Author: pat reviews

In 2025, here at PAT Reviews we are taking a fresh look at testers and how they stand up with the changes in the updated Standard: AS/NZS3760: 2022. 

The next tester on our list is the Kyoritsu 6201A. Priced in the $1,000-$2,000 bench mark. You shouldn’t be able to pick this up brand new as a PAT out of the box as it has been superseded by the much nicer (and far less flawed) Kyoritsu 6205. You might happen to find some of these being sold online as second-hand cheap buys that might seem like a steal, but lets take a look how it squares up in 2025. 

To begin, we have to say, the simplicity with its rotary switch to select between different tests is great for the beginner user but from there things take a turn for the worst. As mentioned in our previous post several years ago its design flaw of plugging into the mains would still be an issue for anyone that picks one up – for that reason alone we would say steer clear of the second hand market!

Where this tester does still keep some of its value is the fact that it can display more than just a pass/fail, green or red light indication. You can actually check the test values too, which in 2025 is important to be compliant. 

When it comes to safety, which at PAT reviews we are all about, this PAT has a simple and mostly effective means of ensuring the testing person is aware of when an item under test will be put into “Go mode”. This is indicated by a beeping noise however unfortunately we have noticed that the tone cannot always be heard. However, when it comes to doing powered up tests, its nice that some measures have been taken to protect the user rather than none at all. 

In our past blog we mentioned each test function so we will really briefly look at each (see our previous post for the real sauce). 

For checking the earth continuity, it can only perform a 0.2 Amp (200 milliamps) earth test. For those who are more interested in safety, a 10 amp earth bond test is better for actual safety, not just compliance. 

The next standard test is the 500-volt insulation resistance test which works great. No problems there and its nice to be able to select the 250-volt option needed for certain items. 

Leakage testing is great to have but you won’t be winning any awards for speed. It isn’t designed for speed and compared to other testers on the market you will have a slower time of things. 

The other standard test that is normally required to be performed is a polarity test (when testing leads and power boards) and again this works very quickly, however there is no way of just performing one polarity test in continuous sequence with testing power boards. Its simplicity of each test actually works in its favor here as it doesn’t actually slow down the speed of testing compared to other testers where it would. 

Lastly, PRCD testing is commonly required for testing on many sites or locations but the Kyoristsu 6201A can’t perform testing of PRCD’s 

To finish up this lightning review, this little tester for its purpose does fit what it was designed to do; be a quick basic manual tester. However, we are now in 2025 and sadly this tester doesn’t meet ‘fit for purpose’ with the updated standard. You could argue that it just scrapes in but it does fail in many areas. For one it doesn’t allow for storing and recording test results and you can’t forget about printing options. 

With everything else that is out there on the market in 2025, you have far better options even in the second-hand market available. With a bit of simple research you could find and compare other testers in it price range and get more value (and safety) for your money. 

The 3 big questions:

Q: Does it enable a testing person to comply with all the requirements of ASNZS3760:2022 

A: No, due to not being able to test PRCDs this tester does not quite make the grade for testing to ASNZS3760: 2022 and to add to that it doesn’t give any data collection options.

Q: Is it a safety tester or compliance tester only?

A: Compliance only and even that is borderline

Q: Value for money ?

A: In the past, maybe but in 2025, no absolutely not. 

1.5 and a half stars out of 5

This has all the makings of a great tester, unfortunately it doesn’t seem to finish any of them off. Add some way to record data and a PRCD tester, boost the rest of the features a little more and you have an amazing tester

Happy testing

With 2025 already in full swing, here at PAT Reviews we are interested in this little compact tester; the Sonel, EasiPAT 10. When we reviewed it several years ago it was a good solid safety tester, rather than just a compliance tester like many testers out there are. 

With the change in the Standard AS/NZS3760, now is a great time to see how this tester has held up, whether for good or for bad, lets find out!

Starting off with the user interface. As we mentioned previously, it is designed with simplicity in mind for even those who struggle with tech this tester is easy to pick up and go. With a clear layout and push-button operation, you really can’t go wrong here. 

Something to mention, we were surprised to learn that some companies have done a bit of development since it was first introduced to us. It seems you can get different versions which limit the operational use. Say you didn’t want someone to play around with the settings, well you can get a ‘dumber’ version of the tester that seems to remove the functionality of certain buttons for accidental use. This isn’t something we see very often in a single PAT tester. We even found out there is a hire configuration for say if you were a hire company using this tester. A really nice added touch for different users. Definitely a plus in our book. 

