As a form of power generation, wind farms are essential to our daily lives— so it’s imperative that they are kept in peak and reliable working condition at all times. But that’s not necessary just for the consumers — it’s also critical for the technicians who clean, inspect, and repair those turbines that power our homes and worlds each day. Here’s the lowdown on wind turbine inspection and why it’s essential to ensure worker safety and peak performance.
Necessary Equipment for Wind Turbine Inspections
Wind turbine inspections are no small feat. In order to lift to those working heights of 70 meters & 90 meters (most common turbine tower sizes in North America), the first thing you need is reliable equipment that can get the job done safely. The equipment you use must also have an extremely high reach and be designed with efficiency and performance in mind.
Thankfully, Bronto Skylifts check all of those boxes. Working in windy conditions on a wind farm is par for the course, which is why our equipment utilizes an in-basket anemometer to read the wind speed in real time. All Brontos can operate safely in wind speeds up to 31 mph.
Whereas the average boom truck, cherry picker, or bucket truck usually maxes out at 185 feet — limiting how high you can lift — we at Kardie Equipment have fourteen units in our rental fleet that extend to an impressive 295 feet, which improves both operational performance and efficiency at such challenging heights.
Bronto Skylifts are also incredibly efficient, because they can reach horizontally, up, and down, with a turntable rotation of 360 degrees for complete control and maneuverability. Some of their most impressive features include:
Most importantly, Bronto Skylifts are safe—in fact, they’re the safest manlift on the market today. That’s because, unlike cranes or cherry pickers, Bronto Skylifts were specifically designed to carry and support people and workers rather than materials. This makes them a much safer option for wind turbine maintenance technicians. And unlike cranes or aerial work platforms from other manufacturers that don’t come equipped with guaranteed safety standards, Bronto’s reputation for engineering the safest and most reliable AWPs on the market is well established.
Cleaning services for turbines can cause a lot of concern for customers and managers who worry about overspray, runoff and cleaning waste. But at Kardie Equipment (a TGM Wind Company), we’re proud to be the most efficient and environmentally friendly cleaning provider on the market, using our high-reach Bronto Skylifts. We offer both hand washing and pressure washing services, but the hand washing option is a smart choice for turbine owners and operators that are concerned with being eco-friendly.
That’s because our hand washing method uses significantly less water. In fact, when compared to the 30 gallons of water used in the traditional pressure-washing method, our hand cleaning method only uses an impressive 5 gallons to clean a standard 90 meter wind turbine! Besides being more environmentally responsible, it’s also more efficient. By conserving resources, the job is completed with a single tank of water, which eliminates the need to interrupt the task at hand and travel to the nearest water refill site.
Wind Turbine Blade Repair
Just because wind turbines don’t rely on direct manpower to propel their blades doesn’t mean they’re completely self-reliant. Because they’re vulnerable to lighting strikes, bird interference, leading edge erosion, and - of course - dangerously high winds, they require repairs and maintenance to ensure a long lifespan and better efficiency. But for wind turbine technicians, a day on the job is no small task. When you’re access towers for inspection, testing electrical components, and replacing malfunctioning components, you need powerful equipment like a Bronto Skylift to ensure safe and efficient wind turbine blade repair and maintenance.
Whether you need a Bronto Skylift to safely lift you to wind turbine working heights or you’re simply looking for conscientious cleaning services, Kardie Equipment is your trusted partner. Contact us today, and we’ll take care of your equipment and cleaning needs for safer and more efficient wind turbines.