Ground Support Blog

There’s something very unique about the ground support industry.  Maybe it’s because people tend to stay.  They may move to another company, but they still stay in the industry.  Or maybe the industry has had its challenges for so long there’s the feeling that we’re all in this together.  Regardless of the reason, what’s unique about this industry is that it is a real community of people.  We’re about to gather for our “annual meeting,” this year in Las Vegas, and here are a few thoughts.

(1) We need to make this industry as efficient and competitive as possible.  That means we need to continue to work together.  It’s really special that GSE personnel can talk to a counterpart at a competitor.  And vendors are welcome to share how a problem was fixed at another airline.  Most industries don’t enjoy that level of communication.

(2) We need to continue to support an annual show.  It appears that this will be a good show.  I suspect attendance could be down, but all the airlines and suppliers will still be there.  There may be attendees and suppliers who think we should bring up the “every other year show” if there isn’t a lot of new stuff.  While there may not be a lot of new products and new technology, there certainly is justification in getting together as a community to maintain relationships and start new ones.

(3) And finally . . . We’re in rather tough times, but let’s be thankful for the great things about the ground support industry as a whole!

You’re in desperate need of new batteries, but there’s no money in the capital budget. What are you going to do?

Quite possibly you’ve already received some equipment from another station that closed. That may not be good news overall, but it’s not all bad either. You can take the best of the best and put the scrap aside. Or you possibly have fewer flights and you can essentially do the same thing.

Been there, done that? Then the next step is reconditioning your existing battery fleet. Through less than perfect charging and maintenance, harsh operating conditions, and just the normal aging process, batteries lose capacity. Some capacity loss is permanent, but some is recoverable. I recommend contacting your local battery shop to see how they can help.

An “acid adjustment” will be standard procedure. Over time, the acid in the electrolyte has crystallized on the surface of the plates (sulphation) or has ended up on the ramp. Restoring the specific gravity of the electrolyte to nameplate rating will dramatically improve performance. There are also several potions out there that claim magic powers, but you should check with the battery manufacturer before using them.

Another recommended procedure is “cannibalization.” This only works if you have an extra battery or several extras. Replace the worst cells from one battery with the best cells from another battery. Make one good battery out of two bad batteries, or maybe you can get 2 out of 3, or 3 out of 4. A word of caution: this works best with younger batteries with just a few bad cells. Labor expenses can escalate quickly and there’s no guarantee on the life of your “new” batteries.

No money for battery reconditioning? Good maintenance will slowly improve the quality of your battery fleet. Water properly and charge properly. The charging part can be challenging. For one reason or another, your batteries may not be reaching 100-percent state of charge every day. Cycle batteries through your own shop for a good equalize charge — maybe two equalize charges over two consecutive days. And clean the battery surface while you’re at it.

Happy New Year!

Even though the majority of GSE is still powered by internal combustion engines, the industry is definitely trending toward electric vehicles. But for being the new trend, it’s ironic that we’re still using battery technology that was invented in 1859. And today’s modern motive power battery hasn’t changed much from the early 1900s. There are some good reasons why the lead-acid battery has remained on top; it’s powerful, durable and inexpensive, at least relative to the alternatives.

But there are some significant drawbacks. Lead-acid batteries are full of hazardous material, require frequent maintenance, and take a long time to recharge. For these reasons, there’s a good chance a new technology is going to finally replace the old. There are more possibilities that can be noted here, but below are some good prospects.

The first prospect is an upgraded version of lead-acid battery called thin plate pure lead (tppl), which is exactly what it sounds like. The plates are so thin they behave like spaghetti during the manufacturing process. Its main benefits are power density and ultra-fast recharge time, and that it’s maintenance free. This could be the transitional step away from lead-acid, particularly for GSE since the industry has already adopted fast-charge technology. Many of you are already familiar with tppl, which is found in the Odyssey brand battery.

The second prospect is the Lithium-Ion battery, which has already become the dominant technology for cell phone, laptops, and on-road electric vehicles. Its main benefits are power density, light weight, and that it’s also maintenance free. The benefits to GSE may never outweigh the cost, but with so many new Li-ion manufacturing plants ramping up for electric cars, you never can tell.

The big story in electric vehicle technology is fuel cells. A fuel cell uses a gas, such as hydrogen, as a kind of fuel to create electricity. The only emission from a hydrogen fuel cell is water and there is no “recharge” necessary. You will still have to “fill up” the tank when it’s empty, but that should only take a few minutes. Of course you’ll have to find a hydrogen fuel station, but let’s leave that for future post. There are many competing technologies within fuel cells. Hydrogen is clearly the most popular, but be looking for methanol fuels cells as well - they may be a faster path to widespread adoption.

All of these new technologies will be viable. In fact, they are all powering vehicles today. And in all probability, the price will eventually drop enough to compete with today’s lead-acid battery. The question is, which one will it be the dominant technology for GSE? I’m also curious how well our vehicle manufacturers keep up with electric technology. So we may have to wait a few more years, but I know of at least one battery company with a few surprises in 2009.

