What is a Portable Appliance?

An appliance of less than 18kg in mass that is intended to be moved while in operation or an appliance that can easily be moved from one place to another, eg, kettle, toaster, food mixer, vacuum cleaner, iron, PC, Monitor, Fax, Laminator etc.

 

PAT Testing

Portable Appliance Testing

The Inspection and tests that are to be carried out are described below, with tests varying dependant upon the class of appliance. However, the testing of all appliances is essential as part of a regular maintenance regime to ensure conformity to Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

 

Inspection

Without passing the initial visual  inspection, no appliance can be passed as safe. The inspection involves examination of the plug top, casing and lead of the equipment. The plug top is checked for the correct fuse size, adequate cord grip, correct polarity and tightness of terminals, cracking, heat damage and a plug with insulating pins conforming to current BS standards. The outer casing of the equipment is checked for any damage or cracks and any holes or vents that are apparent must not have a radius greater than 6mm. Also there must not be any live parts within 80mm of the aperture.

 

Class of Equipment

Class 1  This is any equipment that has an earth connection from the mains supply. In most cases this equipment will have exposed earthed metal work and live parts will have basic insulation, e.g., fan heater, computer etc.  

Class 2a This equipment has no exposed metalwork and has two layers of insulation, e.g., desk calculator, dictation machine, etc.  

Class 2b This equipment may have exposed unearthed metalwork, which will be separated from live parts by two layers of insulation, e.g., power drill, etc.  

Class 3  This equipment operates from a power supply less than 50v AC and has basic insulation with no earthed metalwork, e.g., lap top computer, mobile phone, etc.  

 

RedRat PAT Testing.

1-20 items just £50.00.

Example or one of our tests:WE ALWAYS

Ask user to shut down PC

Remove plug from socket

Remove plug top (if not moulded) and check terminals are tight, terminated correctly and fuse has correct safety standards

Remove fuse for moulded plugs and check safety standards

Check entire length of cable to ensure integrity, this often means crawling under desks through everything thats down there

Visualy inspect appliance

Plug appliance into tester and run tests (tests take 20-30 seconds)

Replace everything and power up to ensure all is working

Enter detail of description etc into software

Apply labels to equipment and remove old labels