There's a few myths out there when it comes to portable appliance testing, or PAT testing as it is more commonly known which we will refer to in this article.
Firstly, an item does not have to be 'portable' as such. PAT testing covers wide range of electrical equipment from your everyday mobile phone chargers to large industrial or medical equipment. Would you consider a large chest freezer to be portable compared to something like a computer monitor? Not really, but it all forms part of PAT testing.
Secondly the test can often only require a visual inspection to ensure the plug has no damage, which includes opening it up (unless moulded) to check the wires are secure and the fuse is correct, the wire/flex is free from damage and the object appears in good, working condition.
There is also somewhat of a myth that PAT testing must be carried out every year on items and that it must be done by a qualified electrician. Both of these are not exactly true.
The national guidance requires a person to be 'competent' to carry out PAT testing. That would, in very simply terms, mean they would have sufficient experience, training and knowledge to be able to correctly PAT test an item using specific equipment (like we use at Valerien). You do not have to be a qualified electrician to deliver the service. If the appliance is fixed or built in and it requires the isolation of power and removing wall sockets then rewiring them back in, then of course this should be done by a qualified electrician, but the actual PAT test process does not need an electrician to do.
There is also no specific requirement to carry out PAT tests at least once a year. Now don't get me wrong, it is certainly a recommendation that PAT testing is done every year especially for businesses and landlords, but a lot depends on the type of environment the equipment is in, what it is being used for and how it is being treated.
For example, a TV on the wall in a sparsely populated office, never moved and hardly turned on would have far less risk of developing damage to its plug or cable compared to a kettle in a populated office that is used dozens of time each day. The latter would be more prone to damage and should of course be regularly tested even every few months, whereas the TV would only need a PAT test once every 1 to 2 years.
Similarly rarely moved items in a home or a shop would be at far less risk of damage to that of items in hospitals or construction sites. There is an excellent guide on Surrey Fire's website on how to identify how often you should be organising PAT testing.
Different Classes and How to Identify Them
When it comes to PAT testing, there are also different 'classes' of objects. The main ones are Class I and Class II. Again in very simply terms, Class I items have an earth, which protects the user from electric shock. Examples of these include kettles, toasters, microwaves and irons.
A Class II item has double insulation but no earth, which provides protection against shock. Examples include a TV, food mixers, hairdryers/straighteners and lamps. You can identify a Class II item by a square within a square symbol which is usually found on the information sticker or on the plug socket.
There is also items under the Class II FE category, with the FE standing for Functional Earth. This is because they use an earth but also uses double or reinforced insulation. A good example of this would be a laptop power cable. Often with these items, only a visual check is needed and not an electrical PAT test, because there's no exposed conductive metal parts which presents a risk of a shock.
Finally when it comes to medical equipment, these type of items need very specialist equipment to carry out a PAT test. This would mainly be your equipment found in hospitals, dentists and doctors surgeries down to publicly accessible items like defibrillators. This is not something we currently offer as it needs very specific training on the PAT equipment which is specifically manufactured for medical equipment.
If you need your equipment PAT tested, Valerien Property Services is happy to help. We provide PAT testing all over the Isle of Wight. Just contact us via the contact page or call 07368 838213 and we'll be happy to help.