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Jimmy76ab
Rank 1
September 29, 2018
Solved

My gas smart meter is displaying "valve open fail" - what should I do?

  • September 29, 2018
  • 26 replies
  • 35695 views

I have an old smart meter, I have had no gas to any appliances since Friday evening and the meter is displaying open valve fail. It sounds like a battery fail. How can i get an emergency repair? Can't get through to OVO helpline until Monday??

Best answer by Nancy_OVO

Updated on 16/04/26 by Abby_OVO

 

So sorry to hear of the issues you’ve been having with your gas smart meter which have also affected your gas supply over the weekend.

 

Great work on checking the meter screen for this error message. It sounds like your meter is experiencing a fault either due to low battery (which operates the valve on some smart meters), or a mechanical issue preventing that valve from opening/closing. 

 

All gas meters (smart and traditional) have an internal battery that powers them. This is designed to last for up to 20 years, with a meter recertification (exchanging the meter to replace it with a new one) scheduled every 10 years, so it’s unusual for this issue to crop up so soon.

 

 

If your gas smart meter is making a beeping sound, it indicates that the battery is low and the meter will need replacing. If the battery fails this can affect the supply, as in your case, so it’s important to reach out to our Support Team if you do ever notice that your meter is beeping.

 

It’s really distressing to hear that this happened out-of-hours and you were unable to give us a call. If your gas supply is off out of hours we recommend calling the National Gas Emergency helpline on 105.

 

 

Our emergency info and contact details can be found here:

 

 

 

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26 replies

Show previous replies
R
Newcomer
Riven85
Newcomer
April 25, 2023

Waiting on an engineer coming out currently hopefully they can fix the issue 

    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    April 25, 2023

    Hopefully it all gets sorted today. 

    Out of hours emergency contact options are not great with lots of suppliers. 

    If you ever think about switching, it might be worth looking at Octopus. At least on paper their emergency contact options out of hours look much better than OVO via both phone and email.

    https://octopus.energy/blog/power-cut/#:~:text=Call%20our%20freephone%20line%200808,reach%20our%20team%2024%2F7.

     

     

    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    Jeffus
    Rank 20
    April 25, 2023

    Hi @Riven85

    If you haven't already, it might be worth looking into signing up for the priority service register if you find you are eligible

    https://www.ovoenergy.com/register-for-priority-services

    https://www.ovoenergy.com/help/priority-services-register

     

     

    R
    Newcomer
    rathin2
    Newcomer
    January 4, 2025

    on a pay monthly plan, gas meter has worked fine for years but now is suddenly saying ‘Credit off’ and keeps cutting the supply. Account is well in credit.

    Managed to temporarily reset the meter to get gas working, it still says ‘Valve Failure’ tho. After a few hours it cuts out again saying ‘Credit Off’.

    Phoned ovo but no one seems to have an idea. Engineer i spoke to on phone yesterday (problem started yesterday morning) said meter had probably fixed itself and would be fine. But it keeps cutting out. 

    Any ideas how this may have happened ? i wonder if someone in admin has changed smth on the account which may have disrupted the supply. 

    Thanks

    Blastoise186
    Super User
    Blastoise186Super User
    Super User
    January 4, 2025

    Hi ​@rathin2 ,

    Sounds like a possible fault on the meter itself, but I could do with seeing photos of it so I know what you’ve got. Can you throw some into your next reply please?

    Thanks!

    Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way! Remember, I'm just like you - AI Powered Evil Geniuses aren't Staff!
      Abby_OVO
      Community Manager
      Abby_OVO
      Community Manager
      January 6, 2025

      Hey ​@rathin2 

       

      Sorry to hear about this.

       

      It does sound like some type of fault. Photos of the meter would help us try and determine what the problem might be.

       

      i wonder if someone in admin has changed smth on the account which may have disrupted the supply. 

       

      It’s extremely unlikely for someone to have just gone in and changed something randomly, they would need details to access the account and without speaking with yourself, no one will be able to do anything like that.

       

      It sounds like your meter is experiencing a fault either due to low battery (which operates the valve on some smart meters), or a mechanical issue preventing that valve from opening/closing. All gas meters (Smart and traditional) have an internal battery that power them. This is designed to last for up to 20 years, with a meter recertification (exchanging the meter to replace it with a new one) scheduled every 10 years.

       

      If you can share some photos that would be helpful, but it does sound like a fault.

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