Martindale Electric has supplied Baxi Heating with testers for checking appliance wiring and earthing, together with locking off devices to ensure circuits can be safely isolated before carrying out any work. The tools keep their gas engineers safe when installing and servicing heating equipment and are essential for achieving compliance with the latest Gas Safe Register guidance TB118 2018 and ensure best practice for electrical safety.
The changes to TB118 mean new test procedures are now required to keep service engineers safe from electrical hazards. In addition to carrying out safe isolation procedures to prove that circuits are dead and locked off, the new guidance now requires verification of mains earthing.
Founded in 1866, Baxi Heating is a part of BDR Thermea, one of Europe’s largest manufacturers and distributors of domestic and commercial water and space heating systems. As an industry leader with more than 6,400 service engineers worldwide, Baxi Heating is at the forefront of improving gas service and installation engineers’ safety in the field, in accordance with the latest changes to TB118.
Martindale EZ650 advanced socket and spur tester
After researching the market, Baxi Heating has provided 250 of its trainers and engineers with a range of Martindale Electric equipment, which includes the EZ650 earth loop and polarity checker for socket and spur testing. The EZ650 simplifies the process for identifying a satisfactory earth, by combining a basic socket tester with an earth loop check that uses clear red / green LEDs, making it easy to interpret the results and see whether the earth loop value is within acceptable limits. The EZ650 socket and loop tester can be used on both 13A sockets and fused spurs to quickly identify a hazardous earth before starting work. This approach offers a simple solution to compliance and electrical safety for engineers and technicians working on and installing earthed appliances.
An effective mains earth is essential for appliances with earthed enclosures. Basic socket testers will not check the quality of the earth, to do this an earth loop impedance test is required. A low earth loop impedance measurement is important to ensure that fuses and miniature circuit breakers achieve a fast enough disconnection time to avoid electrocution in the event of a fault. This approach of using an ‘Advanced Socket Tester’ offers a simple solution to earth loop checking and is common among service organisations.
Martindale LOKFS1 Universal fused spur locking off device
Engineers have also been supplied with a range of equipment to securely lock off circuits such as the LOKFS1 universal fused spur locking off device; which offers a simple solution for safely isolating fixed wired appliances including cookers, boilers, hand dryers and water heaters; and the slim line LOK7, which is suitable for locking off MCBs, where there is restricted access. Locking off circuits and proving dead before carrying out work on electrical equipment and systems is a requirement of the Electricity at Work Regulations HSG85 and TB118 to ensure the safety of workers on-site.
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