PAT Testing

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TVC

Guest
I had an internal light on a vacuum chamber that would occasionally trip the breaker in the main box. I took the light assembly apart looking for bad connections that were causing earth leakage but nothing. The problem persisted so eventually I opened the plug to find that the blue and green wires had been put on the wrong pins so that of course the metal body of the chamber had been connected to neutral. I raised the issue with the quality manager, and showed him the PAT label on the plug cover that he had initialed. Never mind.
 

lutonloony

Über Member
Location
torbay
Decided to do our own in house PAT. equipment came with a link to online training and test. Only problem was my PC at work has no speakers. Fortunately I have a pretty good understanding of the elastic trickery malarkey
 

Electric_Andy

Heavy Metal Fan
Location
Plymouth
That's not dangerous though is it? Just looks chipped to me. If it was near a kettle, cooker or window then I would not have passed it, but if there's no moisture likely to be about then it's ok?
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Not dangerous? plug it into the mains, stand in a bath of salty water, and chisel at that with a metal handled screwdriver and you'd fry. That's a deathtrap.
 

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
That’s a good reason not to pay the bill for the whole operation. If they passed that, then what confidence can you have in anything else?

(PAT testing, of course, is pretty much a scam these days...a box-ticking exercise rather than a genuine attempt to raise standards)


always was a scam. have a read of the EAWR1989 and then the ACOP from the IET , and then the guidance from HSE .

have saved the scout troop my boy goes to £1k this year by providing correct proper advice on what needs testing inspecting and when , but most importantly by WHO
 

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
That's not dangerous though is it? Just looks chipped to me. If it was near a kettle, cooker or window then I would not have passed it, but if there's no moisture likely to be about then it's ok?


what is that IP rating on the top of it ? IP3X ? IP4X ?


whats the BS (BS1363 ) for a plugtop say it should be ?

http://www.bs1363.org.uk/ is pretty good for highlighting what is acceptable and what is not
 

Diggs

Veteran
Of course none of this means anything if you put my old grandfather on it who was running most of his kitchen appliances for the last few years of his life* via one socket and a variety of extension cubes plugged into one another like some sort of life threatening tetris...

*No it wasn't that! Even though ever other device in the house had cord repaired with electical tape, he passed away peacefully in his sleep in his ninties
 

Electric_Andy

Heavy Metal Fan
Location
Plymouth
what is that IP rating on the top of it ? IP3X ? IP4X ?


whats the BS (BS1363 ) for a plugtop say it should be ?

http://www.bs1363.org.uk/ is pretty good for highlighting what is acceptable and what is not
Sorry that sounded like I was an electrician. I'm not! Hard to see around the sides and bottom, but I guess if that little crack is wide enough to be an actual hole then that does look unfit for use.
 

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
Sorry that sounded like I was an electrician. I'm not! Hard to see around the sides and bottom, but I guess if that little crack is wide enough to be an actual hole then that does look unfit for use.


if the edges were damaged but there was no hole then it would be a "pass" with notes on the schedule recomending replacement. the problem there is there is a hole a 1mm diameter wire could enter , so a definite Fail . in reality quarantined , phone call made and plug top changed then retested.

when you see people doing PAT for less than a pound an item then you have to think carefully about diigence.
 
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