On Wednesday, 13 March 2019 13:17:41 UTC, John Rumm wrote:
On 12/03/2019 18:21, tabbypurr wrote:
On Tuesday, 12 March 2019 13:15:08 UTC, Bill Wright wrote:
On 12/03/2019 03:57, Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp Esq wrote:

Like yourself though, they all knew everything there was to know about
the subject even before they did the course.

Your sarcasm fails because actually I do know everything necessary to
check the safety of a mains extension lead. As do many people.

Unfortunately for technical pseudo-elitists it really isn't rocket science.

Bill

You're welcome to your opinion, but this time it's just wrong.

Its likely that its not wrong, however since you don't have adequate
information to assess Bill's competence to verify if an extension lead
is safe, the statement is pointless.

he is oversimplifying the requirements of PAT testing. Testers that do so make bad choices here & there, exposing others to risk & themselves to the courtroom.

Under different circumstances I'd test you by showing you a bunch of difficult appliances to test. Let's get some examples I've encountered that would catch many pat testers out:

You seem to be discussing more than just extension leads here...

1952 Hoover floor polisher
1937 McMichael radio
1951 Hoover junior vacuum cleaner
1934 2 valve reaction set, home made
Fan heater, 1960s or 70s

as I said he can confine himself to extension leads if he wishes. I'm curious to see if he picks up on all the real world gotchas.

Can't see those being common in the average office, and your average PAT
testing course is unlikely to dwell on specific instructions for vintage
kit.

and there lies a problem. I do test vintage kit. There are all sorts of gotchas one does not see in modern kit. And yes, some of it does pass.

Modern 6 way extension lead
Modern LED lights
Assorted wallwarts
Fan heater, 2017

Wall warts in particular show one of the weaknesses of PAT tests - many
are fundamentally compromised by poor design and yet you can't see that
from outside of the box, and testing to prove the point would be
destructive so unlikely to be popular with clients.

OTOH the test voltage used should suffice to demonstrate them adequate (or not), even if not BS compliant. A PAT pass does not require BS compliance.

99%+ of what you will meet PAT testing for businesses requires some
experience, a small amount of test gear, and a basic level of
understanding of electrical principles. Its a skilled endeavour, but
trainable. It does not require a graduate level engineer.

But the other 1% is less simple. I've seen so many PAT test screwups.


NT

Rocket science on the other hand is difficult - not least because it
involves a vastly wider range of disciplines and far more difficult sums!