pat testing

[5544]

testing the water a little here.
i have been doing a wide range of domestic work for years but not commercial.. I have never coinsidered doing the PAT test training, or buying the test equipment. But recently i have been approached by a some customer with rental properties to see if i could PAT test the appliances left at the house, as well as test the installation.
Has anyone gone to trouble of spending out the money for training and the test equipment, and then seen a return into real money through their day work. if so has it been worth while. i just get the feeling i am going to be asked to do this more, each time i do a periodic in the future? I do not have any intentions of taking this added training into anything other than domestic, (getting too old!).

many thanks

 

[trev]

Really a qualified spark should know the procedures for PAT but in these days of H&S gone mad we are required to prove our competence with bits of paperwhich could mean you'll be forced to do the course. As far as a financial return is concerned, depending on where you are the rewards could be hard to come by as large outfits exist which test for 3/10 of nowt. Whether they test properly is open for discussion of course.
You might be able to pick up some test gear cheaply off fleabay, it's got to be worth a go
Good luck mate

 

[polo1]

I did the relevant C&G quals several years ago. It was always just going to be another string to the bow, and as you suggest, regular commercial customers oten use me for this work. However, there are many "pile em high, sell em cheap" PAT Co's and I don't ever try to compete with their pricing. My customers know they are getting more than a green lable!
Regards.

 

[Rauer]

I got sent on a pat testing course about 4 months ago was easy as! I was the only sparkn on the course! Needless to say , I was the only one to pass!! The equipment isn't cheap but we use the megger pat420 as it stores all the results for pc download and has preset auto test buttons so is a lot quicker but mind numbingly boring

 

[wildgoose]

I'm a qualified and registered Spark but I still took the trouble of doing my C&G 2377 'Inspection & Test Of Electrical Equipt' course (2days + exam). On my course, 30% of the candidates failed because they were non electrical people who had been sent by their employers to be the company PAT tester (Mostly Mech Fitters).

For a Spark, the course is very straight forwards. When completed you can say to clients that you are a qualified Portable Appliance Tester - something many of the cowboys out there can't say.

You won't make much money out of it because you are up against the outfits that claim they can - 'locate, test & report on well over a 100 items a day for as little as 75p per label' - yeah right!
What it will do for you is to get your name known. You'll then get other work from it providing you are reliable, polite, and presentable and of course a registered electrician.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

the problem here 55 is that as above...your up against some big oufits that just pat...day in..day out......but at least you have been aproached with the offer of the work......however...some of these bigger companies that just pat all day long i know now aint doing it right...not for 60p an item they aint...and its the price you will be up against here......now then,...the course you will need will be the c&g 2377 which costs about £250-350 depending on where you are and who you decide to train with........its supposed to be a level 3 course but in my eyes its never seen level 3 hasn`t this one.....i wouldn`t worry too much about the cert as its not notifyable anyway isn`t pat testing.....you can get a pat tester from ebay....you dont need to spend silly money and personally i wouldn`t.....forget the downloaders as if you aint patting all the time you wont need it...but you will need one that has run/load/earth leakage ....as well as the statutary tests (earth bond and IR)......try to get the equipment you need as cheaply as you can as you might never get your money back otherwise....and that includes making up the adaptors yourself such as a BS1363 plugtop with a bit of 4mm earth flying out of it for your earth bonds and a BS1363 plugtop to commando 110 and 230 and a BS1363 plugtop to IEC lead as well....you can make these up yourself cheaply rather than spending loads buying em in....try to get a pat tester that will perform earth bonding at 100-200mA for testing IT suites/equipment......

 

[5544]

thanks for all the replies. all you say does make sense. i will see how much i can pick up a tester for and then decide. agree, it might open up some new doors if nothing else. regards.

 

[ruston]

The only saving grace with pat testing in my opinion is it gets you in the door for remedials and introduces you to potential clients. There is no way you can compete with the cowboys at 50p per asset; nor do you want that type of customer after you have explained what is involved in it to get anywhere near following the guidelines in the COP . If you go into it to do a thorough job I doubt you will make a profit.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

The only saving grace with pat testing in my opinion is it gets you in the door for remedials and introduces you to potential clients. There is no way you can compete with the cowboys at 50p per asset; nor do you want that type of customer after you have explained what is involved in it to get anywhere near following the guidelines in the COP . If you go into it to do a thorough job I doubt you will make a profit.

This is it ruston......watered down "testing"....by "qualified"?? pat testers....whatever the hell thats supposed to be.....they even have the cheek to refer to themselves as "engineers"..ffs....yeah...engineers in the art of bu!!$hi**ing 50-60p per item......

 

[trev]

Drive by PATs, you got to love them. If we know what's going on the employers must too, if they're turning a blind eye they're condoning bad practice

 

[GLENNSPARK]

I have both the 2377-11 and the 2377-12 but i would only do patting if aproached and i think it will lead onto better stuff...a "loss leader" if you like....but as has been said above....probably would be a "loss leader" in the end..lol....:rolleyes4::dizzy2:

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Drive by PATs, you got to love them. If we know what's going on the employers must too, if they're turning a blind eye they're condoning bad practice

a manager of a firm with ...lets say 200-300 items to pat....a small amount really will be looking to have you in and out as quick as...so as not ti disrupt business......and they will be quick to point out "them up the road" n all when it comes to price......so along comes mr sticker happy hiding under the desk just passing stuff.....as i heard was going on in a thread on here a while back..lol....

 

[ruston]

a manager of a firm with ...lets say 200-300 items to pat....a small amount really will be looking to have you in and out as quick as...so as not ti disrupt business......and they will be quick to point out "them up the road" n all when it comes to price......so along comes mr sticker happy hiding under the desk just passing stuff.....as i heard was going on in a thread on here a while back..lol....

You forgot to mention "it was alright before you came"

 

[i=p/u]

well if its class 2 construion and has little use, a visual is sometimes enough.. you have to make it worth while... judgement....

 

[fuzzydunlop]

The problem is a PAT test is as only as good as the moment the sticker goes on, the minute you walk away from it you're not liable

Another idea with good intentions badly implemented

Have zero interest in even doing 1 pat test