It seems that it still has the basic cell bank memory function, not as great as some other testers out there but with what we are going for, even basic data collection is good and it seems to have paid off, as the Standard does seem to say numerical records must now be kept for third-party companies testing. This would mean it just snuggly fits into the category, which sees it have some future proof as tester design, great to see. 

When it comes to standard test features it seems not much has changed here. It performs 0.2 Amp (200 milliamp) and a 10 Amp earthbond test, making it a real safety tester rather than just a compliance tester.

It performs your standard 500 volt Insulation Resistance test, as well as your 250 volt Insulation Resistance test for those items that have more delicate circuitry that a 500 Volt test could damage. The leakage test is still the same and we are just as impressed with the flashing red and green lights before a powered up test to warn the user-really designed with safety in mind!

Next up you have polarity, which no surprises there it is pretty straight forward. It’s a little disappointing you don’t have the multiple test function for powerboards within a single test, but for its price range it can’t have everything. 

You can perform your PRCDs with ease but again, you can’t do your installed RCDs, so if you come across a lot of them, maybe this isn’t the best option for you. 

Where this does get a bit wild is 3-phase testing. We had no idea this tester could perform 3-phase, it was like a punch in the face kind of find out! Talk about a big upgrade.

It turns out it has, since our last review, been developed to work with test 3-phase appliances using specially designed test equipment for the EasiPAT 10. This is a really great feature to have available for certain users looking for this option at its price point. A huge plus for upgradability too. 

Conclusion:

Overall this tester sits well in the beginner range testers but with the added upgradable options, could be pushed to the mid-Ter tester range giving a wider range of options without sacrificing on safety. It can be used with several printer set up options and a tablet. The downside though would be that the printer has to work through the tablet. Once its set up though it seems to work well. In 2025 this seems to be a small PAT tester with some big surprises, a punch above its weight for sure.

The 3 big questions:

Q: Does it enable a testing person to comply with all the requirements of ASNZS3760:2022 

A: Yes, it fits snuggly into the standards new requirements with numerical test values and recording of data.

Q: Is it a safety tester or compliance tester only?

A: In 2025, we can confidently say it is still in fact a safety tester and not a compliance tester.

Q: Value for money?

A: While I’m not sure you will get it for the same price when we did our previous review (before covid) it is still good value for money with now numerous upgrade options to fit a users changing needs.

4 out of 5 stars

This has all the makings of a great tester, unfortunately it doesn’t seem to finish any of them off. Add some way to record data and a PRCD tester, boost the rest of the features a little more and you have an amazing tester

Happy testing

Today we are looking at another older tester the Seaward Europa +
First, a little background history, the Europa + was the replacement for the Europa, the main difference between the two is the Europa Pat had an alphanumerical keypad where as the Europa + has a full qwerty keypad both are of the membrane type.
Both the Europa and the Europa + operate nearly identically when you discount the two different keypads.
Both also share a lot of DNA with the Seaward SuperNova series of Pat’s

The Europa+ is a compact advanced Pat tester that performed we’ll when it was introduced to the market, it didn’t appear in Australia on the market as early as it could of due to the success of the non plus version.
The case of the Europa + is a hard plastic which isn’t very robust but Seaward added a large and solid rubber bumper to the Pat, this makes it much more robust.

The Europa+ today almost 20 years on is still a very capable tester, it works along the same lines as most of Seawards more recent Pat’s right and left arrow keys as well as up and down arrow keys centered around a circle operate drop down boxes, as well as this there are the function keys situated below the large LCD screen.

The Pat can work in various modes with settings being changeable by the user on all occasions providing things aren’t password protected. This doesn’t have to be a problem but could be, that said we only know of one Pat where it can be operated in a totally secure manner that guarantees the integrity of results.

Accessory sockets are not as clearly marked as they could be but mistakes should be obvious as earth tests will all fail if wander lead is not plugged into the right socket.
Battery operation is not possible nor can it perform RCD testing

Well let’s see what tests can be done

Protective Earth testing
This is able to be performed at either 200 milliamps , 10 or 25 Amps

Insulation Resistance test
This can be performed at both 250 and 500 Volts.

This does all the necessary leakage tests including touch and differential leakage testing.

Lead test
Leads are very simply tested and simply plug into an accessory lead that plugs into the Pat iec socket.

