Liquid & Air Cooled Load Bank Rental

A-Rent offers liquid cooled load banks designed specifically for commissioning (Cx) of direct-to-chip cooling systems and coolant distribution units (CDU’s). During commissioning, the CDU and cooling system loops recirculate glycol-based heat transfer fluids through the load bank. The load bank adds precise thermal energy to generate a specified temperature rise (Delta T) within the recirculating fluid. The operational performance of the CDU is verified when the unit can remove this Delta T from the recirculating system.

Air cooled load banks from A-Rent are used to simulate peak power consumption by servers, which must be delivered by the facility electrical systems including switchgear, cabling, uninterruptible power systems (UPS’s), power distribution units (PDU’s) and track busway. Power is drawn from the overhead track busway with the use of a purpose-built load bank tap box connected with multiple heavy power cables. During this load bank burn-in test, the systems are run at peak power for extended periods, while infrared (IR) images are taken to identify system abnormalities and power loggers record performance.

A-Rent understands the procedures of thermal and electrical data center commissioning and has the right fleet of load banks and accessories to meet the most demanding requirements. Accessories include tap boxes and power cables to safely deliver power to the load banks. Hoses, adapters, and flow manifolds are available with the liquid cooled load banks to connect to any CDU or loop flange configuration. Networking systems allow multiple load banks to operate as one, with more than 10MW of combined capacity, while following repeatable test procedure scripts.

Load Bank and Accessory FAQs

1. What load banks do you offer?

Our core offerings are the Avtron LC20 720kW liquid cooled load bank and Avtron 2805 500kW air cooled load bank. These are the market-leading units designed specifically for data center commissioning.

2. Can these load banks be networked together?

Yes, using either the Avtron SIGMA LT or RxMS networking components available from A-Rent, these units can all be networked together to execute repeatable, multi-MW tests.

3. Do you offer tap-off box rental?

We offer a wide selection of tap-off boxes, sometimes called tap cans, in conjunction with load bank rentals. Tap boxes must specifically match the brand and model of the facility busway, so we offer units for the Legrand Starline T5, PowerWave 2 and Vertiv E+I iMPB systems.

4. Do you offer fluid flow control accessories?

We offer flow manifolds and hose options in conjunction with liquid cooled load banks to tie into any cooling system or CDU configuration. These connections are often 1.5-inch and 2.5-inch sanitary, or tri-clamp, type fittings.

5. How are load banks prepared for rentals?

Both liquid and air cooled load banks receive a thorough cold and hot functional test at our facility before customer delivery. We validate the functionality of every contactor and heating element to ensure full rated capacity can be utilized in the field. Liquid load banks are taken through flush and clean procedures with de-ionized (DI) water that meets the Open Compute Project guidelines. All load banks are delivered clean and ready to use onsite, with no concerns of cross-contamination from other facilities.

6. Can your liquid cooled units work with propylene glycol (PG-25)?

Yes, our units have stainless steel internals that are compatible with both typical glycol blends and pure water.