New to all this

[si the fire]

Hi all, I am going to be sitting my C&G 2377-12 in about 2 weeks and if im honest i'm bricking it a little as ive no real electrical experiance other than around the house sort of stuff, the course im booked on gives a days full training and the test at the end of it, or thats what im lead to believe.
Ive read through the stickys at the top of this forum several times and also have obtained a copy of the IEE CoP 3rd edition and yet still find it all a little baffling, could anyone offer anymore pratical advice or point me in the direction of where i may find that, any help would be apprieceated.

Cheers,


Si

 

[wade88]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Thats the PAT testing course right? I did that a year ago or so just as an addition, the day course is a total walk through mate you have nothing to worry about at all. To be honest, its a total joke. half the day spend doing un failable exams, then you may if your lucky PAt test about 3 things, one of each class or something, then you eat a sandwhich or two and they send you on your way. All you need to know is how to distinguish between Class I, class II and Seperated extra low voltage applicnaes that are Class III. The testing protocol is bery straight forward and most modern pat testers actually walk you through it as you go.

You would be wise how ever to get your head down and read up on your general electrical knowledge before you go to just build a foundation so your understanding is at a competent level before you turn up. You say you already have your IEE code of pratice book and thats all your going need for this module.

Have a skim over the COP book and that will bring you up to speed on what you will need to know on the day mate.

Good luck, Ben

 

[si the fire]

I'm lead to believe there is a 30 question 45min online test at the end of the day although this is "open book" cheers for the input though Ben, guess i'l just get my head in the book and try and remember some of it. Just hope the sandwiches are up to scratch!

 

[wade88]

Well if they were anything like the ones we got provided with i would make sure you have a good breakfast.

Not trying to down talk the course but i wouldnt be too conerned about it mate, the majority of ther guys on the course i did had no prior knowledge of electrical systems at all, and most PAT testers dont either. As your only going to be handling protable equipment 90% of the time, kettles, fridges, anything with a 13amp plug on it generally, depending on where you plan to get your work, your simply following a sequence of basic testing to ensure that appliance is safe. Earth continuity, insulation resistance, touch voltage being the basic three. I can honestly say, the hardest part of anything to do with this, is understand how the hell your PAT testing PC software works....total nightmare buddy. i bought a seawood europa plus with the elite software and all the bar code scanners and printers etc, trying to get it to all sing together is about much good as a bakwards balaclava. I would recommend not buying a battery powered tester as they often dont have the muscle to perform some of the tests.

dont panic mate and really dont worry about it. Youll go just fine

 

[si the fire]

Cheers for that chap, i'l try not to. Work are putting me through the course so that they can get a little more out me on a night shift, where as I was thinking that maybe I could make a bit more money on my rest days, well that's the plan although I'm not sure of the way forward with that one, as in do it for my self and invest in the equipment or do it for someone else with their equipment, all being well that is

 

[si the fire]

Sat my test earlier on today and I'm glad or relieved to say I passed !Just got to find some work on my rest days now.

 

[MarkieSparkie]

Well done matey, congratulations and best wishes trying out your new skills.

 

[wade88]

Congrats mate glad to hear it.

As far as buying your own gear goes its a bit of a double edged sword really. I was very fortunate that the cimpany i work for just went, buy what you need, we dont care, so i got £1800 worth of PAT testing gear to use as and when i see fit. So i have brought all the bits up to date here but can just take it home and use it for my own business should i want to.

but the issue with PAT testing as a money making venture is you have to do ALOT before you start seeing a return unless your landing 20,000 items at a time over a 4 month contract or something. Driving around doing PAT testing is a bit of a financial downer, seeing as how competitive the market is now, you see some company going as low as 0.40p an item which is just insane. Take a look at my PAT testing pricing scheme if you like for an idea of how i did all my figures, but remember...the first few quid you make will just be defraying the cost of all your gear you had to buy to get the work in the first place!

Its a tough market to make a living off, so like you are planning, just making a few extra bob off the back of it is the best foot forward, its certainly al i plan to do with it.

Cheers, Ben

 

[wade88]

hope thats of some help mate

 

[si the fire]

Cheers Ben, some usefull info there thanks :icon14:

I was thinking that maybe i would try and get some work through someone else or an agency just until i find my feet and get up to speed so to speak, my employer put me through the course thinking that it would benefit them financially in the long run, in reallity the chances of me getting out and doing some testing are going to be few and far between, thier problem not mine as ive got a C&G out of it.

Si

P.S, the sandwiches were pretty good actually

 

[wade88]

Best news ive heard all day! i was beginning to lose sleep over the prospect of you having to eat soggy egg mayo sarnies and choke down a piece of over cooked aldo pizza...i can rest easy now.

Yea my employers put me through it too just for the sake of it, figured it would save them some time and effort getting a guy in to test every 6-12 months...in reality however its cost them nearly £2k for me to get the C&G and the gear when realisticly speaking it prob doesnt cost them more then £200 a pop to get tested so thats like 10 years testing right there...

 

[the grim reeper]

@wade88 thanks for posting your pricing guide, just past my PAT test and been talking with the maintainace manager at work about maybe doing our testing and the company they use has just gone under :icon9: but for me this could be a good thing as i maybe able to do this for them (off the books) so they payed me rarther than them paying me my hourly rate and we've got to big factory's with alot of items to test, so using your guide as a guide gives me an idea of pricing (plus i can always ask how much the other company use to charge)

Phil

 

[wade88]

Hi Phil,

To be honest mate that prcing guide probably could do with a bit of an adjustment by now. The market seem sot fluxuate so much in regards to item prices. Ive seen some companies going as low as £0.40p an item which is just insane and i just cant see how people make money charging that sort of money. By all means use mine as a guide, but before long once you get into the market youll get a more accurate idea of what to charge etc.

Glad it helped tho pal. Well done on passing your PAT buddy and good luck with your testing at the factories. i recently just PAT tested our 3 warehouses here but unfrotunately im on a salary and i am the maintenance manager so i didnt pick up any extra cash on that one :13: