Finding faulty extension leads
Faulty extension leads can be rather dangerous, so finding them is important in protecting peoples lives.
Imagine going to a well known supermarket to buy your extension leads because you think they should provide the best products only to discover they are cheaply made, high profit appliances – these leads are put together so badly that the earth leads easily drop out or snap potentially causing the appliances running off them to become live.
Do you realise how dangerous a faulty extension lead is?
If you’re running an appliance that needs to be earthed, but the earth wire in the lead isn’t connected, then the lead isn’t earthed, which means neither is the appliance. This makes the appliance ‘live’ if a fault occurs, which means if you touch any exposed metal parts you will get an electric shock.
Finding a missing earth isn’t something you will spot without opening up the plug, or when it is too late so this is why PAT Testing is so important.
An extension lead can be dangerous in various circumstances:
- The main one is when it is overloaded with too many plugs, which leads to overheating and potential fires
- Another could be when it’s on a cable reel and hasn’t been unwound
- Another reason could be when the wire is damaged
There are many issues that lead to an extension lead being dangerous, these are just three
Learn about the safe use of socket extensions and what they’re not intended for
