The ratings, AC and DC
- Class 00: 500V AC, 750V DC maximum working voltage.
- Class 0: 1,000V AC, 1,500V DC maximum working voltage.
- Class 1 and above: 7,500V AC and up, for utility and substation work. Thicker, stiffer, and no use on a connector you need to feel.
Most glove listings quote only the AC figure, because the standard was written for electricians. A traction battery is DC. The number that decides whether the glove is rated for the car in your bay is the DC one, and on a Class 00 glove it is 750V.
Some hybrids run lower voltage systems where Class 00 is within rating. A garage with mixed work cannot police which pair goes on which car, and the next battery electric car through the door puts the Class 00 pair below the pack. Buy Class 0 for everything and the question never comes up again.
800V platforms and the DC margin
Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron GT, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, Kia EV6 and EV9 and Genesis GV60 are all sold as 800V cars, and the Hyundai and Kia models are family cars in volume, so they reach independents. More will follow, because a higher pack voltage moves the same power at lower current, which means thinner cables and faster charging.
A Class 0 glove rated 1,500V DC has margin over an 800V pack. A Class 00 glove rated 750V DC has none. The glove is the last control between your hand and the busbar after an isolation has failed for a reason you did not see, and a control with no margin is a control you are hoping never to need.
The 1,500V DC figure also answers the question garages ask about insulated tools, and it comes from the same place: IEC 60900 tools are rated 1,000V AC and 1,500V DC. Buy gloves and tools to the 1,000V AC class and the 800V question goes away for both.
Three layers, and why one is never enough
- Cotton under glove. Absorbs sweat so the rubber is not sitting in moisture, and lets the insulating glove go on and off without being stretched.
- Insulating glove, Class 0 to EN 60903. The electrical barrier. Rubber, thin enough to work a connector in, and the only layer that matters in a fault.
- Leather over glove. Takes the swarf, bracket edges and bonnet catches that would otherwise cut the rubber. Cuts and abrasion end more insulating gloves than electrical failure does.
Listings sell the insulating glove on its own. A garage that buys gloves without over gloves is buying gloves twice, and in between is working in a cut pair without knowing. Buy the three layers together, and buy the over gloves in the same size as the insulating glove so they sit without bunching.
The test before every use, and the date stamp
Visual inspection inside and out: cuts, punctures, swelling, stickiness, any change in texture. Then the air test. Roll the cuff to trap air, squeeze, and listen and feel for a leak. A pinhole you cannot see fails this. It takes under a minute, and because gloves get damaged between uses rather than during them, the test lives at the start of every job.
For Class 00 and Class 0, that check before every use is what EN 60903 asks for. The six monthly electrical retest in the standard applies to Class 1 and above, and no UK regulation sets one for Class 0. If the manufacturer, your insurer or your own policy gives a retest or replacement date, follow it. Log the date each pair was first issued and who checks them. An insurer asks for that after an incident and it cannot be reconstructed afterwards.
A bench pneumatic glove tester turns the air test from a squeeze into a proper check, and it earns its place once two or three technicians have their own pairs. A single pair can be checked by rolling the cuff. Either way, a pair that fails is replaced, and at £30 to £77 a pair that is the cheap part of the job.
Sizing, storage and what ends a glove's life
Size by the hand that will wear them. Too tight and the rubber is under stretch at every knuckle, which is where it splits. Too loose and you lose the feel you need on a connector and the cuff gaps. Most ranges run medium to extra large. Buy a pair per technician, not a pair per bay.
Store them flat or hung by the cuff, in the bag they came in, away from sunlight, heat and anything oily or solvent based. A glove left on the bench next to the brake cleaner is on its way out.
A glove is finished the moment it fails a visual or air test, touches oil or solvent, passes a replacement date your own policy has set, or gets used for anything other than high voltage work. Cut failed pairs up before binning them. A failed pair left in a drawer gets worn by the next person in.