PAT by X-Ray connection?

I was in an office some years ago when the "PAT" team were there. Usual situations for an IT office - lots of daisy chained 4-way extension leads feeding PCs/monitors etc on desks (so potentially quite high protective conductor currents). I was curious that they seemed to be able to test each extension lead by just disconnecting it from supply & loads and then plugging it into a little tester. That's interesting said I - how do you check the earth continuity from just one end? Bloke said the test box does it - and shows me his smart little tester and pokes a few buttons to list the tests on it's little screen.  As far as I could tell it was just doing an IR test, but not a polarity nor earth continuity. So the box bleeped OK, and they stuck a green sticker on it.


I did raise it with the office management, but their attitude was basically 'we don't understand they technicalities, they're the professionals, so we have to leave it to them' i.e. they've got their bit of paper, box ticked, so think they're discharged their responsibility.


If I'm ever in the situation of knowing in advance that PAT like that is going to happen, I'll have specially 'modified' extension lead to hand and see if they spot the faults. If (when) not, I'll have something concrete to berate management with.


   - Andy,

The purpose of the PAT isn't to find faults.  It's to give you a bit of paper to say that everything has been tested and passed.


Suppose someone offered car MOTs where you gave them £10 and the registration number of your vehicle, and they posted you back a "passed" certificate.  How many people would go for that, rather than actually taking their car to an MOT station to be tested?

I'm not that sure that as Landlord, my wife is required to have a PAT done on those appliances.

An electric kettle * I can understand, but I cannot see how something like a dishwasher (or if it were included, a washing machine) can be tested unless it is taken through all programs to the ding.


*  https://www2.theiet.org/forums/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=205&threadid=13294&highlight_key=y&keyword1=chapel%20kettle


Clive

I am very cynical about most PAT testing.

I used to do it at work and felt that I did a reasonable job, but then it was subcontracted for cheapness.

They failed to detect ANY of the little tests that I left for them.


1) 13 amp extension lead made with twin flex, passed.

2)  13 amp extension lead with 0.5mm flex and 13 amp fuse, passed.

3)  Desk fan with exposed fan blades and no fuse in plug, passed.

4)  100m extension lead without an RCD, passed.


As a bonus they "tested" and passed a Tilley lamp ! I wonder what they tested ?

PAT is the little brother to the drive by EICR

Just a note. It takes at least 6 - 10 mins to find, log, inspect, test, replace, note the results to print later and that usually requires two operatives.

Most sensible electricians charge by the hour and not by the item.

Legh

A friend ran the electrical courses for a large training company, including PAT. The company outsourced the PAT to an external company. All the faulty training appliances passed despite having red "do not use" labels on them. The PAT company got to do the job again, properly.

Suppose someone offered car MOTs where you gave them £10 and the registration number of your vehicle, and they posted you back a "passed" certificate.  How many people would go for that, rather than actually taking their car to an MOT station to be tested?


Well far too many years ago, when I lived in Essex, there was a garage on the A12 on the way into Romford that more or less did that not far from the Gallow's corner roundabout.  £20 if I recall, but the same idea. This was very well known, and had a thriving  trade with those of us with older vehicles and no particular trust in the authority of the state. Think poll tax protests and the amazing shrinking voters register, that sort of era. 

And "Bangernomics" is a funny discipline - put it in for an MOT every six months and sell on after the 1st fail, with 6 months still to go.... I have mellowed in my politics a bit since then and when I last looked a good few years ago, that garage  had become a bathroom sales place, I presume at some point the long arm of the law (and maybe computer aided record checks) had finally caught up with it.

Do not underestimate the value of a service that defeats a law seen as unnecessary. PAT may well be in similar category of not really worth it.

Mike.

I pay about 80p per appliance for a PAT


thinking about it now, I cant remember seeing them using the earth lead, so maybe it is just a plug and ping test now. 


at that price, you really need to be doing a test a minute to turn a profit, but they never seem too hurried. 


I always get a few fails, genuine ones but what annoyed me once, a tester took it upon himself to check some metal clad fused spurs, one of which had a 13a fuse protecting some metal halide lighting, the load was something like 4.9a so he fitted a 5a fuse, because it wasn't safe with a 13a fuse


Following morning, the spur had melted and caught on fire. It was wired in 6mm cable 


I no longer employ his services and only buy MK accessories



half the appliances need testing far less regularly than 12 months, but that has become the defacto standard, you would like to think it identifies the really dangerous faults...