Sitting my ACS and Bricking it :)

[Chris F]

Hi all not sure if this is the place to post this
Sitting my ACS at the end of Jan and its eating me up with stress,i have read the BPEC book page to page,i have been a plumber without gas for 10 years, i have worked with a gas safe engineer for 7 of those, worked on loads of heating jobs,fires,cookers etc.
Theoretically i can answer most of the questions without opening a book,its just being tripped up on the practical im worried about.Has anyone done the BPEC ACS? What does the practical involve? im sure its all common sense,like someone stuck a bag up the chimney and damper plates closed etc.I would ask the guy i work with but he is a sarcastic git and cant be arsed with his snide comments.
Any help or guidance will be loads of help,cheers 🙂

 

[chris watkins]

Hi Chris F, stop panicking, if you have been doing it for that long & have worked on fires & cookers as well as boilers / pipework you will be fine!! as far as it is possible in a test center you are asked to do the things that you should be doing day to day.
You don't need to be able to answer every question off the top of your head you are always allowed to look at your ref books, so if you can't remember how to work out the ventilation requirements for an O/P flue boiler cos your mind has gone blank, just look it up, there is nothing wrong in doing that. Good luck.

 

[Chris F]

yeah mate i have worked on them all,its just you hear of experienced engineers buckling under the pressure hehe. I think its just Chimneys im worried about,but like you say anything to do with chimneys will be open book anyway,i remember all the open flued vent requirements etc,catchment spaces

 

[chris watkins]

Just remember they are NOT trying to fail you!!!!

 

[johnnyplumb]

no need to be stressed out, acs is easy, all this open book stuff's a joke.
they even give you 3 goes at the true or false questions, i wonder if anyone gets these wrong :mad2:

if it was up to me, i'd take the books away, that would sort the men from the boys :hurray:

 

[Chris F]

no need to be stressed out, acs is easy, all this open book stuff's a joke.
they even give you 3 goes at the true or false questions, i wonder if anyone gets these wrong :mad2:

if it was up to me, i'd take the books away, that would sort the men from the boys :hurray:

LOL true 🙂 I reckon i would pass with no books as long as its multiple choice,all im worried about is that ive picked up too many bad habits,like just firing the cooker till it lights instead of doing the proper purge procedures at the meter etc ,im just overthinking it i suppose ,both the gas guys i have worked with are super fast in and out type of guys,where as i like to think about what im doing,i mean i have to remind THEM to use a continuity bond 🙂

 

[adam55]

yes mate im doing the same thing presently, although im doing four weeks back to back training at a training centre, then iv got 10 weeks on site training with a couple of pals who are gas safe and have their own business, then back in training centre to do exams. the portfolio im currently working on has around 40 'jobs' to be completed. 18 of which are done in the training centre and the rest on site. thing is an actual job il be going out to do, can realistically tick a few portfolio 'jobs' off, like defects, tightness testing and pipesizing can be done on every job with breakdowns. also you get to use your gas hanbook so perhaps trying a few old test papers is a good idea to get used to where you should look in the book for information.
good luck anyhow

 

[kirkgas]

This will sound ruder (is that a real word) than it's meant to
LISTEN to what you are asked to do and do only that, eg
"Go into bay 3 and check if the installation has a leak or not"
The guy who listens goes in, does a visual and TT and comes back out and say yea or nay
The guy who doesn't listen comes out after 20minutes and says "haha that was tricky to find, but it's ok now"

There is NOTHING to trick you in the practical, but if you don't listen you will waste too much time, relax and make sure you understand what you have to do, if you don't understand ask again, don't be shy
If you have worked in gas you will be fine, it's ALL about proving you are safe, so think SAFETY, SAFETY and then SAFETY, I've assessed 100's of guys on bpec ACS and if you listen and relax you will be fine

 

[kirkgas]

no need to be stressed out, acs is easy, all this open book stuff's a joke.
they even give you 3 goes at the true or false questions, i wonder if anyone gets these wrong :mad2:

if it was up to me, i'd take the books away, that would sort the men from the boys :hurray:

