Posted By Andrew Shaw Hi, We are a shop-fit and office refurb company and thus far have tested our equipment on an all too ad-hoc basis. I have now bourght a good Megger PAT machine and have sent one of our guys on the City and Guilds PAT course - which he has passed. However, it seems that Testing is far less straightforward than most would have you believe. Today I chose 3 items to start things off; a kettle, a desk top fan and my own laptop and not one was straightforward. I had to dismantle the fan to get to an earthed metal part. The kettle was modern and plastic, with the only earthed metal part being the element which it was not possible to clip on to. And, I'm supposed to be clipping the earth Continuity lead to an exposed metal part of my laptop - ???? Anyway, what I'm looking for is a source of sound practical advice on how to deal with these, I'm assuming common, issues when you're not an electrician. I've trawled the web and drawn a blank so far. Any help gratefully received Andy

Posted By Andrew Shaw Hi Safe, We did consider getting someone in but due to the nature of our work it would be a nightmare getting all our tools in one place at one time. We felt that if we had control it would be better. Plus, from the little I now know I struggle to believe that that many items can be tested properly in one day. But hey - I could be wrong. Andy

Posted By Ian Gardner Andrew, Sound like you've come across some of the not-so-straightforward-to-test appliances that are about these days. The desk fan: yes, many you have to take the blade guard and blades off to clip to the motor shaft. Annoying. The kettle: why could you not clip to the element? Was it one of those flat plate ones? Otherwise, there's no reason not to clip on for the earth bond & insulation tests, and un-clip for any tests that would cause the element to begin heating. The laptop: You should really only be performing electrical tests on the laptop PSU, not the laptop itself. Your team should already have access to the IEE Code of Practice, seeing as one of your colleagues has passed C&G 2377, so that's a start. Another good guide is 'Portable Appliance Testing' by Brian Scadden. Downloadable version here: http://www.download-it.o...ntent=story&storyID=1350 but available to buy from many bookshops.

Posted By Ron Hunter Ian: that tempting web link is broken?

Posted By Ian Gardner In relation to the 'live working' question: There are 2 types of Class I earth bond test. The 'hard test' is a high current test (test current should be not less than 1.5 x fuse rating, upto a max of 26A). Many PAT machines offer currents such as 4A, 8A, 10A and 25A for this. The test should only be performed on items such as kettles, toasters, heaters, tools etc. ie. non-delicate appliances that can handle the current. The 'soft test' has a test current in the range 20mA - 200mA, and is designed for IT equipment and other appliances that contain delicate electronics. The IEE Code of Practice (3rd edition) goes into more detail on these tests (section 15.4, pages 73 - 74) I would hope that a competent PAT tester would be using the 'soft test' for the majority of Class I appliances found in an office environment. Additionally, the PAT tester should create a safe exclusion zone around any appliances they are testing, so no-one, including themselves, should be touching the appliance while tests are performed.

Posted By Crim I hope you don't think I'm being smart here but your recently trained person can surely go back to the trainer for further advice on this subject. If he was trained to use the item of equipment he must know exactly how to test?