Well, I can see URs story from both sides and first and foremost there is absolutely no excuse for screwing up rotation when reconnecting after a load test. That’s generators 101... maybe 100. Many, if not most companies and authorities just don’t get the complexities of power generation and will put nearly anyone in a service truck. I’m fortunate to work for a company that requires extensive training and months of ride along experience for a power gen tech but there’s always one that can get through the system.
That said, there is great value in load bank testing at 100% load annually (as required by law on both sides of the border). Site load is usually between 30 and 60% and will mask many issues, especially cooling that would otherwise only show up on a long emergency run when options are limited. Load testing IS destructive testing and is meant to cause an impending failure in a controlled manner and with proper monitoring of the test the damage will be limited and repairable.
Poor system design like not having a dedicated load bank connection cause unnecessary risk in the time required to reconnect the generator if power fails (hours on a large unit) and wear and tear to breakers, lugs and cables (and risk of misconnection). A properly designed system will have a dedicated loadbank breaker that will automatically trip if the transfer switch operates.
As for fuel testing, it’s a valuable tool that has become a money grab by unqualified people like loadtesting. Most testing is visual looking for “clear and bright” which does nothing to prove the chemical qualities. Many fuel polishers will charge thousands (or 10s of thousands) to clean fuel that has broken down chemically and has lost BTU value. This fuel cannot produce required power a should be replaced as cleaning won’t help.
There is no place for automated testing in emergency systems. All testing should be done live by someone (like UR) who can recognize poor starting, rough running fail to transfer,
oil or coolant leaks etc. Automated systems can’t detect the majority of issues until an outright failure occurs. A full system test (black start) by shutting off all power should be done once a year on any critical system.
A transfer test should always be the last step in any maintenance or repair on an generator system and would’ve identified the misconnection while there was still someone on site.
I’ve worked on prime and standby systems from a few kW up to around 20MW and the most common excuse I’ve heard is “it’s too critical to risk a test”... My response has always been that every system, bar none, will fail at some point. If you test it 12 times a year when the power is on and have one outage per year you have 12:1 odds the failure will happen when power is still available. Your call.
Sorry for another long winded reply, I get carried away once I get started.
