Offshore Crane Scale

In the market for an offshore crane scale? Need some water-resistant weighing equipment or a scale with high environmental resilience? 

In this article, we’ll look at what makes a crane scale suitable for offshore applications, key features, choosing the right scale for your needs, and more.
 

What are offshore crane scales?

A crane scale is a specialized piece of industrial equipment used to weigh loads lifted by cranes, hoists, or other lifting devices. They’re used across sectors and industries and play an important role in countless industrial lifting applications.

Among these are many types of marine and offshore applications where environmental factors like exposure to water complicate matters. For these applications, you’ll need an offshore crane scale—one that is especially suited to function in a marine environment.

The major difference between a regular and an offshore or outdoor crane scale one is the level of exposure to water it can safely withstand.

Seeing as how most modern precision crane scales are digital devices with sensitive electronics, exposing them to water is usually problematic. However, a water resistant weighing device will be designed with a high Ingress Protection (IP) rating, increasing its ability to function undamaged in an offshore application.

IP ratings

IP ratings are a system to measure how well sealed electrical systems can block out foreign particles like dust, moisture, and liquid. Think of them as a grade for a piece of electronic equipment’s environmental resilience.

The rating works on a number system. The first number represents the level of protection from dry materials such as dust and dirt, and the second against liquids. That means you might see IP levels such as IP23, IP45, IP66, etc. 

The higher the number, the higher the level of protection. 

Here’s a handy chart, courtesy of Blue Sea Systems:

Key features of an offshore crane scale

High IP level

As you can see from the chart above, one of the most important features of an offshore crane scale will be an adequate IP level. This will vary between applications, but any time there’s a risk of significant exposure to water you’ll want an IP level of at least IP66.

Corrosion resistance

A crane scale is more than just electronic components—let’s not forget about the load-bearing component of the scale itself. For offshore applications, you’ll need a high durability scale made of high-quality materials.

For example, stainless steel is an excellent material for a marine-grade scale as it’s naturally corrosion-resistant. Alternatively, polyurethane-coated steel is highly resistant to corrosive chemicals, including oils, fuels, acids, and saltwater, making it ideal for use in the oil and gas industry and other marine applications.

Remote display

In the majority of offshore lifting and weighing applications, you’ll need a scale with a remote display rather than one that’s integrated into the scale itself. This allows operators to remain at a safe distance from the lifted load. 

In some applications such as proof load testing with water bags, a remote display is an absolute must.

And while a wired remote display might be OK in some applications, wireless crane scales that use R. F. technology to transmit the data from the scale to a portable handheld indicator are often the best solution.

Safety features and add-ons

A good offshore crane scale should be equipped with the highest level of safety features. Features like overload indication can help prevent accidents and damage to valuable equipment. 

Some applications, such as weighing fish for example, may benefit from a totalizer feature that automatically sums up multiple loads. 

Choosing the right offshore crane scale

When selecting a new offshore crane scale, your first consideration should be its maximum lifting capacity. 

If you only need the scale for one particular job, and you know the maximum weight you can possibly lift, then choosing the capacity is easy.

But if you need a scale for a variety of applications, you’ll need to consider how much weight you might need to lift along with how portable the scale is. Look for a good balance of strength and portability. 

Then, you’ll have to choose a minimum IP level. For some applications, IP65 or IP66 might be good enough. But if you know the system is likely to be exposed to heavy splashes of water, we recommend going with IP67. 

Next, you’ll need to choose what type of remote display you need. In most offshore applications, a fully wireless crane scale is the best option. 

Finally, you should consider what other features might benefit your application, such as data logging, or a totalizer. 

The Eilon Engineering advantage

With close to five decades of experience in industrial crane scales, Eilon Engineering’s line of Ron Crane Scales has been used in countless offshore and marine applications. 

These range from Bollard pull tests for tug boats, proof load water bag tests, weighing fishing nets, offshore oil and gas rigs, installing undersea cables, and countless others.

IP level

Our wired models come standard with IP66 sealing with the option to increase the level to IP67. Further, all of our wireless models now come standard with IP67 sealing. 

This makes our Ron 2501 model the perfect offshore crane scale for many applications.

High durability scale

All Eilon systems are made of high-quality materials. The scales load cell body is made of high-strength, aerospace-quality low alloy steel that is polyurethane coated. This means the load-bearing element can withstand harsh marine environments. 

Further, our weighing systems are fatigue-rated, meaning that so long as the system has never been overloaded, it can withstand an unlimited number of load cycles. Combine this with our industry-leading 5-year manufacturer's warranty, and you know you’ll be getting a system that’s built to last.

Bonus features

All of our systems come with important safety features like duel-level overload indication, and high accuracy. 

You can also add optional features like totalizing, averaging display for unstable loads, data logging, and many others.

Conclusion

Choosing the right offshore crane scale for the right job is critical. Write to us or give one of our experienced technical reps a call today. We’ll be happy to help you find the perfect offshore crane scale for your application.

US/Canada/Int'l: 1-888-778-8064
UK: 0800 8620354

Send us an email at:
sales@eilon-engineering.com

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