pete.young Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 [quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1389273047' post='2332164'] Another frighteningly common occurrence is the outer insulation of a mains cable no longer being held in the clamp in a plug.. [/quote] It's becoming less common due to the requirement to supply moulded plugs on leads. We hired a snow machine for a gig at Xmas, which was delivered with an IEC lead with a removable plug, covered in current PAT stickers. We plugged it in, and it tripped the circuit breaker on the socket AND the main breaker on the entire building supply. Cause was a short inside the plug. I think commercial companies hiring out gear should do better, personally. I've had conflicting stories about whether it's even possible to test things like laptop power supplies. At work, the technicians never did these because they said there was nothing that they could test. The last bloke who did our band gear (required for a gig) insisted on doing them, maybe because he was charging per item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 [quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1389278925' post='2332269'] I've had conflicting stories about whether it's even possible to test things like laptop power supplies. At work, the technicians never did these because they said there was nothing that they could test. The last bloke who did our band gear (required for a gig) insisted on doing them, maybe because he was charging per item. [/quote] Because theyare plastic and so there's no earth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 But does the tester need to know that? Don't they just plug in the equipment in question to their PAT testing gizmo and press the button. The equipment would then pass and the sticker applied. The thing has then been officially passed as safe, regardless of whether it was intrinsically safe in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingdownslow Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Apparently there have been some changes... https://youtu.be/AbnIMXAgWIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 15 hours ago, goingdownslow said: Apparently there have been some changes... https://youtu.be/AbnIMXAgWIA Thanks for the post. I'll have a proper watch through that when I've got time. James Eade is very highly respected in the live production industry and runs a lot of training courses on temporary electrical installation for events, amongst other things. Anything coming from him will be spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petey Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Over the last 5 years I've played lots of venues (Pubs, Wedding venues, hotels, etc) who ask for Public Liability Insurance and PAT testing evidence sent through via an email before they will accept the contract. My view is its like having an MOT on your car - if there was a problem in the venue, you are covered as you have done as much as you can to prevent a difficult situation - fire, electrical issue in the building etc, and probably spoil someones day/evening. Some people would get annoyed, could see this as an opportunity to take this further and involve a solicitor and it could get messy. My point would be do as much as you can to avoid a situation - get a PAT test, service your gear - yes, its hassle but you'll get the best from your gear, kit shouldn't let you down and you can declare it as an outgoing/expense in your tax returns to your accountant. The future looks like its only going to happen more and more especially when we eventually get back to 'normal' gigging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxlin Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 I heard a comment the other day, which while relating to Covid lockdown rules, is I believe also relevant to the likes of PAT testing... ”Don’t think what you CAN do, rather what you SHOULD do”. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandad Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Any equipment that plugs into the mains should be PAT tested. 3 wired plug = class 1 - visual inspection & earth continuity test & insulation test 2 wired plug = class 2 - visual inspection & insulation test 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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