What Do You Have To Do About Testing Your Electrical Equipment?

Portable Appliance Testing (Pat testing) is an prominent part of an club or individual's duty to condition and safety. This is done by means of a number of specialized testing tasks on your transportable appliances.

Hand Held Credit Card Machine

Many individuals ask if transportable Appliance Testing is a legal obligation?

The rejoinder is a negative, although, it is a statutory promulgation and a lot of assurance brokers wish the insured to meet the terms of all up to date regulations. This includes the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, which state that "As may be considerable to forestall danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, such danger" (Regulation 4(2)). "Electrical tool includes anything used, intended to be used or installed for use, to generate, provide, transmit, transform, rectify, convert, conduct, distribute, control, store, measure or use electrical energy." (Regulation 2(1)).

Employer accountability is also stated by The Provision and Use of Work tool Regulations 1998. This says that "Every employer shall ensure that work tool is so constructed or adapted as to be convenient for the purpose for which it is used or provided." (Regulation 4(1)). This includes all work tool (fixed, transportable or transportable) related to a source of electrical energy."

What does Pat testing involve? You might ask. A lot of Pat testing businesses will begin with a optic examination seeing for:

· Damaged flexes

· Damaged plugs and gear (overheating, scorch marks, discoloration)

· Correctly wired plugs

· Correctly rated fuse

Then a series of tests (which is reliant on the type of gear), they might contain:

· Earth continuity testing

· Insulation resistance

· Polarity test

· Earth leakage test

The gear tested by a Pat testing business are simply, any sort of gear, which is supplied by electrical energy.

The Iet Code of custom for In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical tool says that this Code of custom includes:

Portable Appliances:

An appliance of under 18 kg in weight that is intended to be moved while in use or an appliance which can simply be moved from one place to another, e.g. Kettle, food processor, vacuum cleaner, fan heater.

Movable tool (sometimes termed Transportable):

This is gear, which is either: 18 kg or less in weight and not fixed, e.g. Electric fire, or gear with wheels, castors or other things to assist movement by the operator as considerable to achieve its intended use, e.g. An air conditioning unit.

Hand-held Gear:

This is absolutely moved piece of gear intended to be held in the hand while lowly use, e.g. Paint stripper, grinder, engraver

Stationary tool or Appliances:

This gear has a mass greater than 18 kg and does not have a carrying handle, e.g. Refrigerator, washing machine.

Fixed Equipment/Appliances:

This is gear of an appliance, which is fastened to a support or otherwise fixed in a specified location, e.g. Bathroom heater, towel rail, domestic air conditioning.

Appliances/Equipment for fixing in:

This gear is intended to be fixed in a ready made recess such as a cupboard or similar. In general, gear for fixing in does not have an enclosure on all sides because on one or more of the sides, extra safety against Electric shock is in case,granted by the surroundings e.g. A built-in Electric cooker.

Information Technology tool (Business Equipment):

It gear includes electrical business gear such as Pc and mains supplied phone gear, and other gear for general business use, such as mail processing machines, Electric plotters, trimmers, Vdus, data terminal equipment, typewriters, telephones, printers, photo-copiers, power packs.

Extension Leads:

The use of extension leads should be avoided where possible]. If used, they should be tested as transportable appliances. It is recommended that 3-core cables (including a protective earthing conductor) be used.

A acceptable 13 A 3-pin extension socket-outlet with a 2-core wire should not be used even if the gear to be used is Class Ii, as it would not contribute safety against electrical shock if used at any occasion with an item of Class I gear.

The distance of an extension cable for general use should not go beyond the following:

- Core Area Longest Length

- 1.25mm2 12 meters

- 1.5mm2 15 meters

- 2.5mm2 25 meters

- 2.5mm2 leads are too big for acceptable 13 A plugs, but they might be used in conjunction with Bs En 60309 industrial plugs.

These maximum lengths are not relevant to the lead of an appliance, for instructions refer to paragraph 15.13 (Iee Code of custom for In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment).

If extension cable lengths do exceed the above, they shall be protected by a 30 mA Rcd man-made to Bs 7071.

What Do You Have To Do About Testing Your Electrical Equipment?
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