I wish I had £1 for every guy who needs a third attempt at true or false, it's because they think they remember what they put and doubt their own ability eg
The KNOW it's true so they tick A (but A is FALSE, and they have simply ticked the wrong box) so they get it back and freak cause they thought it was true so they doubt themselves and tick A again) haha
On the true or false it's either A or B and I've had people ticking C, not sure if this is cheating or not but when you do multiple choice and need to pick from 4, discount the two you know it isn't and if you don't know the answer from the other two choose the one on the left of the two, if you get it back choose the one on the right, you need to get 80% correct after two attempts then you get oral verification to get you up to the 100% you need to pass! the reason for oral verification is because you have got 80% you have proved competence but you maybe don't understand the wording of the question! again as well as listen to instructions! please READ the questions carefully, but confidentially, again eg
Which of the following would you NOT use to trace a gas leak
A LDF
B electronic gas leak detector
C manometer
D FGA incorporating gas sniffer

 

[kirkgas]

LOL true 🙂 I reckon i would pass with no books as long as its multiple choice,all im worried about is that ive picked up too many bad habits,like just firing the cooker till it lights instead of doing the proper purge procedures at the meter etc ,im just overthinking it i suppose ,both the gas guys i have worked with are super fast in and out type of guys,where as i like to think about what im doing,i mean i have to remind THEM to use a continuity bond 🙂

You have picked a very good example here, you describe what you are calling a bad habit, however due to a recent procedure change, you are describing how to do it properly, you don't have to purge unburnt from the furthest appliance then do the others, the new procedure in IGE/UP/1b is to purge from an appropriate appliance and it's acceptable to try to light it right away

 

[Crinkmeister]

You forgot E Nose

sorry! :dead:

 

[Alpha man]

Just take your time with it, and you'll find you already know a some of the answers!

 

[PowerFlusher2]

I wish I had £1 for every guy who needs a third attempt at true or false, it's because they think they remember what they put and doubt their own ability eg
The KNOW it's true so they tick A (but A is FALSE, and they have simply ticked the wrong box) so they get it back and freak cause they thought it was true so they doubt themselves and tick A again) haha
On the true or false it's either A or B and I've had people ticking C, not sure if this is cheating or not but when you do multiple choice and need to pick from 4, discount the two you know it isn't and if you don't know the answer from the other two choose the one on the left of the two, if you get it back choose the one on the right, you need to get 80% correct after two attempts then you get oral verification to get you up to the 100% you need to pass! the reason for oral verification is because you have got 80% you have proved competence but you maybe don't understand the wording of the question! again as well as listen to instructions! please READ the questions carefully, but confidentially, again eg
Which of the following would you NOT use to trace a gas leak
A LDF
B electronic gas leak detector
C manometer
D FGA incorporating gas sniffer

C manometer?

 

[Killy Bing]

C manometer?

Add F. lighter

it would still be c......

sir don't worry, they are there to makesure you are safe, not quick and they certainly don't expect you to know every answer off the top of your head.

just don't guess if you don't know
golden words are "i would need to refrence that"

providing you don't have to refrence how to do a tightness test you will be fine.

and yes, i did witniss a guy say that to an examiner who wasn't best pleased!

 

[Ermintrude]

We had a lad who had to define a TT in money . 10p for 1p 20p for 1p 20p for 2p so basically a TT was 54p

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

listen to kirks advice,it will see you right

 

[chris watkins]

I wish I had £1 for every guy who needs a third attempt at true or false, it's because they think they remember what they put and doubt their own ability eg
The KNOW it's true so they tick A (but A is FALSE, and they have simply ticked the wrong box) so they get it back and freak cause they thought it was true so they doubt themselves and tick A again) haha
On the true or false it's either A or B and I've had people ticking C, not sure if this is cheating or not but when you do multiple choice and need to pick from 4, discount the two you know it isn't and if you don't know the answer from the other two choose the one on the left of the two

Or there is my particular favourite -

D all of the above

Can I have a pound for all that put A cos it is a right answer!, then freak out & read B or C which of course is also right so put that, only when they are asked to read the whole question & all the answers do they spot the "all of the above". Watch out for them !!!

