PAT Water Damaged Appliances

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If a garage has flooded and the drills etc have been exposed to water, the drill not designed for exposure to water ie no suitable IP rating for this, then would this not fail an inspection before testing on a PAT test?
If the items have been exposed to the water would i be right in saying they are damaged and the water damage would at the least dramatically effect the lifespan of the item?

My friends garage has been flooded by water board and he's asked my opinion and I wanted to see if anyone agrees with me before i give it thats all.
 
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would the components inside not be damaged? would motors etc?
Dosnt a PAT test just prove it is safe to use? How can you tell that things inside havent been damaged???
 
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Probably not, but just try it. If it works it hasn't been damaged. If it doesn't work it has.

As long as it passes all the usual tests, then it is safe to use.
 
He's not asking if its safe to use, he's asking if the lifespan will be effected??? Or will it dry out and be in the same condition as prior to water exposure?
He just dosnt want to have tools pack up on him a few months down line thats all!
 
So why did you ask if they will pass a PAT test then if that's not what you want to know.

What a waste of my time.
 
If a garage has flooded and the drills etc have been exposed to water, the drill not designed for exposure to water ie no suitable IP rating for this, then would this not fail an inspection before testing on a PAT test?
If the items have been exposed to the water would i be right in saying they are damaged and the water damage would at the least dramatically effect the lifespan of the item?

My friends garage has been flooded by water board and he's asked my opinion and I wanted to see if anyone agrees with me before i give it thats all.

I simply asked if it would fail an inspection on a PAT test then went on to ask if it would affect it lifespan?
No need to be so arsey!
 
If the items have been exposed to the water would i be right in saying they are damaged and the water damage would at the least dramatically effect the lifespan of the item?

If fully dried out they may easily pass a PAT test. That is only an indication that electrically it is un-likely to be dangerous at the time of the test.

Damage and resulting hazards may only become obvious after some hours of use.

If the flood was the result of negligence by the water board then claim for the cost of replacement now on the basis that there is every chance that the flooded items will fail of become hazardous to use in the future due to the flood damage. Claiming when they do fail will be much harder.
 
I simply asked if it would fail an inspection on a PAT test then went on to ask if it would affect it lifespan?
No need to be so arsey!

He's not being 'rsey, sunshine.

A PAT test is what you asked about.
A PAT test will tell you the electrical condition of the equipment at the time of test. It may include a finctional test. That's it.

It will not tell you that module 275/gh2 will go into critical failure in 73 weeks time..
 
I note the Iphone has a sensor which allows repairers to see when it has been wet and cancel the warranty. Although other items may not have a sensor to show they have been wet tracking can happen as a result.
It is not the water that does the damage it is the impurities in the water and also the time it takes to dry out the items.
Drop the cordless kettle in the sink with clean water then shake off the water and place on a radiator to dry and unlikely to be damaged.
Let the cat knock it into the sink while your at work and let it sit there for 6 hours and then just leave it for week with out attempting to force dry and likely it will fail.
So if flooded with clean water then all tools were taken to a hot dry place then likely most will be OK.
It flooded with dirty water and once flood subsided the tools were left in the damp cold garage then likely they will latter fail.
I have had items flooded and I have washed them with clean water then dried often using a water repellent like WD40 leaving some time for that to dry out and they have been fine.
As to if after knowing tools have been flooded the owner does not clean and dry them they would then have a claim I would question! I would consider unless work is done to reclaim the tools then it is down to negligence and so would not be something one could claim for.
 
Dosnt a PAT test just prove it is safe to use?
It doesn't even prove that, all it proves was that at the instant of the test certain parameters were within acceptable margins.

PAT testing isn't the be all and end all of electrical safety. It has it's uses especially for class 1 appliances and metal cased class 2 applicances but inspection is just as important in general and for some classes of equipment far more important.

Getting back on topic what kind of flood was this? if it was clean water (e.g. a burst water pipe or an overfilled bath or similar) and you got the stuff dried out quickly then I wouldn't honestly worry about it unduly. If it was dirty water on the other hand then anything affected really needs to be thouroughly cleaned or thrown away. Thouroughly cleaning a drill (whether hand or electric) will almost certainly mean complete dissasembly.
 

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