Pat testing - domestic lighting?

adrianglass

Hi All
In another life I used to be involved with PAT testing / electrical safety testing & quality management on telecoms equipment.
Nowadays, I make stained-glass. One of the things I make is a stained-glass lamp - consisting of a 3-sided or 4-sided 'shade', mounted on a timber base.
Illumination is using a mains LED or CFL bulb, in a brass bayonet socket.
The mains lead is bought in as a new, ready-made, CE-marked assembly, with a switch, moulded-on plug and ferrule ends - which I wire into the screw terminals in the bayonet socket.

I've been selling these for a while - no problem.
I spoke to a potential retailer this afternoon (they're part of an electrical wholesaler) who said that he wouldn't be able to sell these lamps because 'They would need PAT testing, first'

So - anybody out there know if this it true or not?

Short of connecting the L, N, E into the wrong terminals on the bayonet socket (which would be noticed by me as the bulb wouldn't light), I can't imagine a failure-mode that would make the lamp unsafe.

I can (if necessary) buy a PAT tester, test each lamp and stick the sticker on... but is it required?

Any ideas, please?
thanks
Adrian

dolittle

i may be corrected on this but I believe if it can be plugged in then it needs to be tested

Simple solution; include a plug but don't wire it.

adrianglass

Top marks for lateral thinking - but I believe that's illegal <g>

Really? I buy stuff without plugs all the time.

seamus

I would argue that a lamp isn't classified as a portable appliance for the purposes of the PAT legislation. PAT legislation only applies to equipment designed to be moved. Once placed, a lamp is generally not intended to be moved, even if it's a small desk lamp.

If you're selling these lamps for domestic use, they don't need to be PAT tested anyway.

Also, on the plug question I believe that the requirement to fit a plug is only for domestic equipment. So if you are selling it for commercial use, you can exclude the plug.

adrianglass

Thanks - thinking about it I'm guessing that the person who raised the issue was really thinking 'CE Mark' or 'Safety testing' - rather than actual PAT testing.
The lamps are sold into a domestic market.

Maybe a simple 'PAT' test would be considered sufficient that I could mark them 'Safety-tested' ?

As I say - first time in more-than-a-few-years than anybody's mentioned it...

Risteard81

adrianglass wrote: »

Top marks for lateral thinking - but I believe that's illegal

Indeed it is.

Bruthal

That`s a relief. Life is risky enough, without plugless lamps to contend with.

Appliance's I buy I'd be removing the plugs anyway because the manufacturer can't predict my voltage drop compensation on the secondaries, whether I want rack mount, lucar, 13A, 15A or 16A.

I could give a list of links of devices sold CE without power chords or plugs but life's too short...

Risteard81

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I could give a list of links of devices sold CE without power chords

Electric guitars will be capable of providing them anyhow!

It's the amp is electric not the guitar.

Bruthal

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

It's the amp is electric not the guitar.

Power chords of the root and 5th variety I think.......