I was having a conversation with a friend about this blog.  I said, “I think I’m going to write about the myth of fast charging.”  He immediately fired back, “How about the myth of electric?”  Well that was just rude.  Electric vehicles have a lower cost of ownership and zero emissions.  What could he be talking about? 

The reality is that electric vehicles don’t really have zero emissions.  They just transfer emissions from the vehicle to the power plant generating the electricity used to recharge the batteries.  I’ll eventually get to the fast charging topic, but for now let’s look at emissions.  There are many definitions of “carbon footprint.”  For our purposes we will define it as the amount of greenhouse gases produced, specifically the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced. 

Today’s diesel engines have very low carbon dioxide emissions compared to those of just a few years ago.  I’m going to compare an electric bag tractor to one of the new diesel bag tractors.  Two assumptions: (1) the diesel engine is 65hp and produces 800g CO2 / hp-hr.  (2) The power plant producing the electricity generates 650g CO2 / kwh, which is the U.S. average.

The electric tractor will generate 10,439 pounds of CO2 per year.
20kwh/day x 0.650kg/kwh x 365days/year x 2.2lbs/kg = 10,439 pounds

The diesel tractor will generate 74,534 pounds of CO2 per year.
3.5hr/day x 65hp x .51ave hp/rated hp x 0.8kg/hp-hr x 365 days/year x 2.2lbs/kg = 74,534 pounds 

Clearly there is a huge difference in favor of electric vehicles.  Over the course of 10 years, the diesel tractor will produce 640,950 more pounds of carbon dioxide than its electric counterpart.  That’s a huge carbon footprint!

Do you disagree with my numbers?  Enough to make up 640,950 pounds?

There’s no “myth of electric.”  It lowers your cost of ownership, it lowers your carbon footprint, and it’s still zero emissions at the airport.  GO GREEN!

So is it possible to properly maintain batteries on the ramp? Maybe a better question is: Is there a financial return on the cost of maintaining batteries on the ramp? If you haven’t guessed, I think the answer is, yes.

First, have you noticed the price of batteries lately? Commodity prices – lead, copper, and steel specifically – have pushed battery prices to record levels. We can’t think of a battery as a component of the vehicle any more; it’s an asset unto itself. And by adding a little life to a battery fleet, the cost justification of battery maintenance is easy.

Let’s start with a simple example: 15 electric vehicles and 15 batteries. All we want to do is make sure they’re watered properly and equalize charged twice per month. There are many ways to accomplish this, but in this example, the maintenance department is going to make sure one battery gets watered and equalize charged each night. The cost may be a little labor, but extending battery life is easily $10,000 in annual savings.

Let’s now look at a larger “real life” operation with about 300 pieces of electric equipment. They invested in a whole battery maintenance department, which costs an exorbitant $150,000 per year. But the increased battery life saves twice that at $300,000 per year. And that’s just the start of the savings. Think about savings in operator labor because they are no longer looking for working tractors. There’s reduced downtime and reduced battery maintenance. There’s reduced tractor maintenance because they have a high voltage batteries. And reduced lost luggage and flight delays, and improved customer satisfaction. Could the savings be $500,000? $1 Million? $5 million?

Now I have to admit that part of me doesn’t mind poor battery maintenance at all. I mean, I’m content to sell twice as many batteries as necessary. But I believe that in the long term, we can all thrive if we do the absolute best we can.

Welcome to my first blog. This blog is dedicated to electric GSE, with a heavy slant toward batteries and chargers. To get us started, it seems appropriate that we “get back to basics.” (I say “back,” although I’m not sure we were ever there in the first place.)

There’s a lot of technology to discuss, and we will. The technology for electric GSE has advanced significantly in recent years, and we’re all searching for ways to use technology to increase efficiency, and to ultimately add to the bottom line. But before we go any further, let’s first talk about maintenance.

I think this issue applies to almost everything in life. It doesn’t matter what you do to improve if you don’t have a solid foundation first. When it comes to batteries, it doesn’t matter what new battery technology, or charger technology, or tractor technology that you adopt. If you don’t maintain your batteries properly, you’re just wasting money.

Maintaining batteries is inherently difficult on the ramp. It’s never a warehouse condition where everything can be controlled. The ideal use of a battery is 8 hours of discharge, 8 hours of charge, and 8 hours of cool. Yeah, right! And don’t forget to equalize once per week and water immediately after the equalize charge. Watering systems, extra durable batteries, fast charging, and advanced controllers can’t overcome these maintenance needs.

So is it even possible to maintain batteries properly? Absolutely, but it will certainly take some effort. Let’s talk about how to free up $1M to your annual budget. To be continued . . .

P.S. Why equalize charge? I’m not sure what kills batteries on the ramp more, improper watering or under charging. You could probably go to any airport in the world that has electric equipment and find at least a few dry cells. But under charging is the silent killer. You can’t pull off a vent cap and see undercharging. You don’t even notice it while it’s happening until it’s too late. When you under charge a battery, the acid doesn’t completely come out of the plates. And over time, the acid remaining in the plates crystallizes and becomes what’s called sulphation; or we might say that the battery is sulphated. Sulphation drastically reduces battery performance and battery life. But if you bring a battery to 100% state of charge daily or regularly, and equalize charge weekly or regularly, you can eliminate this problem.