Other features

This Pat can store 5000 results in its onboard memory as well results can be downloaded, results can be directly printed onto tough tags direct from a label printer and it can also have data entry via a linear bar code scanner.
Information is put into the Pat before tests are performed rather than afterwards, whilst this is standard for all Seaward Pats it can be a time waster.
Overall this Pat is adequate when it comes to functionality but for an advanced Pat it is showing its age.

So let’s see how it stacks up with the big three questions

Q Does it enable the testing person to comply with the requirements of ASNZS 3760?
A Yes providing RCDs are not needing to be tested.

Q Is it a safety tester or compliance-only tester?
A Based on our criteria it is definitely a safety tester.

Q Value for money?
A When originally introduced it was one of the best value Pat’s on the market for serious Pat testing, today it’s aged and is not a particularly nice tester to fix, if it’s done a lot of work it will almost certainly be high maintenance unless you know the history of the particular tester we would suggest avoiding it.

We hope this review has been helpful.

Happy testing

The Pat review team

Today’s review is a little different as it is dealing with an advanced but very old model that has been updated numerous times over the years, that said its a proven Pat, so what is it were reviewing, none other than the Seaward Super Nova.

As is usual a little background, the Super Nova went into production in the late 1990s a totally different looking tester followed it which was very similar in operation and that is the Seward Europa+ which we’ll also look at at some point, Seaward is a big and proven player in the Pat market and as can be seen by the continuation of some models like the Super Nova some of there early testers have proven very popular over the year’s.

When we first saw the Super Nova back in the 90’s it did look extremely modern and hi tech, it had a lot going for it but one thing that wasn’t so popular was its weight, Seaward produced a lighter weight version called the XE and the Plus before that there was the XA
The lighter versions had the flash test feature removed which did considerably lighten them.

Over the years many versions have come out including the above models, the current version in 2021 is the Super Nova Elite, it does contain the flash test as well as being able to run off either 110 or 230/240 Volts as well as this it has basic RCD test functionality on board.

The Super Nova comes in a unique case which we believe is blow mounded the testing hardware is separated from the screen and keypad controls which are hinged and fold back into the tester body when not in use.
The user then carries the unit via a handle extending past the keypad/ screen, inside the main housing there is also a small compartment for keeping accessories and the like, though not room for your lunch unless your on a big diet!

The hinge out screen/ keypad contains all the controls as well as a large qwerty key pad, in typical Seaward fashion scrolling up and down as well as side ways selects drop boxes this scrolling can be done in all directions situated around a central key, this system to be fair to Seaward works very well, also there are function keys directly below the screen that correlate to procedures dictated by the screen the user is in.

Considering its lineage this has to be one of the best Pat’s of all time, today its got a lot of competition from other brands and from its own family, early models had huge problems many to do with the hinged keypad/screen these have been overcome today.
The last update adding the RCD function in, be it basic, does probably give some longtime users the option to continue with a model they like and are familiar with.

Well let’s look at some of the test functions

Protective Earth test, we are pleased to say unlike many other Seawars Pat’s this still has the ability to perform an earth bond test at 25 Amps as well as 10 and 200 milliamps

Insulation Resistance test, here we have the ability to perform 250 and 500 Volt tests and not so sure if this is a positive but also it performs a flash test at either 1500 or 3000 Volts. ( suggestion from PR team loose the probe if you don’t want people doing this test)

Leakage test, this Pat can do all the necessary leakage tests including differential and touch leakage.

Lead testing, easily performed in the standard way.

RCD testing, like we said this is a recent addition and is very basic, you should investigate exactly what this feature does and compare closely to your needs and local regulations as RCD requirements vary greatly from country to country. Obviously its only the latest Super Novas that can do any RCD tests anyhow.

Other features
Tag printers as well as bar code scanners are all available coupled with rfid technology, there’s also an onboard 5000 results memory.
Help screens are helpful to new users and Seaward allow there testers to operate according to user knowledge by way of either an advanced or novice user category which is selectable.
Options for incrementing appliance numbers or replicating assets and the like are adequate and useful to most.

Summing up, its old and new its proven but certainly not the most advanced Pat out there but for many it could be all thats needed.
If you need to do a lot of 25 Amp tests on leads or other items you could run into overheating problems we haven’t tried this on the new model but old ones did certainly over heat and time out.
These have been around along time so there’s no doubt plenty on the second hand market … But some of these will of had a real workout including all there relays, so check out thoroughly or you could have buyers remorse or at best you’ll have no further use for a hairdresser.
Further things to look at are the data ports ie do they work and how mechaically loose and wobly is the keypad
Seaward testers also have a total test count onboard so it may be worth getting this info also on any Pat you’re looking at.

