5
LIVE EARTH SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
A ‘Live’ earth is one that carries current from the mains supply, or could do so under fault conditions. The following warnings apply in
addition to those listed previously.
■
All persons involved must be trained and competent in isolation and safety procedures for the system to be worked on. They
must be clearly instructed not to touch the earth electrode, test stakes, test leads, or their terminations if any ‘Live’ earths
may be encountered. It is recommended that they wear appropriate rubber gloves, rubber soled shoes, and stand on a
rubber mat.
■
The earth electrode under test should be isolated from the circuit it is protecting before testing commences. If this is not
possible, ART (attached Rod Technique) may be used to measure electrode resistance.
■
The instrument terminals should be connected to the system under test through isolation switches that are rated to handle
the likely maximum fault voltages and currents that could be encountered at the installation. The isolation switch must be
open whilst any personal contact is made with the remote test stakes, or the connecting leads, e.g. when changing their
position.
■
The instrument terminals should be connected to the system under test through fuses that are rated to handle the likely
maximum fault voltages and currents that could be encountered at the installation.
NOTE
THE INSTRUMENT MUST ONLY BE USED BY SUITABLY TRAINED AND COMPETENT PERSONS
Users of this equipment and/or their employers are reminded that Health and Safety Legislation requires them to carry out valid risk
assessments of all electrical work so as to identify potential sources of electrical danger and risk of electrical injury such as inadvertent
short circuits . Where the assessments show that the risk is significant then the use of fused test leads constructed in accordance with
the HSE guidance not GS38 ‘Electrical Test Equipment for use by Electricians ‘ should be used.
This instrument is internally protected against electrical damage when used for the purposes of testing low voltage electrical installations
as defined herein. If used in a manor other than those defined in this user guide the protection capabilities could be impaired with
potential risk to the operator and the instrument.
Symbols used on the instrument
are:
G
Caution: Refer to accompanying notes
Maximum 300V a.c. CAT IV to earth
Maximum nominal system voltage of 600V
f
Instrument protected by 2 x F2A 600V 50kA fuses
c
Equipment complies with current EU Directives
This equipment should be recycled as electronic waste
Equipment complies with ‘C tick’ requirements
12Vdc charger socket
CAT IV
300 V
g
> 600 V
