PAT Testing Fails

PAT Testing Fails – these photographs are all of appliances that have failed our inspections when on site at clients, doing their electrical safety inspections.

Because of website storage issues we can’t post endless photographs here so to keep up to date with our PAT Testing fails, to see more plugs in a bad way and to see appliances that are dangerous, damaged, melted and so on, follow us on Instagram. We post regular updates of things found by our team.

melted plug inside
Melted plug, external

This plug is on a 4-gang extension lead that was overloaded, and so it overheated and melted – this was not in an industrial environment as you’d expect but an office in Newcastle upon Tyne.

loose cables on a plug

This may not look like much but big problems often start off small; this has likely been caused by the lead being pulled to unplug it. We replaced the plug.

It’s not just problem plugs we come across; this socket is testament to that. This socket like many others specially installed in an office was intended to supply power to computers, not to oil filled radiators.

Burnt socket
Sleeved earth pin on an iec computer power lead

This plug is on an “IEC lead”; a computer power lead – which requires earth protection. By putting an insulated sleeve on the earth pin the manufacturer has removed the earth protection. This is a regular occurrence on leads imported from Asia, where they don’t use earth protection.

This microwave oven failed because it was so, well disgusting! This is a mix of rust and food.

Dirty microwave
Broken plug on fan heater

Here is a good example of a broken plug on a fan heater; we come across these quite often, especially in summer when the heater has been left under a desk to be regularly kicked!

Broken light switch on heat lamps

This broken light switch is for the heat lamps used to keep food warm in a restaurant kitchen; this is actually wired directly into the mains too

Damaged rcd

This RCD is supposed to be giving an extra level of protection – look closely and you may be able to see that one of the wires isn’t even going into the ‘plug’

Broken fan heater

Somehow this fan heater has got a nice little hole punched through it; not sure how it happened but it’s enough to fail it as it is beyond repair, and little fingers can get inside it.

overheated extension plug
Overheated extension plug outside

This plug is on an extension cable, probably not intended to power a glass washer in a pub