Arriving onsite, Steven Jewell, service engineer for Crestchic, worked with the European naval team to inspect and commission the load bank built into a 10ft ISO container. 

Steven explains: “The ship’s crew were very interested in overseeing the commissioning of the load bank and before the formal training began, they observed the load bank being inspected inside and out. I conducted insulation tests on the main connection terminals and auxiliary supplies to ensure they were all above 550 megaohms at 500V, then connected the main cables from the ship. 

“There were five cables per phase and earth, and I recommended that the auxiliary supply was used to maintain power to the load bank in case the generator on test was to fail. This way there would still be power for the load bank controls and cooling. The auxiliary power was supplied from the jetty’s distribution panel nearby.”

Load bank training for performance and safety

Once connected, the Crestchic team and the naval crew boarded the ship to begin the formal load bank training. The presentation began with load bank familiarisation and specification, then covered electrical connections, control cable connections, control switches and indicators on the load bank.

The main body of the presentation looked at operating limits, how to successfully use the control systems and software, safety and maintenance. 

Hands-on load bank experience 

After the training, the naval team were given the opportunity to test out what they had learned, using the load bank against the ship’s generator with each attendee operating the software, applying loads, starting and stopping the load bank. 

The Crestchic team used this hands-on session to demonstrate further best practice whilst running tests on the vessel’s generator.

Steven concludes: “Load banks are essential for marine applications, none more so than naval and military vessels where performance can mean life or death. Regularly using a load bank to ensure the generators on board are capable of handling the required loads should form part of the vessels regular maintenance procedures, and knowing how to do this safely and accurately is of great importance. 

“This is why we finish our training sessions with hands-on learning, to ensure that those responsible for working with the load bank are competent in doing so and have the confidence to test with accuracy and in accordance with best practice.”

Load banks for naval applications

There are many electrical systems onboard naval and military vessels that must remain active in the event of a primary power outage. 

Propulsion systems, refrigeration, light, heat and air conditioning, and of course weapon systems. Load bank testing ensures the back-up generator is capable of handling these loads, and how they interact with each other in the event of a primary power failure. 

With over 30 years’ experience in the field, Crestchic’s highly specialised, containerised load banks are widely used by naval forces throughout the world for testing gensets, gas turbines, UPS and DV systems. 

For more information, contact Crestchic on +44 (0)1283 531 645 or complete the online contact form.

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