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Re: Does anyone check wall sockets?
Got to admit Ken I did the same as you. After reading the document I came to the conclusion it had been dropped. Yipeeee!. No such luck then.
Re: Does anyone check wall sockets?
kwatt wrote:Ah, it is on the hard copy tho, so why not on the web one? Different documents. 😕
K.
Their website shows a general overview of DASA Code of Practice but members sign their name to the DASA Quality Criteria Minimum Standards document!
Martin
Re: Does anyone check wall sockets?
kwatt wrote:Ah, it is on the hard copy tho, so why not on the web one? Different documents
No idea, but that needs to be addressed and quickly, as does the whole DASA site, the document Ken is quoting from is circa 1997 I think, whereas the hard documant I have of the Quality Criteria is a completely different thing. Misleading to say the least.
Dave.
Yeah it doesn’t appear on the consumer side of things but does apply to the minimum standards document although reading through that has flgged a few points to me that I’ll save for another day. 😉
K.
Yeah if we’re all doing this, which we all should be, then why are we not telling the public about it? I find that a bit strange that it’s so heavily plugged to us but not made clear to customers that we do carry out testing etc. 😕
K.
Re: Does anyone check wall sockets?
kwatt wrote:Yeah if we’re all doing this, which we all should be, then why are we not telling the public about it? I find that a bit strange that it’s so heavily plugged to us but not made clear to customers that we do carry out testing etc. 😕
K.
It’s not really necessary to shout about what we do and how we do it to the customer, but should be something done automatically by every Service Engineer. I was taught over 39 years ago, the first thing you do is check the wall socket. The second, check the earth connection. The third, then take a look at the appliance.
I don’t need DASA’s Code of Practice to tell me what to do, I’ve been doing for years.:wink:
Martin
Re: Does anyone check wall sockets?
Martin wrote:I don’t need DASA’s Code of Practice to tell me what to do, I’ve been doing for years.:wink:
Fair comment.
K.
Re: Does anyone check wall sockets?
DASA website needs a drastic upgrade and hopefully will in time.
Martin you may carry out the requisite tests but do others???
Yes a real can of worms!!!!!Re: Does anyone check wall sockets?
At this years DASA agm, it was decided to adopt earth loop impedance testing into the DASA code of practice, As testers are expensive, time was being allowed for members to comply, therefore at this moment in time, it is advisory although not compulsory to use them for DASA Membership.
The quality criteria document is the revised standards document, which has been around for a few years now.
This document is what council decided ,the level of competence that members, should have, and will have to, comply with ,fully to ensure their continued membership. There was an acknowledgement from the DASA council at the drafting that time would be required for members to comply, as this new level can cost a lot of money, for business to achieve. and It would be unfair to insist, for an immediate changeover.(I can only assume the two documents referred to in this forum are:-
The later Document the new code of practice the standard Dasa members should be working to achieve
The older document is really the old code of practice.)ps
The speech I made at the AGM about the safety testing must have went down really well if it sent you all to sleep, I will try to make it more interesting next year. 😈
S
Re: Does anyone check wall sockets?
sumphose wrote:The speech I made at the AGM about the safety testing must have went down really well if it sent you all to sleep, I will try to make it more interesting next year. 😈
LOL, that was Ted snoring! 😉
K.
Re: Does anyone check wall sockets?
I use an earth loop impedence tester to measure the earth loop impedence at the socket used to supply the appliance being worked on and have found a variety of values including missing earth and reversed polarity. It is important to do this before working on the appliance! On one ocassion the supply to the property was reverse polarity. Many of the properties I visit in a ruraly area are not yet supplied with an earth by the supply authority relying on a 30mA RCD for the socket installation. In this case without testing the operation of the RCD the effectiveness of the earth provision cannot be proven. In these situations the customer is advised to have their installation checked by their electrician. Some do follow up on this! Some do not want to know. There is no doubt that the last person out would have a lot of explaining if an unfortunate event ocurred. Best to stick to the DASA procedure but guidance on the values of EARTH Loop Impedance to accept for “Pass” is needed.
BS 7671 “The Wiring Regulations” gives values for various circumstances The charactreristics of the supply and installation circuit need to be known for correct interpretation. Just imagine how long this would take..
So maybe we need a duplicate warning notice similar to the Corgi ( Immediate Danger / At Risk) notices to be signed by the customer when unsafe situations are identified. A fault on an inadequately earthed appliance could result in someones death ourselves not excluded.
It is also worth rembering that carring out an earth loop impedance test on a faulty circuit introduces a hazard during the test.That’s the situation with warning notices that I can see that we’re headed for Tom and the thing that worries me greatly. Anyone that’s ever had a need to call in Transco will know what I’m talking about here.
There are far fewer instances of a dangerous gas leak than there is of faulty wiring in a house, particularly in kitchens where we primarily work. Now, IMO, if the same sort of onus is put onto us then we are basically becoming sparks as well and we will all see a great many faults and have time eaten up trying to sort out things that we are neither fully qualified to do or paid to do. So we become, just as is the case with CORGI at times, an unpaid police force enforcing safety. With some of the botch jobs we see daily that’s going to cost the business dearly in time alone.
K.
Re: Does anyone check wall sockets?
Loop Testers are great pieces of kit but the can cause a number of problems in using them per se, that is way beyond the scope of the average Domestic Appliance Engineers lot ❗
His (or her)directive is to fix an appliance/s and nothing more. However, and going back to the whole reason for me posting this topic in the first place, is to remind others to check the supply to that appliance before commencement of any work on it. Sticking your Martingdale in the socket tells you all YOU need to know to ensure YOUR safety and nothing more.
Ovens and other hard wired appliances ❓ then yes, the Loop Tester is a must. But make sure you can access the Fuseboard/Trip Switch before you hit the button ❗
If you locate a supply problem simply inform the customer AND above all, note your findings on the repair docket ❗
Be safe
Martin
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