Small shop need homemade table lamps PAT tested

[gphoneone]

Hi, can anyone help me. I have a small shop in London E2 and need a qualified electrician to PAT test some table lamps for me. Anyone know how I can find such an electrician

 

[footprints]

Speak to a local letting agent they will have a contact that will do small numbers.



Pretty sure he/she will be happy to pop into a shop when they have time rather than having to arrange access to a tenanted property.

 

[Taylortwocities]

http://bit.ly/1cCH9Vb is always a good place to start.


Narrow the criteria to Chiswick, or wherever.

 

[flameport]

Whoever you get, make sure they are aware that these are newly manufactured items, as the tests are different from those used for in-service equipment.

Plenty of 'pat testing' equipment can't do the required tests for newly manufactured items either.
If the person arrives with a battery powered tester, it is the wrong one.

 

[Johnmelad]

Are lamps for use in shop or for sale?

 

[ericmark]

Class I is not a problem but class II is, simply as they will not have been type tested, so will not have the class II stickers on them. Down to electrician doing the test of course, but he is giving a professional opinion, rather than doing work, so will need professional indemnity insurance, not simple public liability insurance. It is the insurance which is the problem, often shops can't sell home made products because their insurance will not cover, and the PAT testing is basically a way of swapping who's insurance covers, should anything go wrong.

 

[stillp]

Class I is not a problem but class II is, simply as they will not have been type tested, so will not have the class II stickers on them.

Class I items will need to be tested for earth continuity at whatever the BS EN standard for table lamps requires, usually 25A.
Don't forget these items also need to be declared in conformity with the Low Voltage Directive and the EMC Directive.

 

[ericmark]

Class I is not a problem but class II is, simply as they will not have been type tested, so will not have the class II stickers on them.

Class I items will need to be tested for earth continuity at whatever the BS EN standard for table lamps requires, usually 25A.
Don't forget these items also need to be declared in conformity with the Low Voltage Directive and the EMC Directive.

It's a table lamp. Can you really see an EMC problem? Take an example a wine bottle in wicker basket with an adaptor on top to take a bulb holder which already has a class II sticker on it with twin flex hidden behind the basket work then really not a problem. However using a copper or steel as the stand then completely different. I have had metal adjustable lamps cheap imports which have no class II sticker so I have failed. Not home made but no declared conformity.

Personally if I was asked to PAT test just these items I would decline the work. If they was part of a larger job then I would inspect and if passed inspection then test. I have found items like this in an office and have just told the guy to take them home just not worth the hassle.

I have a metal class II florescent lamp above my computer now with the twin flex going through the square metal sections of the lamp. I would only pass this with a class II sticker I would not pass it without.

The big problem with PAT tests is where items are assembled together one I found was a mag mount drill. The drill was class II but the mag mount was class I the guy before me had put the whole item down as class II clearly because there was a class II sticker on it but it only referred to the drill.

The same problem exists with lamps often a lamp holder with have a class II sticker on it but this refers to holder not complete lamp. One has to be very careful to identify replacement parts which may have stickers on them which do not refer to complete item.

This is why I feel that items not previously tested and on the equipment register should be tested by an electrician. Items which have been tested before and the electrician has identified the tests required can be re-tested by semi-skilled personal but there are always specials.

Class I fans were my problem as often the only place you could find which was earthed was the spindle and 25A could pit the bearing and cause it to fail so I tested as IT equipment. Likely a semi-skilled would not realise the problem and would damage the bearing.

 

[stillp]

It's a table lamp. Can you really see an EMC problem?

No I can't, unless of course it includes an electronic circuit such as a dimmer or LED driver. That's not the point though - it falls within the scope of the Directive, so it must be declared as being in conformity with the Directive.

 

[ericmark]

It's a table lamp. Can you really see an EMC problem?

No I can't, unless of course it includes an electronic circuit such as a dimmer or LED driver. That's not the point though - it falls within the scope of the Directive, so it must be declared as being in conformity with the Directive.

Are you saying to PAT test we must test the rejection and emissions of the item under test? To my mind that's beyond the remit of PAT testing.

 

[stillp]

No Eric, but this is not a PAT test we're discussing, it's a type test. In fact if there are no electronic devices in the lamp, it's not even a type test for EMC, but the directive applies and therefore the person placing the lamps on the market must make the declaration.

 

[JohnW2]

... but the directive applies and therefore the person placing the lamps on the market must make the declaration.

As has already been asked:

Are lamps for use in shop or for sale?

Kind Regards, John

 

[stillp]

John (both of you) it does not matter if the lamps are for sale or not, using them in the shop is still considered "placing on the market". You might not think that logical, but it's what the law says.

 

[JohnW2]

John (both of you) it does not matter if the lamps are for sale or not, using them in the shop is still considered "placing on the market". You might not think that logical, but it's what the law says.

I see

Is that just because it's a shop, or does everything I've constructed for use in my home count as "having been placed on the market" and therefore should be declared as being in conformity with the LV and EMC Directives (and undoubtedly other things, too!)??

Kind Regards, John

 

[ericmark]

So if you build a house and fit a lamp holder to the ceiling the house needs testing for EMC as it is the lamp holder? I don't think so!