What is PAT Testing?
PAT Testing stands for portable appliance testing and it is the method you use to check whether a portable electrical appliance is safe to use. The expression ‘PAT Testing’ covers everything from the visual inspection of the appliance to the specific electrical test carried out by the PB500 machine.
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Why PAT Test?
The Health and Safety Executive ask that you ensure that portable electrical appliances are inspected regularly to ensure that they are safe to use. Many insurance Company’s request that at least the Heath & Safety Executives guidelines are followed, and in some cases they may specify the need to check appliances as a direct requirement of the policy. Ultimately, you PAT Test to ensure that the electrical appliances that you, your employees, visitors, guests or residents may be using are safe!
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What are the Health and Safety requirements for PAT Testing ?
Health & Safety regulations require that you check your portable electrical appliances on a regular basis and maintain them to ensure they are safe to use by anybody on your premises.
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What are the insurance requirements for PAT Testing?
The Health and Safety Executive request that you inspect electrical appliances regularly. Some insurers state that electrical appliances must be ‘checked’ periodically. Or that appliance must be checked to be in good repair. In the case of a claim you may need to prove that you have had a program of maintaining appliances and carrying out appropriate checks. Such requirements can make up any part of building, contents or public liability insurance cover. Make sure you check your policy.
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Who can carry out PAT Tests?
Any competent person can carry out PAT Testing.
This means you need to understand what you have to do and why you need to do it. It is for this reason that The PB500 Easy PAT Tester Kit comes with an instructional DVD, which takes you through all the steps required
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What is the ‘Class’ of the appliance?
A term used to identify the difference between appliances which are earthed and which are not earthed.
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What is a Class I appliance?
A Class I appliance is an appliance that has an earth circuit built in and will therefore have an earth wire in the plug.
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What is a Class II appliance?
A Class II appliance has no earth circuit and therefore has no earth wire in the plug.
Some will show the double insulated symbol.
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What is a Class III appliance?
A Class III appliance operates at less than 50v and therefore does not need to be PAT Tested. However. The lead used to charge many low voltage electrical items (like mobile phones or laptop computers) is usually a Class II appliance and should be tested as such.
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How do I make a visual inspection?
Before you begin to carry out your PAT Testing it is vital that you carry out a thorough visual inspection. You should check for the following:
- There are no cracks, loose parts or screws.
- There is sign of damage to the outer casing, burn marks or stains.
- Cables are not damaged, crushed or grazed in any way.
- Check the plug to ensure there are no cracks in the casing and that the pins are not bent or damaged in any way.
- Check that wires are attached to the correct terminals and that no bare wires are visible other than at the terminals.
- Terminal screws must be tight.
- Check that the correct fuse is inserted.
- Check that the cable clamp is securely fitted over the outer insulation cable
It is good practice to put a fuse label on the plug detailing the correct fuse value that should be inserted.
Carrying out the visual inspection is covered in detail on the instruction DVD supplied with the PB500 Easy PAT Tester. You can view an edited version of the DVD on this website.
You can also use the visual inspection flow chart to walk you through the process step by step
If you have any questions relating to carrying out a visual inspection you can call out technical team on 01392 364933
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What are the correct fuse ratings?
Appliances with voltage up to 700 watts = 3amp fuse
Appliances with voltage over 700 watts = 13amp fuse
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How do I PAT Test a Class I Electrical Appliance?
Before you can perform the test you need to locate an external earth point on the appliance to use when carrying out the PAT Test.
Finding an earth point:
Supplied with your PB500 is a quick earth finder.
Firstly check that it is working correctly. Press the square red button - nothing should happen. Now attach the small crocodile clip to the probe and press the button again. You should get a bleep and the light should come on. The quick earth finder is working correctly.
To find the earth point on the appliance, attach the small crocodile clip on to the earth pin of the appliances plug.
