Portable appliance testing is carried out in order to prevent and reduce the risk of fire and electric shock. It works by detecting any potential safety problems with electrical appliances before they have a chance to become dangerous to the user.
The use of a PAT tester also allows employers to fulfil their legal obligation to ensure that the work environment and equipment within are safe and maintained for use.
PAT testers come in very different models that range from very basic to much more advanced with a wide variety of functions.
There are also differences such as, battery and mains operated testers and, manual and downloadable machines.
However, almost all appliances require earth continuity and insulation resistance tests. Although, it is important to note that a range of other tests may also be required.
Basic PAT testers are easy to operate and will carry out the basic electrical safety checks required. Usually they can perform earth continuity, insulation resistance and check the wiring of detachable mains cords. However, they can’t perform a touch current test.
Results are displayed as either a Pass or Fail and cannot be stored for downloading.
Intermediate PAT testers have a wider range of tests available including touch current and RCD trip. These machines will allow the user to test a wider variety of appliances than the basic machine will.
Usually most middle range testers don’t have an internal memory for storing results, however this may not always be the case.
Advanced PAT testers are the most comprehensive machines on the market, they can download results from their memory to a computer. These machines generally have a large range of tests and some sophisticated models can record test results, test programme, site and location.
Ensure that you always look at all of the features of the individual tester you are interested in to ensure that it can perform all the tests you need it to.
