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Floating Oil Skimmers | Oil Water Separators | Marine Sanitation Devices
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Skim definition: taking a little off the top -- removing floating material from a liquid
Different types of oil skimmers and how they work.

Oil Skimmers for Floating Oil

Floating Oil SkimmersWe're in the oil skimmer business!
We have almost ALL technologies known to man, for skimming floating oils, fuels, fats and grease from the surface of water.

ALL of our oil skimmers are well proven, state of the art ---highly specialized systems. We’ve used them all and by now have made most of the mistakes available ---so you won’t have to! WE LOVE OIL!

Our oil skimmers are used extensively in the steel, manufacturing, and petroleum industries as well as power plants across the world.

Ask R.J.

Industrial FDS Drum Skimmer Hardened for Steel - 30+ gpmOur floating weir type skimmers are also used for skimming floating ash, plastic, scum, floc, duck weed, algae and water meal from water impoundments.

We build systems to specifically address your problem through the use of our specialty, existing, unique and innovative technologies or equipment that can be used off the shelf or modified, configured or otherwise packaged, to fit your specific needs. Ready yet?

Oil skimmers are for removing free and standing oil!
Oil water separators remove oil from a flowing stream!

All skimmers shown here are made in the USA!


Oil skimming for industrial purposes (except the steel industry*) and inland waters spill response is generally done by one of the two following methods:

steel industry oil skimmer1. Selective oil skimming—exposes an oil attracting plastic or metal (i.e. belt, drum, disc, tube or rope mop) to the oil on the surface of the water. Usually motor driven, this media once coated with oil, is then wiped, wrung or scraped off for transfer of oil by gravity draining or by pumping to storage. This method is highly selective & delivers relatively little water with the oil.

When these selective skimmers are running in wall to wall oil--they will actually pull the oil into the skimmer - much like you could pull a carpet across the room. These skimmers must be in oil to work!

Self Adjusting Weir Skimmer2. Gravity oil skimming is done by taking advantage of the difference in specific gravity between oil and water. Most oils are lighter than and float on water. Gravity oil skimming includes adjustable standpipes, fixed overflow weirs and floating weir oil skimmers like those pictured here. Gravity oil skimming can also remove scum, floc, vegetation like seaweed and algae, foam and some floating junk. All gravity oil skimmers are overflow weirs.

We can also set up gravity oil skimmers to skim below the surface!

Floating weir oil skimmers can be installed almost anywhere you have the room, hook a hose to it, put it in the water and start pumping liquid from the skimmer.

Floating Weir Oil SkimmerThese floating weir oil skimmers create a depression or low spot in the water, so whatever is on the surface will run into it. This is generally non-selective, and removes a goodly amount of water with the oil since the water is actually the carrier of the oil over the weir. This water can be often be decanted back to source, but can cause treatment and/or storage problems if you are looking to discharge it. Oil Water Separators are often used.

Call we can help with pumping and separation systems!
Our floating weir oil skimmers always skim! ALWAYS! The quality or cut of the skim is a function of how fast you pump from the sump.

The floating skimmers need no installation other than hooking them up and putting them in the water. You only need a few inches of water for the floating skimmers to work in.
All spill response work is done with floating skimmers.

If you need oil skimmers -- get a look here BUT don’t try to figure this out on your own -- call SKIMOIL. It’s what we do!

* The steel industry used to use lots of walking bridge or paddle/flight type skimmers, which were huge cumbersome chain driven devices that would break down regularly. Our hardened steel industry floating drum skimmers have changed all that. See the alternative at: www.skimoil.com/steel_industry_skimmers.htm.



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