Then look for the earth point, Start by working your way around the outside of the appliance putting the probe on any metal parts. When it beeps you have an earth point of contact. In the case of a kettle it may be inside the kettle on the metal element or on the floor of the kettle.
It may take perseverance to find the earth point on some appliances such as a computer, because not all metal parts are earthed. Touch any metal part or screws with the probe until you find the earth point.
Under no circumstances take the appliance apart to locate the earth point.
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The Class I PAT Test
Plug the earth test lead into the round 4mm socket on the end panel of the PB500 Easy PAT Tester.
Plug the appliance into the mains socket on the front panel of the PB500 PAT Tester.
Connect the earth test probe or crocodile clip to the earth point you have located on the outside of the appliance.
If the appliance has an ON/OFF switch, make sure it is in the ON position.
Press the Class I PAT Test Button on the PB500.
The PB500 PAT Tester will now test the continuity of the protective earth. If the measured value is outside of the acceptable limits a cross is placed next to the earth continuity and a FAIL is shown, and the test is stopped.
If the measured value is within acceptable limits a tick is placed next to the earth continuity and PASS is illuminated.
The PB500 PAT Tester will now continue with the insulation test. If the power switch is not in the ON position the PB500 PAT Tester will ask you to check connections – once the power switch is in the ON position the test will automatically proceed.
If the insulation resistance does not meet acceptable parameters a cross is placed next to Insulation and FAIL is illuminated.
If the insulation resistance is within acceptable limits a tick is placed next to insulation and PASS is illuminated.
When this appliance has passed both the earth continuity and the insulation checks it is ready to be labelled and put back in to use
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How do I PAT Test a Class II Electrical Appliance?
Once the appliance has passed the visual inspection you are ready to proceed to the electrical PAT Test.
Plug the appliance into the mains socket on the front panel of the PB500 Pat Tester.
If the appliance under test has an ON/OFF switch, make sure it is in the ON position.
Press the Class II PAT Test button
If the power switch is not in the on position the PB500 Easy PAT Tester will ask you to check connections.
Switch the appliance ON and the test will automatically proceed. Do not press the test key again
If the insulation resistance is not within acceptable limits a cross will appear against insulation and FAIL is illuminated.
If the insulation resistance is within acceptable limits a tick will appear against Insulation and the PASS is illuminated.
When the appliance has passed the Insulation check, it is ready to be labelled and put back into use.
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How do I PAT Test an IEC Lead?
Once the IEC lead has passed the visual inspection, you can proceed with the electrical PAT Test.
Plug the IEC Lead under test into the IEC socket on the end panel of the PB500 PAT Tester and the plug end into the socket on the front of the PB500 Pat Tester.
Press the ‘cords test’ Button.
The PB500 PAT Tester will now test the continuity of the protective earth.
If the measured value is outside the acceptable limits a cross is placed next to the Earth Cont. and FAIL is illuminated. The test sequence will be stopped.
If the measured value is within acceptable limits a tick is placed next to the Earth Cont. and the PB500 PAT Tester will proceed with the insulation test.
If the insulation resistance is lower than the acceptable limit a cross is placed against insulation and the test sequence is stopped.
If the insulation resistance is greater than the acceptable limit the a tick is placed against insulation.
The PB500 PAT Tester will now proceed with the wiring test, checking the live and neutral conductors for short or open circuits or reversed connections.
The IEC Lead should now be labelled.
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How do I PAT Test an extension Lead?
First, carry out a visual inspection of the extension lead.
Plug the supplied 0.5m yellow IEC Lead into the IEC socket on the PB500 PAT Tester and the IEC plug into the mains outlet socket on the Extension Lead. Plug the mains plug of the extension lead into the mains socket on the front panel of the PB500 PAT Tester. Press the cords test key.
Note. Remember to PAT Test your IEC lead regularly.
The PB500 PAT Tester will now test the continuity of the protective earth.
If the measured value is outside of the acceptable limits a cross is placed against Earth Cont. The test sequence will stop. The appliance should be updated and labelled as failed and taken out of service and repaired or replaced.
