I've been offered one at a very good price, but details of the model are no where to be found online, so full specs are unknown. It just gives pass or fail indications. Are there PAT testers out there that dont do the 2 essent ial tests at the voltage/current levels now required?
NT
Can it do separate high ohms (insulation) and low ohms (continuity) tests? If not, then dont bother, as you really don't want to do an insulation test on electronic equipment without joining L+N first.
Surely that could be done by a home made adaptor though. Brian
How would you get that checked for correct operation and calibration?
Low ohms test should be done at a minimum of 200mA, which is way higher than a bog standard multi-meter will do.
If you want to test lots of devices quickly with less time fiddling around, then the low ohms test needs to be done at many amps (I forget how many, but ISTR it's in the 10A - 25A range).
High ohms check is done at 500VDC, again way higher than a multi-meter.
I suspect there are testers out there which don't do this.
With testers, assuming it meets a minimum specification, it's a trade-off between cost of tester, and time you then spend testing each appliance. The top end ones also do all the record keeping for you (reading a barcode, and noting the changes since last test, and flagging up a deteriorating appliance, even if it's still within spec).
No tester does the visual inspection, and that's by far the most important part of the procedure, and you don't put an appliance anywhere near a tester until it's passed the visual inspection stage.
I think Brian was writing about a device to short live and neutral. What sort of calibration does that need?
to miss quote Michael Caine - "not many people seem to know that."
do you know which the min test current is?
Sure... but at too high a price at this time. We can look at those later.
NT
nowhere to be found online, so full specs are unknown. It just gives pass o r fail indications. Are there PAT testers out there that dont do the 2 esse ntial tests at the voltage/current levels now required?
Bought it. If its not suitable it can be sold at a profit. Will wait & see what test v & i it applies. Thanks for the feedback!
NT
I think it was 200mA when I did my C&G exam 15+ years ago. With 200mA test current, you have to work your way along the whole mains cable, bending every bit of it, so you will spot a broken earth conductor even if the broken ends are normally touching. If you use the high current test, you don't have to do this - the expectation is the high current will burn out a dubious connection and cause a test failure.
Note that this is just a recommended procedure - there are no absolute rules. You can invent your own procedure, providing you are willing and able to stand up in court and defend it in front of the HSE. If you stick to the IET Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing, they have already ratified that, so you won't have to defend the procedure in court (just your observance of it). I think it's currently at 4th edition (my copy is an earlier one).
You should also take the C&G 2377 pair of exams. They are usually taken on two consecutive evenings after spending the daytime training, so it's two days. One of these is accepted as providing evidence of compitency to carry out the testing, and the other one covers the legal requirements for testing and record keeping. They're always taken together, and there's some overlap. You do not need to be an electrician to do these - you need to understand how to wire a plug, and to understand ohms law and the concepts of high and low impedance.
Also worth adding that you mustn't carry out this test on some IT equipment, in which case you need a tester which can measure earth leakage current instead.
I cant think of any modern IT kit that would object. What would?
Thanks
NT
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