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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

We need a PAT tester


tbourner

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Does anyone know anything about PAT? We could do with getting a tester so we can do our own electrical bits. I've done the testing before and so have a couple of other guys, but the testers have a huge range in price, ideally we want to keep it cheap as we can, but some of the cheap ones say 'ideal for small shops' and things like that which don't inspire confidence. Basically we don't really know what we're looking at!

 

We have about 20 test PC servers, some 16A commando socket power bars (in 19" racks), hundreds of normal power 'kettle' cables and some test equipment like scopes and power analysers. Can anyone recommend a good PAT machine that's suitable? I don't understand the regs etc. that it's required to cover if any.

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Hi, Im a qualified Electrician and during tough economical times (or when short of work) I do PAT testing as its money for old rope. Been doing it for 10 years anything from 5 items for a client at a time to 4000 items for a client (Yes I wanted to shoot myself in the face after that job, watching paint dry is more interesting).

 

Anyway I digress. This is the PAT machine I have had (bought second hand 7 years ago for £800) and it has never let me down. Comes with 90% of the leads you need (some 3 phase testing 'RED Commando plugs' may need to be made up to test that equipment). Its simple to use, has step by step instructions throughout the test, also you can use it with a barcode scanner and that will same time when testing the same item. Stores 4000 results and can be linked with a serial cable to the computer to upload into a PAT software program.

 

http://pat-training.co.uk/alphatek_omega_pat.htm

 

Almost like the supra of PAT machines as it seems to be holding its value well, thought it may have been cheaper by now considering how much I paid.

 

HTH

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I fear that one will be a bit expensive for my bosses plans, he's looking at a few hundred quid. If that's near the lowest price for what we need then fine, but I need to be able to explain to him why that's the case, and why something like this won't do the same job?

I was thinking something along these lines, reminds me of a tester I've used before.

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I fear that one will be a bit expensive for my bosses plans, he's looking at a few hundred quid. If that's near the lowest price for what we need then fine, but I need to be able to explain to him why that's the case, and why something like this won't do the same job?

I was thinking something along these lines, reminds me of a tester I've used before.

 

Depends what you want, cheaper you go less functionality and more labour costs in sorting out documentation and the actual testing. You can get moving needle ones (think old skool voltmeter) but if the person using it is a layman he could end up frying expensive IT power supplies etc (Test voltage for megger test on 240V equipment is 500V! except IT and sensitive kit which is allowed to be tested at 250V).

 

For a couple of hundred quid you could get that moving coil type, second hand. Will do the job in experienced hands. But long term it will cost you more as I stated above.

 

Alternatively go for the one I suggested (which is very user/layman friendly) 'OR' one of roughly similar spec ease of use. Second hand you are talking £400-500, or possibly hire one for a day or two from an electrical contracting company to do the testing each year.

 

No offense but if you and your fellow PAT testers haven't been on the approved PAT course and are intimately familier with electrical appliances you could end up frying a lot of equipment. I have seen it before many times, hence why that company turned everything off at your place of work before testing as it saves a lot of possible problems and makes their job quicker and easier to carry out.

 

I routinely recommend to my clients that they remove/throw away unwanted kettle leads and other such testable items not in service. Also if you hardwire (via isolators/switchgear instead of a plug/commando socket) many fixed items (server racks, dedicated testing equipment that stays on the same bench etc) they generally don't fall under the scheme of testing (or are tested under the scope of an 'electrical installation test' carried out every 5-10 years) or are subject to testing once every 2 or 3 years (less damage can occur due to the fact they cannot be classed as portable and moved about if they are hardwired ie. without a plug).

 

Most PAT companies take the p*ss and schedule testing every year or (4 times a year if site equipment) when infact its bespoke to the appliance and the nature of its use. For example a 110V drill may need testing every 3 months as its subjected to bad conditions/rough handling, however a desktop PC or a fridge may only need testing every few years as its not moved about.

 

HTH

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