Posted By Hilary Charlton Portable Appliance Testing does not apply to computers - only to the leads that carry the electricity. The frequency of inspection is entirely up to you but you should be looking realistically between 6 monthly and 3 yearly intervals dependant upon equipment and usage. A refrigerator for example will need to be checked every 3 years. A hand mixer in use daily may need to be checked every 6 months or even more frequently. Computer lead intervals of 1 year is pretty good but should be inspected before being plugged in. I know it sounds daft but at least this way it hits your register for a 1 year recall. Hilary

Posted By Jonny Hilary, I thought that portable appliance testing was used to establish the safety of the product under test. In the case of a computer, which is a class 2 product i.e no earth, then the high voltage electric strength test would test the integrity of the insulation within the appliance. I may of course be wrong in my understanding of PAT testing, and if so, please can you let me know which other mains powered electrical products would only need their cables testing, as it will save me alot of time and money if I can eliminate those products from my test schedule. Regards, Jonny.

Posted By Hilary Charlton Hi, I agree you would be best to check out HSE guidance on this one as I am not a "competent" person for electricity and PAT testing. I know what needs to be done but would have difficulty expressing it in the same simplistic terms as you could get it from the HSE Guidance. However, basic rule is, if it plugs in and it has the capacity for movement - test it! Hilary

Posted By Jane Blunt PAT testing is a global term - within it are several techniques, some of which apply to all equipment and some do not. You need a competent person to decide which tests should be done on which equipment, and which should not. It is not as simple as buying a tested and just plugging it in. In general there are, so far as I know, 5 categories of 'test'. First the visual inspection, which should apply to absolutely everything, and will pick up most faults. Even a plastic casing can be broken, allowing access to internal parts, so a visual check is important. Then there is earth continuity, which is important if the equipment is earthed. There are then three other tests which require discretion both in their application and the interpretation of the results: Insulation test, flash test and load test. For a computer, the flash test is a definite NO, because it is likely to damage it. To conduct the other tests you need to know a little about the nature of the beast - connecting one of the test probes in the wrong place can pass a high current through a PCB and will not do it any good. The load test may upset the computer, because it may start to boot up and the operating system may not like having the power suddenly removed. There is a way round this problem, and this test can be skipped in any event. Jane