PAT Testing cert

[Hager]

Hi,

I brought a PAT tester and just need the certificate to go with it are these online courses to be trusted? It's only going to be used in a theatre and maybe a school. I don't really have a budget for one these one day courses.

Jake

 

[RF Lighting]

Do you already have any electrical qualifications?

Do you have public liability and professional indemnity insurance?

 

[Hager]

HI,

Not as of yet to all three, i'm in my first year of C&G 2330 (I think it's still that) I'm looking into getting public liability though, do i need the 3rd one to complete the cert?

 

[streetlighter]

Some training centres have an option just to take the C&G2377 exam without doing the course,to be honest if you read the code of pratice by the IET then the exam is fairly straightforward.
Cant belive some of the prices for the PAT course now when i did mine in 2007 it cost £80 for a six week course inclusive of exam.

 

[JohnW2]

Cant belive some of the prices for the PAT course now when i did mine in 2007 it cost £80 for a six week course inclusive of exam.

Do I take it that this was not a full-time (or anything like full-time) course?

Kind Regards, John

 

[ericmark]

When I took my course around 2000 it was around the £65 for a 6 week night class total 18 hours including exam. And with that there was loads of time to include some practical.

However I was asked to accompany a guy who had just finished one of the modern courses for his first two days PAT testing and he admitted he would not have really had a clue of what to do.

He said he would have failed every computer as there was a fault with the Fluke 6500 tester on the 200ma range which I quickly picked up on reverting to my 17th Edition test set and manual recording.

He also had a fair few RCD leads again without the 17th Edition test set these could not be tested and no one had explained what was beyond the capabilities of his tester.

We also had a number of computers where the tester refused to start the test because of a earth voltage without the 17th Edition test or multi meter set finding out what was causing this would be near impossible.

Even as an electrician who has tested appliances for many years this first time in a school caught me out I did not allow enough time. But I still managed to find extension leads with the cable hidden in trunking with twisted wire and insulation tape joints in the middle. The change from white to black cable was a give away. Could not believe anyone would do this in a primary school but it does show how careful one has to be.

So at end of two days the guy admitted he would have failed many good items but more to the point he would not have failed some of the items I found as faulty.

 

[streetlighter]

Two hours a night one night a week, the college used to run two PAT courses one for electricians one for non electrical background but they condensed them so where where sat there while all the basics where explained.

Cant belive some of the prices for the PAT course now when i did mine in 2007 it cost £80 for a six week course inclusive of exam.

Do I take it that this was not a full-time (or anything like full-time) course?

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Two hours a night one night a week, the college used to run two PAT courses one for electricians one for non electrical background but they condensed them so where where sat there while all the basics where explained.

Thanks. Yes, 12 hours makes sense. With 6 weeks full time (something like 200 hours), it might be difficult to imagine what they would be teaching.

Having said that, for someone with absolutely no electrical background to be taught to assess electrical safety in just 12 hours is, to my mind, a little on the worrying side.

Kind Regards, John

 

[streetlighter]

We had two ladies on the course from a local garden centre that had been nominated for the task of PATesting any water features on display, Also a few business owners looking to cut cost and do it themselves.
I don't get much PAT work myself as I charge £1 per item, just recently lost a job testing 600+ items had agreed 75p per item tested got a phone call to say they got a firm in for 14p an item what a joke !

 

[JohnW2]

We had two ladies on the course from a local garden centre that had been nominated for the task of PATesting any water features on display, Also a few business owners looking to cut cost and do it themselves. I don't get much PAT work myself as I charge £1 per item, just recently lost a job testing 600+ items had agreed 75p per item tested got a phone call to say they got a firm in for 14p an item what a joke !

Yes, a joke - and, in large part, seems to exist only to allow boxes to be ticked. This system is essentially relying on robotic reliance on the actual test gear. With reasonable kit, that may not be too bad in terms of 'testable' things, but I would have thought that a fair bit of PAT 'testing' is (or should be) actually inspection - and that's where reasonably clued-up/trained human beings are required, if one wants to avoid dangerous items being 'passed'.

Kind Regards, John