Quality PAT testing.

[vera121]

Passed!

 

[chivers67]

Nice plug!

 

[ericmark]

Not sure if you can fail an item because it does not comply with current regulations? The question is how far back? `Rules and Regulations for the Prevention of Fire Risks Arising from Electric Lighting'. 1882 was the first set of regulations. TWELFTH EDITION Issued in 1950 would I suppose be first to include the 13A plug, SIXTEENTH EDITION Reprinted as BS 7671:1992. Is the first British Standard.

The installation testing was called periodic inspection and testing (PIR) had a category complied with previous edition, when it became an EICR this was dropped. But read the Electrical Safety Council best practice guides and they still tell you what to do when there is no earth on the lighting circuit which was changed with the FOURTEENTH EDITION Issued in 1966.

You can't refit one of those old plugs, but nothing to say can't be used. However blurred in the background I can see a grinder, "Motor control circuits shall be designed so as to prevent any motor from restarting automatically after a stoppage due to a fall in or loss of voltage, if such starting is liable to cause danger." and "Every electric motor having a rating exceeding 0.37 kW shall be provided with control equipment incorporating means of protection against overload of the motor. This requirement does not apply to a motor incorporated in an item of current-using equipment complying as a whole with an appropriate British Standard." although that grinder can be used at home, at work it needs a no volt release so if there is a power failure it will not auto start when power is returned.

I remember being told if you say it does not comply, state what the regulation is that it contrives. And I have been surprised at how many things I was sure you can't do, which were either never against the rules, or the rule has changed. I think 1984 was when sleeves were required, but 1994 is another date given so not sure?

 

[vera121]

BS 7671 is for fixed wiring. This is about portable appliance testing and some half wit who's been on a 'course' and deems this plugtop acceptable.

 

[winston1]

So there is a small chip in the plug top. The plug bottom does not have sleeved pins. The whole thing is dirty. The cord grip seems OK. Regs are not retrospective. So why should it not pass?

 

[ericmark]

BS 7671 is for fixed wiring. This is about portable appliance testing and some half wit who's been on a 'course' and deems this plugtop acceptable.

But from memory when I studied the inspection and testing of in-service electrical equipment it is acceptable. Best Practice Guide page 8 covers plugs, nothing is said about sleeves.

If the plug is always left plugged in, and the socket has a switch so you can switch off before unplugging then there is very little danger, for a vacuum cleaner I would change it, for my bench grinder which is never unplugged not really a problem.

 

[vera121]

perhaps it's me been picky, I would have thought it would have been safer to change the plugtop also the tester would have to had the top off the plug to check the fuse size so quite easy to replace.

 

[crystal ball]

I would probably prefer a tough rubber plug anyway

 

[winston1]

Does pat testing include checking the fuse size? If the cable is 1.5mm as this one appears to be any fuse up to 13 amp is OK.

 

[ericmark]

It's a long time since I have used an old plug like that, but seem to remember there was a window so you can check fuse rating without removing the top? It was red = 3A, black = 5A and brown 13A although seen other colours so not 100%.

Where does make a difference, at work all fuses from same supplier so colours always the same. However I have opened up plugs to find wrong size, but that can only happen by manual intervention, a fuse does not over time change from 3 to 13 amp, so if looking for manual intervention where would you stop?

 

[Risteard]

So there is a small chip in the plug top. The plug bottom does not have sleeved pins. The whole thing is dirty. The cord grip seems OK. Regs are not retrospective. So why should it not pass?

Because it's damaged. Basic stuff.

We don't know whether it was damaged when inspected though.

 

[sparkwright]

I notice the label is on the flex rather than the plug.

Could it be that the plug was intended to be replaced, but no one got round to it??

 

[conny]

I notice the label is on the flex rather than the plug.

Could it be that the plug was intended to be replaced, but no one got round to it??

In which case it should have been a fail and the reason for fail stated.

Worked in a small workshop for a few weeks helping out and they had used the services a few weeks prior to me helping out.
We were moving all equipment from one workshop to a newly built one across the yard. On unplugging equipment I noticed 'Pass' stickers on all the plugs in the wall. However, when physically moving equipment, which ranged from soldering iron units to PC's, bench grinders, kettles etc, each piece of equipment was plugged into a short extension lead below the work tops. The equipment plugs plugged into the extensions did not have stickers on them showing they had been tested through the extension leads.
Supervisor went apes**t when I pointed it out that the equipment and extensions should have been tested as separate entities, each with their own labels.

 

[JohnW2]

... It was red = 3A, black = 5A and brown 13A although seen other colours so not 100%.

I think you'll find that BS1362 says ... " red for 3A, brown for 13A and black for 'anything else' " (so black for 1A, 10A and others, as well as 5A).

Kind Regards,

 

[ericmark]

Supervisor went apes**t when I pointed it out that the equipment and extensions should have been tested as separate entities, each with their own labels.

I was working on the building of T5 Heathrow, as with any big job we had to attend safety lecturers, one was about only using equipment that had been PAT tester, and I pointed out in the office being used for the lecture around 1/3 of the items had not been PAT tested, he had stated anything not PAT tested must not be used, but when it was pointed out most of the computer lead sets had not been tested, they did not turn them all off.

We were then given a questionnaire, question what should you do if you find a wire pulled out of a plug. There were four options.
1) Get your mate to fix it.
2) Fix it yourself
and more answers all not appropriate for an electrician. I say the answer is not in the list, he said what should the answer be, I replied enter it in the repair register and put in the quarantine area. At that point they realised as electricians we could not really answer the questions set.

So you find a lead with 13A plug one end and 110 volt socket other end what should you do?
1) Put it back in the box of adaptors until you have a 110 volt item needing testing.
It does matter where you find the item, fig 8 lead set in office OK, in a factory with water everywhere no it a fail, nothing wrong with lead, just not suitable for environment.

So should "the equipment and extensions should have been tested as separate entities" or would it be permissible to just put labels on both as the test while plugged into each other shows both are OK, but it would need two labels, and then you have to consider it does not need to have any label, I could going into a shop and test every item and tell them all have passed and relied on the electronic data collected by the machine to show any degrading next year.

Just because we normally stick on labels it does not mean we have to.

I can find where it says sleeves must be used on any 13A plug fitted, but not any 13A plug without sleeves must be replaced.