEDS” 2- A PLATE DIAGRAMMING “PHASE ROTATION ABC LINE”. SEALED DO NOT REMOVE” “CITY OF LETHBRIDGE” ( ON REVERSE) AND ONE METAL “CCAC 88 CANADA”. RECTANGULAR WINDOW DISPLAYS “KILOWATT HOUR” DIALS. METER SERIAL NUMBER “6987797.”

Subjects

ELECTRICAL & MAGNETIC T&E

Historical Association

INDUSTRY

History

METERS WERE USED FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL METERING IN THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE. THIS METER WAS PREVIOUSLY ATTACHED TO A BOARD AND DISPLAYED WITH OTHERS IN A COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTING CITY ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT HISTORY AT THE METER SHOP UNTIL 2009. ACCORDING TO METER SHOP DONOR GRANT FYFE “THE ROLE OF THE METER SHOP IS TO INSTALL THE METERS, REPAIR THE METERS.” “THESE METERS USED TO BE REPAIRED RIGHT IN THE SHOP. TODAY WE DON’T DO THAT, BUT WE SEND ALL THE METERS OUT FOR RECALIBRATION. UP UNTIL THE YEAR 2000, WE SERVICED ALL THESE METERS. WE STRIPPED THEM DOWN, CLEANED THEM, REPAIRED THEM AND RECALIBRATED THEM. THE GOVERNMENT WOULD COME IN AND CHECK OUR WORK AND SEAL IT.” METERS WITH MECHANIZED REVOLVING PARTS BEGAN BEING REPLACED WITH ENTIRELY DIGITAL MODELS IN THE YEAR 2000. ACCORDING TO AN INTERVIEW WITH RETIRED METER SHOP FORMAN WAYNE SCHELLHORN “WE ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO KEEP THESE METERS BECAUSE THERE IS NO MORE STORAGE ROOM.” FYFE SAID “WE WERE JUST LIKE WATCHMAKERS IN A WAY BECAUSE SOME OF THE JEWELS AND STUFF IN THESE METERS WERE VERY SENSITIVE, AND HAD TO BE CLEANED PROPERLY AND INSTALLED PROPERLY, OTHERWISE THE METER WOULDN’T REVOLVE PROPERLY AND IT WOULD SEIZE UP. IT WAS INTRICATE WORK.” THIS IS A COMBINATION METER CALLED A 4L3 AND WAS USED IN A COMMERICAL CONTEXT. SCHELLHORN SAID “BACK IN ITS DAY THIS WAS A MODERN COMMERCIAL METER BECAUSE IT HAD THE DIODES IN IT, SO IT HAD A LITTLE TINY BIT OF ELECTRONICS IN IT. BUT THIS WAS A COMBINATION ENERGY AND DEMAND. BEFORE, YOU HAD THE KILOWATT HOUR METER AND YOU HAD THE KILOWATT METER, WELL THIS HERE WAS BOTH OF THEM COMBINED TOGETHER IN ONE METER”. ITS WAX SEAL DATE IS 1963 AND MOST LIKELY WAS INSTALLED IN 1959-1960. SCHELLHORN “IT COULD HAVE BEEN IN ANY BUSINESS PLACE THAT HAD A THREE PHASE SERVICE. THERE ARE LOTS OF THEM IN TOWN, LOTS IN THE INDUSTRIAL PARK. WE STARTED PHASING THESE OUT IN THE LATE 90S AND REPLACING THEM WITH THE KYLP MODELS WHICH STILL HAD REVOLVING DISCS AND ALSO DIODES.” FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20100046004

Acquisition Date

2010-09

Collection

Museum

Less detail