Plumbing Vetassess

[MichelleH]

Hi, my husband is due to take the plumbing vetassess practical on 29th October in Lankarshire. Has anyone taken it or able to offer any info? Although he's been a plumber for over 20 years, he's very nervous about taking the test, so I thought I would try to find out as much as I can.:eek:

[Dawny]

I have just taken and passed my plumbing vetassess in accrington on the 19th feb. Found out i had passed on the 24th of feb, hats of to vetassess for the turn around in result times, this is supposed to take two weeks, i am well impressed.

The day starts at around 7.50 am ,should be 8.00am but allow 10 mins to walk up the hill to the building and the mile long walk to the workshops with all your tools, everyone who has done the walk will remember this.

The assessor will take you into a classroom, this is where he will check who is who and describe the day and the tasks to you.

Straight after registration the assessor will walk you around the practical bays and tell you what needs to be done but is on hand all day to help.

 

I will say at this point the tech guys are brilliant and help in anyway they can and enjoy a good laugh too.

 

The assessor, i had a guy called graeme, is brilliant, a good laugh but is still there to do his job.

 

You start the practical assessments at around 8.30 am, you can choose what you want to start with, i chose the framework option, this includes the brazing, dont worry, the tech guys show you how if you are not sure and you get more than one go if you mess up.

The framework is measured to the millimetre, not to difficult, but a square is usful for this.

At this point i had my first interview, the hot and cold water interview

 

the questions were not to hard b ut you will need to read up on a few things

such as,

health and safety

hot water controls you will need to name a selection of valves you would find on a standard system ie, non return, pressure relief etc, the more you answer the better it sounds

i found i was describing everything as if i was talking to someone who had no idea what i was on about, which is what they want ie, i had a question about making a concrete base for a shed, dont forget to tell the assessor you have to excavate the ground or use shuttering.

A couple of questions about trenching , sprinkler systems, how does a pump work ( use the word impeller and describe how the pump works)

 

after my interview i did the gas practical, this was straight forward using 3/4 iron, threaded on the rigid machine, again if you are not to sure the tech guys will show you

you will have 3 measurements again to the millimetre, and run it to feed imaginary gas appliances, this part you just throw the pipework in anyway you want making sure it is of a professional standard, and then soundness test it with the assessor present, then it is time for the gas interview

 

the gas questions were about lpg, soundness testing, finding leaks on a pipe run, flame failure devices, thermostats (high limit stats) , i had a couple of questions on compartment ventilation and pipe sizing.

I gave text book answers on these as i found it easier, also differences between natural gas and lpg, i just launched into calorific values, pressures etc and this seemed to answer his questions

 

once that was over the sanitary / soil practical, i lterally threw this in, in half an hour.

 

You have a cleaners sink a basin and a wc, and all you have to do is run pipework at the correct gradient and clip the pipework to uk regs. The wastepipe work is all 40mm and there is no gluing it is all pushfit, this is run into a stub stack, which you have to fabricate, which incorporates a branch for the wc and topped off with a durgo valve.

 

Then the questions begin,

septic tanks, storm drains, sub soil drainage, gradients for 100mm pipe ( dont forget at this point to mention you will actually dig a trench to lay the pipe in and they like to hear you would lay it on a bed of pea shingle, mention manholes or rodding points on any bend you may need, clipping distances, types of soil stacks, i had to describe a one and two pipe system and how the septic tanks works

 

then the magic words-----thats it you are all done---- were said, thats when you can relax and have a chat with the assessor, and no, he is not there to catch you out but make an overall assessment of your abilities.

 

I thought i had messed up with some of the questions, but i would say today, dont kill yourself with worry, make the most of the assessment and show the assessor how good you are and beleive in your own capabilities, or do what i did and treat it like a day at work

good luck, john

Hi hope this helps,

my o/h wrote this some time ago, if you need any help drop us a message, John will be happy to help in any way he can x