Have you heard about the PAT Testing Network's campaign to show customers what is NOT PAT Testing? The national standards organisation want to raise the profile of the appliance testing industry, illustrating the importance of good appliance testing over poor standards. Some naughty people out there are getting away with charging customers hard earned money for a poor service, and the people at the PTN want to show their customers what is happening. No one [...]
New legal requirements for landlords of rental properties From July 1st this year all private tenancies in England will need to ensure that electrical installations are inspected and tested by a qualified person before the tenancy begins. Under the new rules, the landlord will have to ensure that the installation is inspected and tested at least every five years. For existing tenancies, an electrical safety test will need to be [...]
Seaward are the industry leaders in PAT testing equipment, and are the providers of the equipment we use. Seaward PAT Testing Equipment, to us, is the only kit we'll consider using. Seaward are based in the North East of England, in the town of Peterlee in County Durham. When we get asked "what PAT tester should we get" we recommend Seaward pat testing equipment. We don't recommend Seaward because we know they are better than [...]
It's hard to believe I've been working for myself for 5 years now; in some respects it seems like only yesterday, and in others it feels like 20 years but in October 2009 I set up my sole-trader business DRA Electricals. At the time I was living in Seaham, Co. Durham, so that's where the business began and what a road we've come down since. We started off as a company offering PAT testing and [...]
An RCD, or residual current device, is a life-saving device which is designed to prevent you from getting a fatal electric shock if you touch something live, such as a bare wire. It can also provide some protection against electrical fires. In the event of a fault the RCD will switch off the electricity supply, protecting the user The RCD is designed to protect the user from the risk of electrocution and fires caused by [...]
The BS 1363 Plug British Standard BS 1363 specifies the type of mains power plug and socket most commonly used in the United Kingdom. It is more commonly known as the 13 amp plug. The BS 1363 is considered to be one of the safest domestic power-connector systems in the world. A BS 1363 plug has two horizontal, rectangular pins for live and neutral, and above these pins, a larger, vertical pin for an earth [...]
Seaward PAT Testers This article about us was published in the Seaward industry news issue 36 in August 2014. Versatile electrical safety testing instrumentation is helping a specialist UK PAT company to grow by putting the emphasis on an all round preventative maintenance service. The Tyneside based DRA Electricals has recently passed the 100,000 PAT tests completed mark and is expanding beyond its traditional North East marketplace by winning new national contracts. The company’s broad [...]
Firstly, how NOT to wire a plug! This is a prime example of how NOT to wire a plug! Alarmingly, we come across this sort of thing quite often, someone who thinks they know what they're doing, replacing a blown fuse with tin foil. A blown fuse has done it's job - it allowed itself to die as a sacrifice to protect the appliance, but the unappreciative user who replaced it with [...]
Choosing the right fuse These days, all appliance plugs contain fuses that are normally rated at 3, 5 or 13 amp, depending on the wattage of the appliance. The fuse is intended to protect the appliance. An appliance that's rated up to 700 watts should be protected with a 3 amp fuse, whilst and appliance rated above 700 watts needs a 13 amp fuse. Some appliances (such as your TV) [...]
The initial stage of PAT testing is the formal visual inspection; this formal visual inspection should only be carried out by a person competent to do so. The results of the inspection must be documented Conducting a Visual Inspection When conducting the visual inspection the engineer must consider the following (basically they are doing a risk assessment at this stage): Suitability of the equipment/environment: The equipment should be assessed for its suitability for the [...]
