Pat Of Sodium Discharge Lamps

[lxtechman]

Evening All.

 

Been asked to look into Pat Testing Some Sodium Discharge Flood Lights

 

Im Assuming they can be tested like any other Lantern/Lamp.

 

Though im thinking the start up charge may cause issues.

 

Any Advice Greatly Recieved.

 

Normally I do all my tests at 10 Seconds But Thinking that maybe a little short for The Sodiums.

 

Yours Sincerly

Lxtechman

[PaulDF]

The old ballast type sodiums are not suitable for connection to a plugtop - they have a fairly big capacitor in them (for powerfactor correction) which hold charge and will zap you if you touch the pins shortly after unplugging them!

I also tend to find the more modern pat testers such as the Megger PAT4 will get upset with the presence of voltage.

[JDLX]

Should be fine to test like any other lantern but I wouldn't recommend the leakage/power on test. Just do the earth bond and insulation tests.

[lxtechman]

The old ballast type sodiums are not suitable for connection to a plugtop - they have a fairly big capacitor in them (for powerfactor correction) which hold charge and will zap you if you touch the pins shortly after unplugging them!

I also tend to find the more modern pat testers such as the Megger PAT4 will get upset with the presence of voltage.

 

 

Thanks. I Believe they are fairly new so hopefully they wont be a problem. will check with the chap and see if I can have a pre visit to the place.

 

Thanks

 

Lxtechman

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

Should be fine to test like any other lantern but I wouldn't recommend the leakage/power on test. Just do the earth bond and insulation tests.

 

 

Thanks. so you say not to fire them up on the tester??

 

Thanks

Lxtechman

[KevinE]

They're being used as portable appliances?

 

:huh:

[lxtechman]

They're being used as portable appliances?

 

:huh:

 

Yes they get put outside for lighting the church at special times of the year and also they were pat tested last year by one of the local sparkies who it turns out may have been a little pricey and the chap that got hold of me is the church warden & my Ex's Father so he wanted me to quote but I never come across them as portable appliances hence the plea for help.

 

Thanks

 

Lxtechman

[PaulDF]

Even new - if they have a big capacitor in them they can cause someone to get a belt if they are unplugged! I have been on the receiving end before and it isn't nice - if they are standard fittings then my opinion is don't PAT test them. They are made to be part of a fixed install then they are not built to be portable or have a plugtop attached to them!

[KevinE]

they are not built to be portable or have a plugtop attached to them!

 

Just what I was thinking.

 

Simply fitting a mains lead and plug to a fixture does not make it a portable appliance; even if the cable for example has strain relief. Lots of criteria make for a portable appliance and I doubt a sodium discharge lamp would meet them and hence should be automatically a PAT fail!

[lxtechman]

they are not built to be portable or have a plugtop attached to them!

 

Just what I was thinking.

 

Simply fitting a mains lead and plug to a fixture does not make it a portable appliance; even if the cable for example has strain relief. Lots of criteria make for a portable appliance and I doubt a sodium discharge lamp would meet them and hence should be automatically a PAT fail!

 

 

 

Thanks for that, I think its time to arrange a visit and look at these "portable appliances" and get back to you all when I know a bit more, it possible he could be getting confused as to what they actually are.

 

Thanks

for the help and advice time to go have a look and report back.

 

Thanks

lxtechman

[Simon Lewis]

Simply fitting a mains lead and plug to a fixture does not make it a portable appliance; even if the cable for example has strain relief.

 

Perhaps not, but it's quite common to use sodium / mercury floods for temporary architectural lighting. I doubt if saying "it's not designed to be portable" when the fixture has a suitable IP rating and is mounted on a ground plate will prove too popular!

 

How about only fitting them with Ceeforms, thus moving it out of the realm of domestic appliances?

 

Simon

[PaulDF]

It doesn't matter one iota when you end up in the dock for giving someone a belt!

[KevinE]

It doesn't matter one iota when you end up in the dock for giving someone a belt!

 

Maybe someone will lose the will to PAT test them if the charged PFC capacitor blows up their tester when they plug them in!

 

On a similar vein, but more serious note, I was once perusing the schematic of another discharge fixture (an Anytronics Deathstar strobe) and admired the way the designers had built-in an instant discharge for the huge capacitors should the user run it off a 13A plug and suddenly unplug it. This was in stark contrast to a 'competitors' product I'd had a pair of in for modification a few weeks earlier, where the complaint was that the owner kept getting shocks off the 13A plugs if they were pulled out soon after switch-off...and he was usually derigging them up a ladder at the time....

 

This can of course happen to any fixture with stored energy..fluorescent fittings being another example.

[J Pearce]

Fit them with powercons to eliminate being able to touch the input pins?

 

Obviously would require a defined system of work and for them to be used only with powercon outlets, not adaptors to 13A or 16A.

Or for any adaptors to have a relay (or contactor) built in to cut continuity between the powercon and unshielded male connector on loss of power, though experimentation may be necessary to ensure a suitably quick disconnection time.

 

It would perhaps make a suitable compromise and management of risks, given these are often used in 'demountable' situations, and are probably the most suitable choice in many scenarios.