Pat testing questions.

[arctic]

Just borrowed a PAT tester from a mate and was going around the house last night checking various appliances and came up with a few questions I was hoping someone might be able to answer.

Its a Clare tester - A252

Do you need to test appliances on a fused spur? I know they aren't fixed but the guy I borrowed the machine off had sat a one day course where they advised that equip running of a fused spur should be tested.

And what about things like ovens? They seem to be high on the list of appliances that under fault burn houses down.

When I tested a class 1 appliance which had a metal housing that was varnished I was getting readings over the 0.1 on the earth bond resistance test. When I cut into the varnish with the teeth of the cable it went down to less than 0.1 so is that the way its is done?

Checking plugs, if the appliance doesn't have a rating panel how can you be sure it has the correct fuse? Can you clamp it to load test it on full power and work the fuse out from that.

Is a clamp the way load tests are done when pat testing?

Thanks in advance, just thought I'd give it a go and see if its worth possibly buying a pat tester and offering the service and these questions are what came up for me when running a few tests at home.

Kev

 

[kendor]

If fed from a spur is it portable? as in Portable Appliance Testing
Is there a requirement for domestic appliances to be PAT tested?

I'd answer No to both questions.

Varnish/paint cause resistance problems when testing and a suitable point should be found that you can scrape it off down to the metalwork in order to get a truer reading.

A good few PAT testers will have a load test function which will give you the KVA rating of the appliance.

If you are thinking of buying a PAT tester to make a living testing houses then don't bother you won't get your money back unless you can con people into having you test their appliances when it isn't necessary(at the moment). Businesses are a different matter and have obligations under the Electricity at Work Act. but you will find it a highly competitive area these days, there are loads of testers out there.