PAT Testing-What's the going rate?

[scoopd]

Just wondering what the average cost is for PAT Testing(assuming you are getting a few items done at once).I saw one advert for 10 items costing £50-surely that's a bit steep?

[Penfold42]

Just wondering what the average cost is for PAT Testing(assuming you are getting a few items done at once).I saw one advert for 10 items costing £50-surely that's a bit steep?

It sure is.....:eek:
Just paid £75 for 54 items. :)
Try the search button.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

It sure is.....:eek:
Just paid £75 for 54 items. :)
Try the search button.

That is very cheap.

I'd say that a starting price of around £1.50 an item was very very reasonable.

[Penfold42]

That is very cheap.

I'd say that a starting price of around £1.50 an item was very very reasonable.

That's what i thought.....they have offices throughout throughout (http://www.pattestuk.com/) the U.K.
Worth a try......:)

Sorry Danno...:( ...the other guys never got back to me...... :)

[Vibrant Sounds]

I charge people I know between £60 & £90 depending on how long it takes, usually works out about £15 an hour. I do the works for that including stripping stuff down and sorting it if it fails the earth bond test. But I only do a few a year for people I know.

[Penfold42]

I charge people I know between £60 & £90 depending on how long it takes, usually works out about £15 an hour. I do the works for that including stripping stuff down and sorting it if it fails the earth bond test. But I only do a few a year for people I know.

Well you know me....is it worth the trip.....:p :D :D :D

[Creature]

i have a regular booking each year (A sparky Friend whos Pat trained amongst other thing) and do it for £60.00 and before I do the gig he Pat tests all my equipment for me :):) last year was 278 items :):) so were bothe happy

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

278 items? Do you get there the day before then? We test items at the rate of 15-20 an hour.

[Creature]

Do you get there the day before then

nope early morning tho - and also have everyhthing in order and easily accessable for him even down to the spreadsheet filled out - so as he tests i just add the new number :):)

[Tony Scott]

Just got our sparky to do my PAT testing and was suprised just how many leads I carry around that don't get used.

I've removed over 30 IEC's, extentions etc. No point paying for stuff I'm not going to use. My lead create's half the weight now!

I think the best thing I've done is Multi-core everything, cuts down on set-up times and means they get tested as single items.

[scoopd]

Do Laptops need to be PAT tested or is it just the power cables to them?

[DazzyD]

The first time I got my gear tested, I had my eyes taken out. This guy tested everything. Laptop & ac adaptor (2 items), ext hard drive & ac adaptor (2 items), Par 56 cans and controller (5 items), etc. Since then, I was informed that this shouldn't have been the case as the laptop & ac supply should've been 1 item, the ext hard drive & ac supply 1 item and the cans and controller 1 item. Needless to say, the first guy gets no more business from me.

[Vibrant Sounds]

The first time I got my gear tested, I had my eyes taken out. This guy tested everything. Laptop & ac adaptor (2 items), ext hard drive & ac adaptor (2 items), Par 56 cans and controller (5 items), etc. Since then, I was informed that this shouldn't have been the case as the laptop & ac supply should've been 1 item, the ext hard drive & ac supply 1 item and the cans and controller 1 item. Needless to say, the first guy gets no more business from me.

I would disagree with that, the laptop and power supply is one item, the HD and power supply would be one item, but, I would check each Par Can as they all carry mains voltage as well as the controller.

You really only need to get items that carry voltages over 55volts checked. anything that uses a transformer does not need to be pattested, but the transformer does.

[DazzyD]

Thanks for that info, Eddie

As you may have guessed, when it comes to PAT testing I'm a bit naive. I was told that anything that plugged directly in to the mains required testing which, I guess, includes the AC supplies for the various hardware I use. I can see where you're coming from with the PAR cans. However, if those lights were boxed together in to one unit, with one lead going to the sound-to-light controller, would it need to be opened so all four lights could be tested? I know this may sound a bit strange but I was just wondering.

Also, I use external monitors each with a kettle-style lead (sorry, forgotten the proper name at this moment in time). The first guy had put green stickers on each monitor and each lead - he'd charged twice for each. Surely this is not right?

Also, on one light effect, the cable had slipped through the rubber gripper and the cores were showing. I've since been told that this should have been an automatic PAT failure but the tester passed it. Makes me think he hadn't tested the gear properly at all. Like I said - never used him since.

[Tom]

Do Laptops need to be PAT tested or is it just the power cables to them?

When I got my done only the power cable got tested.

[Vibrant Sounds]

Thanks for that info, Eddie


No problem!



As you may have guessed, when it comes to PAT testing I'm a bit naive. I was told that anything that plugged directly in to the mains required testing which, I guess, includes the AC supplies for the various hardware I use. I can see where you're coming from with the PAR cans. However, if those lights were boxed together in to one unit, with one lead going to the sound-to-light controller, would it need to be opened so all four lights could be tested? I know this may sound a bit strange but I was just wondering.


Would really depend on what parts were accessible, if any metal parts are accessible then an earth bond test would need to be carried out on these.




Also, I use external monitors each with a kettle-style lead (sorry, forgotten the proper name at this moment in time). The first guy had put green stickers on each monitor and each lead - he'd charged twice for each. Surely this is not right?


No, That was exactly right, each IEC lead needs to be tested seperately and so does each monitor, there is a different set of tests for each!




Also, on one light effect, the cable had slipped through the rubber gripper and the cores were showing. I've since been told that this should have been an automatic PAT failure but the tester passed it. Makes me think he hadn't tested the gear properly at all. Like I said - never used him since.

This is correct, if the cable is damaged it is an automatic failure, but can be repaired by the PAT tester if he can be bothered and then retested.