 

[Chris F]

Thanks a lot for all your advice lads 🙂

 

[PowerFlusher2]

C manometer?

Well, do I pass? If so where do I write for my certificate?

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Best of luck mate, as everyone has said take your time and read the questions a few times till you fully understand what you are being asked.
If you are not sure ask the tester as they are there to assist you and not try and fool or trick you.
Go for it 🙂

 

[kirkgas]

Well, do I pass? If so where do I write for my certificate?

Once you send the cash you will get your cert

 

[Gas]

Joke exam these days, needs to be made much harder and properly regulated.

Met a guy Friday afternoon fitting a new boiler on ECO, he didn't know how to use a pipe bender, thousands of fittings everywhere

 

[kirkgas]

Joke exam these days, needs to be made much harder and properly regulated.

Met a guy Friday afternoon fitting a new boiler on ECO, he didn't know how to use a pipe bender, thousands of fittings everywhere

Just means he isn't an experienced plumber, as long as he's safe
And as for making the exam harder, I agree to a point but the trade better be ready for a few experience guys getting banned from going back to work on the Monday, cause if it's made harder some will get laid off
I'm not a lover of closed book as that's not the way it is in the real world, as you should have access to all info to do the job, but I'm sure it could be tighter

 

[Gas]

Just means he isn't an experienced plumber, as long as he's safe

Can't jig a boiler to MIs, pretty dangerous in my eyes.

And as for making the exam harder, I agree to a point but the trade better be ready for a few experience guys getting banned from going back to work on the Monday,

Course cowboys are mostly banned from the large building projects, which is a good thing for our trade, but an actual law needs to be passed to stop them form all sites.

 

[Chris F]

Just an update to this 🙂

I passed all my theory today,got my practical tommorrow,didnt do too bad
i got 63 out of 65 on f+v first attempt and 100% on the rest 🙂
It helped reading the bpec book twice i suppose.

 

[chris watkins]

I bet at least one of the two you got wrong was the D = All of the above ????

 

[Chris F]

Lol yeah 🙂 there were a load of all of the above spread across those papers. I think re reading the questions helps too, especially the what do you NOT say to a customer ones 🙂 glad its over with that's for definate.

 

[chris watkins]

Lol yeah 🙂 there were a load of all of the above spread across those papers. I think re reading the questions helps too, especially the what do you NOT say to a customer ones 🙂 glad its over with that's for definate.

Just think Chris only another five years & you can do it all over again LOL (well at least a shorter version any road)

Good luck for tomorrow, just remember you can still use your books in the practical if you get stuck.

 

[Chris F]

Cheers mate .I'm quite looking forward to the practical. I did my theory in the bay I'll be working in and was noting all the pipe and flue faults in my head he he.I think the thought of doing the ACS is worse than actually doing it.specially with all my engineer mates winding me up.

 

[Chris F]

Now to sell my car to buy a fga hehe

 

[kirkgas]

Cheers mate .I'm quite looking forward to the practical. I did my theory in the bay I'll be working in and was noting all the pipe and flue faults in my head he he.I think the thought of doing the ACS is worse than actually doing it.specially with all my engineer mates winding me up.

Remember it's all about safety, temp continuity bond, flue flow spillage etc etc

 

[sheff paul]

Just an update to this 🙂

I passed all my theory today,got my practical tommorrow,didnt do too bad
i got 63 out of 65 on f+v first attempt and 100% on the rest 🙂
It helped reading the bpec book twice i suppose.

:censored: walk in the park mate,bet you got a bit of a swagger now

 

[Chris F]

Another update 🙂 I passed it all. I'm well happy .Cheers for all your comments lads. I think the key is staying calm, well trying too he he.

 

[SimonG]

Nice one 🙂

 

[chris watkins]

Well done Chris, only the probation period to go & then your free !!!! What a responsibility to put it all into practice. LOL

 

[Crinkmeister]

I love a happy ending. I've no idea who you are or where you work but well done on passing!