FROMENT LOAD BANK Asco Froment load banks offer efficient power test solutions and also reduce the harmful effects of ‘wet stacking’
The combined Asco Froment load bank (resistive/inductive) with Sigma load control and instrumentation hardware, allows for fully variable power factor loading and can test generators up to 800 kVA at 80% load, says Southern Africa Asco power switching and control components electric motor distributor Vert Energy.
Resistive elements and inductors of the Asco load banks are connected to the supply on test by electromechanical contactors.
The easy-to-operate Sigma system ensures flexibility in automatic load control and provides cost-effective solutions to power testing requirements, which often require high-level instrumentation, data capture and verification.
“A well-planned, preventive maintenance programme, that includes load testing of a generator set, is vital to reliable operation and extended service life of the standby power system,” says Vert Energy director Ryan Robertson.
He explains that Asco Froment load banks, which are designed to replicate working load conditions, offer efficient power test solutions and also reduce the harmful effects of ‘wet stacking’ and glazing problems caused by the underloading of a generator.
“Wet stacking, which is the primary cause of failure of diesel engines in backup generating systems, occurs when unburned fuel accumulates in the combustion chamber, reducing engine ratings and affecting performance,” he notes, adding that load banks, used as part of proactive maintenance, thereby improve efficiency of the diesel engine and significantly increase service life.
Asco Froment load banks can be trailer mounted for easy and efficient load testing at remote sites, including government infrastructure, telecommunications, mining and game lodges.
Vert Energy’s range of Asco power switching and control components, includes load banks, which provide electrical loads for testing power sources, as well as generators and uninterruptible power supplies.
Vert Energy’s Asco range also encompasses transfer switches and controls, as well as Avtron load banks.
Other electric power generation components include Leroy Somer alternators, API Covrad radiators and customised control panels.
Also in Vert Energy’s range are NSM single and three-phase two-pole alternators for portable power, as well as alternating current and direct current, two-pole welders and permanent magnet generators.
Industrial machinery supplier AllightSykes’s MSGEN2 lighting towers, which offer over 50 000 hours of light for every unit, are also available.
“A critical part of the company’s solutions service is to meet growing demand from generator set builders and the electro-mechanical power transmission industry, to ensure there is no interruption in power supply as a result of load-shedding or mains failure,” the company notes.