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Not white goods territory but something I’ve been puzzling over for a while.
The band I’m in are required to have equipment PAT tested to work with some of the agencies. What exactly does in entail, can I do it myself without a PAT tester. They obviously megger ok and earth tests are fine, but what else can you do on the PAT test or is it just a case of regularly keeping testing records.
TC
Re: Pat testing
Hi TC
You would need to be qualified to do so. A technical college evening course in PAT testing; is the most viable for us, so as not to be off the road losing money.
Have a look here http://www.pat-training.co.uk/pat_testing_courses.htm
GregRe: Pat testing
Cheers Gegsy,
Looking around ebay this aft I’ve ordered a dvd withg ‘the latest’ pat course on it. Saying that the courses aren’t that expensive.TC
Re: Pat testing
Pretty sure you dont need to be ‘qualified’ to do pat testing, after all we do it dont we?
You would need a PAT tester though as the earth bond needs to tested at 25 amps to check that maybe only one strand of earth wire is not forming your earth which should of course ‘blow’ like a fuse under high test currents. Did a Robin day course many years ago, not sure if they still offer this or not.Re: Pat testing
eastlmark wrote:Pretty sure you dont need to be ‘qualified’ to do pat testing, after all we do it dont we?
I think you are correct there Mark but in IMO I still think you should be made to attend the course and pass it as it does give a sound base for the test involvement.
Who should carry out the Inspection and Testing?
The Electricity at Work regulations states that:
“No person shall be engaged in any work activity where technical knowledge or experience is necessary to prevent danger, or where appropriate, injury, unless he possesses such knowledge or experience, or is under such degree of supervision as may be appropriate having regard to the nature of the work”
The IEE Code of Practice states, those carrying out the inspection and testing must be competent to undertake the inspection and, where appropriate, testing of electrical equipment and appliances having due regard of their own safety and that of others. What should be considered is that the ‘danger’ to be prevented, includes not just the dangers which may arise during the testing procedure to the tester and others, but also the dangers which may arise at a later date as a result of using equipment which has not been effectively tested.
The tester must have an understanding of the modes of electrical, mechanical or thermal damage to electrical equipment and appliances and their flexes which may be encountered in any environment.
Training must include the identification of equipment and appliance types to determine the test procedures and frequency of inspection and testing. Persons testing must be familiar with the test instruments used and in particular their limitations and restrictions so as to achieve repeatable results without damaging the equipment or the appliance
Regards
GregRe: Pat testing
Ebay item 7623767286 that I’ve ordered seems to be the full course in powerpoint plus the robin course as well.
Look forward to seeing if it’s as good as it says.TC
Re: Pat testing
we are qualified pat testers. however it is my understanding that you simply need to be competent in the use of the equiptment. a “rip-off” one day course will be sufficient for your own equiptment.
basically you perform three tests:1. visual. if it looks dodgy it is dodgy and fail it there. this means that all covers cases and cable sheathing must be intact. you are not allowed to wrap tape around cables to repair them.
the plug must be in good nick preferably with sheathed pins. the fuse must be appropriate. less than 700w = 3amp (fridges excepted).
over 700w 13amp. ( 5amp fuses are being phased out).
2.earth bond. although this is tested through the plug and cable, the required value of less than 0.1ohm relates to the appliance. if you have a border line fail then you calculate the resistence of the supply cable and subtract it from the reading. if the answer is less that 0.1 ohm it’s a pass.note if cable is detacable like an iec lead then it must be tested as an individual appliance with it’s own identity.
you do NOT test sensitive electronic gear with a 25amp current. our tester uses 100milliamps. otherwise you could fry a computer or mixer or electronic light controller etc.3. insulation this tests the performance of the insulation around the live conducting parts.
optionally our tester then performs a function test to see the thing working.
also remember that items like plug in adapters need to be tested as they are a potential break in the earth path.
within all of this there are varying different test values depending on the class of equiptment and whether it’s hand held or portable or stationary(over 18 kilograms)
the most important part is the keeping of records which clearly identifies each asset and it’s results. just a sticker is not good enough.
having said all that count up how many items you’ve got and multiply it by about £2.25 which is a reasonable rate for testing. it’s much easier to let a good tester do it for you. it’s 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} tax allowable.
we’ve just tested over 500 items for a theatre. you need to pay particulat attention to leads. and inspect both the hot and cold ends of extentions. this is where most “fail” items were found.
good luck
keith
Last I heard it was a pound a plug round here (mostly schools). Bunch of butchers tho, just chop the plug off anything that fails…
Re: Pat testing
I did the day-release course 3 years ago, mostly to refresh what I already knew and did. 1 day and 1 evening to get a recognised City & Guilds qualification? No problem! It opens up new avenues of work in schools, care homes, clubs, shops (especially hairdressers) and housing associations etc. as you can say “Yes, we do that” rather than farming the work out to an electrician. Most of the aforementioned need a yearly check to be legal anyway and the qualification allows you to provide an extra branch of your service in-house; whether repairing the faulty item or replacing it with new. And you get to keep your customer as YOUR customer. 😉
Can’t be bad!Steve.
Re: Pat testing
I did the course a few years ago, mainly to have the “piece” of paper saying that I am competent.
Bit of a laugh though, out of 12 people on the course only two of us were electricians. There were office workers, male and female, a handyman from a caravan park etc. etc. Most of the examiners day was spent giving basic electrical knowledge to these individuals. Two females told me they did not have a clue what was being said and hoped that their bosses didn’t make them do the testing!!!!
As for the guy who worked at the caravan park, I watched how he wired up a 13a plug top, totally unsafe, cat’s whiskers of wire everywhere sheath striped back from the cord grip.
At the end of the day I can honestly say only two people walked out of that room that would be competent, but ALL had that “piece” of paper.By the way, who qualifed a washing machine as a portable appliance? 😉
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