PAT

[tabbypurr]

no, it's a famous gameshow sound that happens when a contentant gives a wrong answer.

Seems I'm running late today.

NT

[John Rumm]

Sadly that does seem to be a common problem with many "trained" testers. Over reliance on the "I connect to tester, push button, it says ok, must be good" school of thought. Whereas in the case of something like an extension lead the proper visual inspection is worth as much or more than the electrical tests.

[bert]

If it is you'll not hear it very often.

[John Rumm]

Tis the modern world and "progress" for you... personal responsibility and common sense are no longer politically correct - partly driven by the increasing use of litigation as a first step in problem resolution.

If I were borrowing someone's extension lead, I would give it some inspection before using it to ensure my own safety. If I were lending a bit of kit out that belonged to some collective organisation, I would inspect it as well to ensure their safety.

[tabbypurr]

I've seen the results of that, speaker wire used as mains wire etc. More common are testers that have done a course but are still ignorant of a fair range of gotchas. Old equipment especially often requires more subject understanding than you'll get on any PAT course.

NT

[Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp]

The sheer joy of PAT is the fact that any fool can set up as a tester and indeed a lot do, they are paid peanuts for what they think is a simple no brain cell job.

I did the C&G course for the practical and it was delivered over a period of a few weeks.

The lecturer was plain wrong on a couple of points, so there were a few "interesting" discussions. No one but myself challenged any part of the course and indeed most of the "students" were council workmen who would have gret difficulty getting through the Sun.

Like yourself though, they all knew everything there was to know about the subject even before they did the course.

AB

[charles]

Of course, what's now just 'speaker wire' used to be 'mains wire'. Woolworths sold it as such.

[spuorgelgoog]

Along with those handy bayonet adapters ...

There's now more copper in 'speaker wire' than there is in 'mains wire' considering a lot of skinny leads on appliances.

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Really? I had to do a course. Didn't really tell me much I didn't already know.

I doubt there are many with the correct gear who aren't qualified.

[Max Demian]

Surely speaker wire doesn't have the same colour coding as mains wire. Usually just a black stripe down one side so you can get the phase right.

[tabbypurr]

It's been available in a wide range of colours over the century. But what's that got to do with it?

NT

[Bill Wright]

Your sarcasm fails because actually I do know everything necessary to check the safety of a mains extension lead. As do many people.

Unfortunately for technical pseudo-elitists it really isn't rocket science.

Bill

[whisky-dave]

But it is also true. most standard PAT tests might not check for the breakdown voltage and there are various other things that can be checked and in some cases need to be checked. Some of our equipemnt faile dthe earth test so I had to shorten the mains leads and make sure the earth leads was properly connected to the metal case of the PSU.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Are you saying you've never come across such a thing miss wired, Bill? In the days when people made up their own extension leads?

I've seen plugs where the brown went to earth. After all brown is closer to the colour of earth than green.

[Max Demian]

If it's not red/black or brown/blue, it's not mains cable.

[charles]

If it's pre-harmonisation german equipment - red is earth

[charles]

It isn't now - but it was then.

[tabbypurr]

I've got plenty of kit with mains cables not coloured blue/brown or red/black.

NT

[tabbypurr]

You're welcome to your opinion, but this time it's just wrong. Under different circumstances I'd test you by showing you a bunch of difficult appliances to test. Let's get some examples I've encountered that would catch many pat testers out:

1952 Hoover floor polisher 1937 McMichael radio Modern 6 way extension lead 1951 Hoover junior vacuum cleaner Modern LED lights Assorted wallwarts 1934 2 valve reaction set, home made Fan heater, 1960s or 70s Fan heater, 2017

In fact why not. Ask whatever PAT test relevant questions you need to about them, see if you can spot the issues.

NT

[Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp]

Really?

I would suggest that you are not fit to plug the dammned cable into a socket.

Sums up the approach fully does it not?

One should either do things correctly or not at all.

Being bothered 100% of the time is mandatory!

AB