If the Lead passes the Earth Test, put a tick against Earth test on your records. The insulation test will continue automatically.
If the insulation resistance value is lower than acceptable limits a cross will be placed against insulation. The test sequence will stop. The appliance should be labelled as failed and taken out of service and repaired or replaced.
If the insulation resistance is at acceptable measured values, a tick will appear
The PB500 PAT Tester will now continue with the wiring test checking the Live and Neutral conductors for short or open circuits or reversed connections.
If the Lead fails a cross will be placed next to the Cord. The appliance should be labelled as such and taken out of service to be repaired or replaced.
If the Lead passes the test a tick will be illuminated and you can continue the sequence for the remaining sockets on the Lead. All sockets must be checked!
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What if my Extension Lead has surge protection or is longer than 10m?
We recommend that you carry out a thorough visual inspection of the lead. Then you the quick earth finder to ensure that the earth wiring is working effectively. You can do this using your Quick Earth Finder, which is supplied with your PB500 Easy PAT Tester Kit. Clip the crocodile clip onto the earth pin of the ply. Then hold the probe against the metal part of the earth socket
The Quick Earth Finder should bleep and light up. This will confirm that the earth circuit is working. Repeat this with every socket on the lead.
If your extension lead has an RCD circuit breaker, surge or spike protection you will not be able to carry out the insulation test on the PB500. This is because the PB500 PAT Tester will put through more than 240v, which means that the lead will fail the test if the surge, spike or RCD circuit breaker protection is working. It is useful to perform the test to check that it is working.
Leads greater than 10 metres in length cannot be tested on the PB500 PAT Tester. The visual inspection and earth test is sufficient and deemed to be acceptable.
This test should be a sufficient safety check of the appliance.
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What should I do if an appliance fails a PAT Test?
If an appliance fails a test it must be taken out of service. It must be labelled clearly as failed. Your records should also be updated.
The person responsible for electrical equipment then needs to decide whether they want to replace the item or have a qualified electrician repair it.
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Do I need to label the equipment after I have PAT Tested it?
It is good practice to label the equipment after every test. This will show the Health and Safety inspector, or any insurer or Loss Adjuster when the appliance is due for its next test. It also shows users of the appliance that it is deemed safe to use. However, employees and users of the electrical equipment are also responsible for visually inspecting the appliance before use for signs of wear and tear. They are also responsible for reporting any accidental damage to appliances.
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Where should I stick the PASS / FAIL label?
The label should be applied to the plug top. If the appliance has a detachable power cord a label must also be stuck on the appliance itself. Both labels must carry the same information.
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Do I need to keep a separate record of the PAT Tests I have carried out?
It makes sense to keep separate records of the maintenance checks. It allows you to keep a record of work carried out, and helps you to organise your workflow. It also allows the Health and Safety Inspector and insurer to see what appliances you have and how often they are checked.
It also allows you to indicate what happens to your appliances. Some may pass through or be sold on. This can be indicated in your records.
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How often do I need to carry out PAT Testing?
Checks should be carried out approximately once a year. There are exceptions. Appliances which are plugged and unplugged regularly, e.g. vacuum cleaners and extension leads should be checked approximately every six months, while more static items need only be checked annually. It makes sense to come up with a schedule of checking that suits your needs.
Please note that appliances and tools used on building sites have a more rigorous checking schedule, usually involving a weekly visual inspection by the user, and monthly visual inspection by the tester and a PAT Test every three months.
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What PAT Tester extras might I need?
Depending on the type of business you run, you may require additional items. Usually only where you are working with a different power supply or plug type. If you think you may need some kind of adaptor give us a call, and we will tell you the best way we know of carrying out the test. Usually there are ways of carrying out the checks but in some cases you may need to purchase an additional adaptor.
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What needs to be PAT Tested?
Methodist Homes for the Aged