Well now to the big three questions

Q Does it enable the testing person to comply with ASNZS 3760 ?
A yes we do believe so

Q Is it a safety tester or compliance only tester?
A This is a safety tester by our definition

Q Value for money?
A Now that I’m sorry you’ll have to decide on second-hand units, but for new ones its got a lot of competing options many that look good but if you’re interested in safety it’s definitely one worth considering also check out the review on the Seaward Europa + if you’re a Seaward fan as its a similar tester.

Well happy testing

The Pat Review team.

Today we are continuing to look at some of the old Pat’s that are still out there even though they are mostly out of production
Today we are going to look at the metroPat 600/900

As usual a bit of background here, As could be assumed the metroPat 600 came first in the mid 1990s and then the newer model 900 in the late 1990s
Both units came in the standard Metrotest case of the time so until you open them you really don’t know what you’ve got.

Essentially they are both quite advanced Pat’s at least for there time, both had memory capability and print and scan abilities
The metroPat 600 was easily distinguishable from the 900 once the case was opened as the 900 had a large full qwerty keyboard on the front panel where as the 600 had large arrow button to select tests and for data entry.
They both shared the same back-lit green LCD which was quite small though adequate.

Very few of the metroPat 600s went to Austraia, how many of the metroPat 900s is unknown, though a lot of the metroPat 900s were sold in NZ.
Whilst these Pat’s aren’t as well known as Seaward or Megger they certainly competed with them.
The MetroiPats and the iPat SupaPats do share some common history which we will go into some other time, except to say today’s iPats (metroiPats) are right up there if not ahead of there competitors be it there less known.

Well let’s check out the functionality

As the units are essentially the same with the only real difference being the lack of key pad on the 600 we’ll deal with controls and data for each them combine for rest of the tests.

The Metropat 600 had functional data entry by way of scrolling (similar to the MicroPat+ if anyone has seen these) absolutely workable but seriously not nice, having said that people using the Metrel Delta Pat and entering data on board would be right at home with it, personally I’d move house !
In away thats what they did in effect when they introduced the metroPat 900 as now users no longer had to scroll to enter data as they could use the qwerty key pad ( both the 600 and 900 could also enter data via the barcode scanner )

Both Pat’s could be used in various modes from manual single tests to auto test modes and could be pass word protected to add security to the testing process.
You can sort of see history in the making when you consider the Audit codes used in the new metroiPats and how they add certainty to the test results, the passwords on the metroPat 600/900 went a part way to adding this security.

Let’s take a look at the test functions as usual well start with

Protecticve Earth test
Both Pat’s could perform tests at 100milliamps right through to 25 Amps much like many Pat’s of the time a separate wander lead was plugged in for the 100milliamp test.

Insulation Resistance test
This on the Pat 600 was only available at 500 volts, some of the later Pat900s may have also had a 250-volt test function.
Both models also could perform a flash test at 1500 and 3000 volts as standard, this was probably not their best feature and we know many were supplied without the flash probe to help avoid the use of this test by the untrained!

Leakage testing was available on all models at mains voltage and 40 volts for substitute leakage testing.

Lead testing was performed by adding an iec lead into the test socket on the Pat with the other end plugged into the lead or powerboard ( same as normal today )

Other features
1000 results could be stored onboard and these could be downloaded to Pat downloader software or printed out.
As said previously a scanner could also be used with these Pat’s.
Battery operation was not possible and there was no onboard RCD test function, though at the time this again was very much the norm.

In summary the metroPat 900s had quiet a lot going for them though we do know some of them had reliability problems yet some are still going – seems to of been luck whether you got a good or not so one !
These were introduced at a very similar time to the Seward Super Nova and many early Super Novas had serious reliability issues, maybe it was merging technology of the times.

Well let’s see how they go with the big 3 questions.

Q Does it enable the testing person to comply with ASNZS 3760?
A yes providing RCDs are not in the equation.

Q Is it a safety tester or compliance-only tester?
A Definitely a safety tester by our definition.

Q Value for money?
A At introduction it was average value, wouldn’t want to put a value on them today and wouldn’t want to buy one… if you inherit one and it’s still going it may continue to do so, but eventually, you’ll have to scrap it as parts aren’t available – common now for most old gear, again calibration adjustments may also make it end of life, as they say, all good things must come to an end!

Happy testing

The Pat Review team