18th edition exam - my thoughts

[Topboy]

I passed my 18th last November and being honest i found it harder in some ways than the 2391.I did get some calculations.
My advice to anyone is do not assume this is a walk in the park and there were a couple on the course who didnt pass and a few who just shaded it.
I found the questions well written,in days gone by it was possible to ignore 2 of the 4 answers.

 

[dksanders]

Make certain your calculator has the square root function.
Unless of course you can work out square roots in your head.

Under C&G rules you can't use your own calculator but have to use the one provided

 

[peterhyper]

Under C&G rules you can't use your own calculator but have to use the one provided

I took mine out of my bag and had it in front of me throughout the exam next to the one that was already on the desk and the invigilator never said a word.

This was the only exam where the invigilator asked everyone with a phone to leave it at the front with him (not sure if it's a new thing). A bit daft in reality because if someone was going to the loo during the exam to use a phone they wouldn't say they had a phone or would use a second phone. He also asked if everyone had id to show him which we did (albeit a very quick glance), but one guy hadn't brought any id at all, but he was still allowed to sit the exam (a slightly pointless exercise then if someone is taking the exam for another person).

I expected to wait 30-60 minutes for the exam results (as previously was the case) but we literally got them within 5 minutes maximum of the exam ending (not the actual certificate but an individual print out of each candidates results), so I was impressed how fast we got the print out this time.

 

[Charlie_]

I’m sorry but I just don’t see how anybody could find this exam difficult.
Not trying to be a dick bit I honestly don’t..
if a gas engineer fails any elements of his gas safe tickets then he loses them, the same system should apply here..
If you fail then you are not competent..
The 60% pass rate needs lifting, 80% would be better or perhaps make the questions slightly difficult..
No multiple choice would be 1 option, whereby the regulation number is quoted as part of the answer..
We need to raise the standards of our industry

 

[stevels4]

Certainly not.........

 

[Charlie_]

What’s with all the stickers?

 

[stevels4]

I’m sorry but I just don’t see how anybody could find this exam difficult

I’m sorry but I just don’t see how anybody could find this exam difficult.
Not trying to be a dick bit I honestly don’t..
if a gas engineer fails any elements of his gas safe tickets then he loses them, the same system should apply here..
If you fail then you are not competent..
The 60% pass rate needs lifting, 80% would be better or perhaps make the questions slightly difficult..
No multiple choice would be 1 option, whereby the regulation number is quoted as part of the answer..
We need to raise the standards of our industry

I agree entirely, recently passed my gas metering course. You have 4 papers with 180 questions across them. On your 1st attempt the pass rate is 80% for each exam, any questions you get incorrect are given back to you for attempt 2, any incorrect questions this time and you have to answer those verbally to the examiner. The pass mark is 100% nothing less. On top of that I then had additional company training and a face to face technical interview to finally gain my permit to work.

 

[stevels4]

What’s with all the stickers?

Not my book, someone gave it to me, over tagged is an understatement!

 

[Chris1234]

Make certain your calculator has the square root function.
Unless of course you can work out square roots in your head.

What square roots are required?
All electricians should know the square roots of two and three as these are used in basic electrical calculations.

 

[Charlie_]

Adiabatic equation

 

[Tony Reidy]

There are other threads on the forum on the same subject. Calculators needed sometimes, not always.... each exam has different questions etc.

why are people still taking the exam if it came into force in January? How have you been able to work since jan without it?

You have about 2 years to take the 18th exam, but your work should be carried out to the 18th edition as from Jan19

 

[Deleted member 26818]

What square roots are required?
All electricians should know the square roots of two and three as these are used in basic electrical calculations.

As Charlie says, adiabatic equation.
There are two types of question that arise.
One is work out the CPC size required for a protective device.
The other is to work out whether a protective device will operate within the prescribed times given specified conductor sizes.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

You have about 2 years to take the 18th exam, but your work should be carried out to the 18th edition as from Jan19

Thought we already done this?
The 18th comes into force on the 1st of July.
Up until then, you can design to either the 17th, or the 18th.

 

[Deleted member 105166]

As I've said previously, you should only need to tag the 7 sections and perhaps a couple of appendices or regularly used tables, purely for ease of going to the start of the section quickly. For the price of the book, it should come ready tagged, or at least flashed, like the On-site Guide sections are. For anyone tagging excessively, I'd question if they really understand their way navigating the book, which essentially is all any open book test is about.

 

[Spoon]

You have about 2 years to take the 18th exam, but your work should be carried out to the 18th edition as from Jan19

Out of curiosity, there do you get the 2 years from?

 

[dksanders]

Thought we already done this?
The 18th comes into force on the 1st of July.
Up until then, you can design to either the 17th, or the 18th.

The 18th was issued on 1st July 2018 and comes into effect on 1st January 2019, installations designed after 31st December 2018 are to comply with 18th.

 

[dksanders]

As I've said previously, you should only need to tag the 7 sections and perhaps a couple of appendices or regularly used tables, purely for ease of going to the start of the section quickly. For the price of the book, it should come ready tagged, or at least flashed, like the On-site Guide sections are. For anyone tagging excessively, I'd question if they really understand their way navigating the book, which essentially is all any open book test is about.

In the exam you'll have 2 hours to answer 60 questions so that's 2 minutes per question.

To enable you to quickly find the information in the BBB, the tabs will save you critical time.

It's worth tagging, The sections, contents, index, definitions, abbreviations, parts, appendices and specific sections that may arise eg Max Disconnect Times, Min Insulation values etc.

 

[Deleted member 105166]

In the exam you'll have 2 hours to answer 60 questions so that's 2 minutes per question.

To enable you to quickly find the information in the BBB, the tabs will save you critical time.

It's worth tagging, The sections, contents, index, definitions, abbreviations, parts, appendices and specific sections that may arise eg Max Disconnect Times, Min Insulation values etc.

Each to their own, I find 10 tags works for me and this method got me 59/60, with time to spare. Whilst it averages 2 minutes per question, I'd guess most people sitting the exam will find around 15 questions that take no more than 2 seconds to answer with no reference to the book required, leaving time for those questions that need more thought and referencing.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

I thought that the 18th came into force January the 1st.
However, when I sat the 2391 earlier this month, there were no questions relating to any of the changes introduced in the 18th.
The reason given, is that the 18th doesn’t come into force until July 1st.

 

[Spoon]

According to the regs the 18th came into effect on the 1st Jan 2019