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Description
PAT Testing and PAT Testers
Portable Appliance Testing (known as PAT Inspection / PAT Testing) is the routine check of electrical appliances for safety. Regular PAT Testing is now common place as companies are legally required to prove their workforce operates within a safe environment.
An increase in legislation has caused an increase in demand bringing down the price of equipment. The Standard PAT testers also have a number of features and functions. The Martindale HPAT500 and HPAT600 hand held PAT Testers, for example are filled with features making the job quicker and thus more cost effective.
Types of PAT Tester
There are a variety of PAT testers on the market. The main kind is the simple PASS/FAIL PAT Tester which is very easy to use and geared toward PAT testing in-house. These PAT testers emphasise simplicity and can be used by those with minimal electrical skill.
There are also more comprehensive PAT testers but these should be only used by competent professionals with City & Guilds 2377. Needless to say, a high level of skill is required to operate these testers.
Pass / Fail PAT Tester
These PAT testers are relatively cheap and easy to use and will be used by businesses looking to carry out their testing inhouse. They simply say PASS or FAIL when a test is executed. PAT testing units with batteries are particularly useful at getting into arkward tight areas to test. As with all tests it is vital the results are stored in a safe place for future reference.
Mains Powered Pass / Fail PAT Testers
This mains powered tester is the common device for most businesses. It is perfect for in-house testing in offices, hospitals, hotels, schools, construction sites etc....It is commonplace to get test result labels attached with a date stamp. This provides info on when the appliance next needs to be tested. It is also safe to use them on IT equipment.
The newer battery powered testers are a lot more flexible as the tester can be moved to the equipment.
Battery Powered Pass / Fail PAT Testers
These are the most recent and convenient pass / fail testing types. Rechargeable batteries are usually included. These are quickly replacing the older powered units and have an easy to use lights system.
Advanced PAT Testing
These PAT Testers show more than just pass or fail. They also provide a varierty of readings for the tester to interprete.
Advanced PAT testers work well as facilities management tools as they log, capture and record the test status and location of electrical appliances.
Computerized PAT Testing
Several advanced PAT testers have the capability to download info to a pc or laptop for recordings. Bluetooth enabled PAT testers make this process a lot simpler. In addition, bluetooth makes connectivity to other equipment such as label printers possible without having to use cable connections.
Calibration of PAT Testers
As PAT Testers are intelligent devices, it is vital to ensure they continue to measure accurately. If a company fails do so, it could have problems substantiating any measurements in the event of a claim. We offer a PAT Tester Calibration service and kindly ask you to call us on 0845 527 3571 if you wish to have your PAT Tester recalibrated.
The PAT Testers shown here from Martindale, Di-Log and Kewtech are for Class I & II appliance PAT Testing as well as lead testing.
