Sometimes there are situations where your oil skimmer will collect water.  If you are running your skimmer 24/7 and the tank or pit runs out of oil, your skimmer will pick up whatever is remaing in the tank, and most of the time that will be water or coolant.  There is a way to prevent this and that is by utilizing an oil water sperator/concentrator in conjuction with your oil skimmer.  The oil water conentrator attaches to the skimmer and helps in further separating the water/coolant from your oil.  This unit is placed on the back of the skimmer.  The skimmed material is drained into the concentrator and then it separates the water from oil.  You can then drain the water back into the tank or well through one hose, and the oil drains from another.  So, next time you’re wondering how to increase the efficiency of your oil skimmer, take a look at the oil water concentrator to help solve your dilemma.

Coolant skimmers can really help in extending the life of your costly coolant.  Coolant skimmers help remove oils that leak from machines or parts to keep your coolant clean.  By removing the oil with a coolant skimmer you can significantly increase the life of your coolant.  Abanaki offers a wide variety of coolant skimmers that include belt, disk, and tube style coolant skimmers.  The Mighty Mini is a belt style coolant skimmer that is ideal for a wide variety of applications due to its stainless steel construction and its built in timer.  This skimmer comes standard with a steel or Elastomer belt.  Elastomer belts are the ideal fit for coolant skimmers as they excel in coolant based applications.

There is often some confusion when people go to buy a replacement oil skimmer belt.  There is a tag on the side of the skimmer for the specific belt part number, but this will wear off from time to time.  The first things you need to look at are the type of skimmer and what the belt material looks like.  The more complicated part comes in when figuring out what length of belt is needed.  Some units will measure the reach from skimmer mounting down, while other skimmers will measure from center of the top pulley to center of the bottom pulley.  The most frequent mistake made is measuring the belt when it is folded over or measuring the full circumfrence.  The best way to ensure that you are getting the correct oil skimmer belt is to ask your sales representative.

Choosing the right oil skimmer replacement belt will not only make a big difference in the recovery rates of your oil skimmer, but also how long the oil skimmer replacement belt lasts.  There are many things to consider when choosing an oil skimmer replacement belt.  The two main things to keep in mind are the type of oil you are trying to recover and the factors in your application that affect the life of the belt.  We offer a variety of choices in oil skimmer replacement belts that are tailored to different types of oils.  If you have heavy oils you may want to consider a Poly belt; very light products might operate better with a Fuzzy belt.  If you have a high temperature or a chemical situation you may want to consider a High Temp Poly belt.  Choosing the right oil skimmer replacement belt can truly make all the difference in the life and recovery rate of your skimmer.

Abanaki’s Model 8 Oil Skimmer helps a large manufacturing firm save coolant and reclamation costs.  The company came to Abanaki trying to find a way to lower their coolant cost in their 2,000 gallon centralized system.  They had been replacing their coolant on a semi-monthly basis and had to dispose of their old coolant, which was costly and time consuming.  Since Abanaki’s Model 8 Oil Skimmer has been in place, they have been able to limit the need to change their coolant to once a year and have been able to sell the tramp oil they removed.

Abanaki’s Model 8 Oil Skimmer helps companies remove oil and other hydrocarbons from fracking wastewater.  Generally, the flowback from fracking sites is loaded into tankers and transported to a central site where the water is drained into large tanks for treatment. The Model 8 Oil Skimmer is designed to remove oil and other hydrocarbons from the fracking wastewater before filtration and the final stage of disposal into the sewer system.  Oil skimmers work by making use of the differences in specific gravity and surface tension between oil and water.  These physical characteristics allow the belts to attract oil and other floating hydrocarbon liquids from the surface of the frac fluid.  An oil skimmer requires very little oversight, no maintenance, and is a very cost effective solution due to low energy requirements.  The Model 8 may be your answer to remove unwanted oil from fracking wastewater.

Oil skimmers are not a new topic or technology but the Marcellus Shale formation and fracking are a hot topic.  Many oil companies are mining this formation for natural gas.  Typically where the debate comes in is what are they doing with the wastewater that is created from fracking?   The wastewater from fracking contains chemicals, oil, gas, sand, and brine.  Oil skimmers are providing a solution for the contaminated wastewater when it comes to the oil and gas.  The oil skimmer works on the simple principles of specific gravity and breaking the surface tension of the water; as the oil skimmer breaks the surface tension oil is drawn to the belt.   As this happens the oil can be collected from the fracking wastewater and sent for further treatment and then properly discharged or recycled from there.  Oil skimmers are a helpful tool in dealing with wastewater applications and apply to many industries.   See our full line of oil skimmers.

We often come across customers looking for a belt oil skimmer that can be used on numerous tanks.  They have numerous totes that only need oil skimmed out every once in a while.  A good fit for this application usually ends up being our Tote-It belt oil skimmer.  At about 40 pounds, this unit is easy to carry from one tote to the next.  This belt oil skimmer comes in different belt widths and lengths to help customize how much oil will need removed and the tank dimensions.  This level of mobility can eliminate the need for having one belt oil skimmer for every tote or trying to carry around a more cumbersome unit to each tank.

Abanaki’s Stainless Steel Model 8 Belt Oil Skimmer is designed to work in some of the harshest conditions. A large chemical company approached Abanaki concerning issues they were having with a competitor’s skimmer not holding up to the chemicals in their tank. The unit was being “eaten away” from the harsh surroundings it was placed in and besides that, the skimming media would only last a short period of time before it would fail and have to be replaced. Abanaki suggested our Stainless Steel Model 8 with our high-temp poly belt designed for these harsh conditions.  The Model 8 has been in place for over two years without any issues.

Did you know that a belt oil skimmer can save you money?  Using a belt oil skimmer is a very efficient way of picking up free floating oil in your tank or pit without the collection of unnecessary water.  Due to the low water pickup, the use of a belt oil skimmer will allow you to re-use used oil and provide cost savings to you and your company.  Many of the oil companies that come out with “pickup (sucker) trucks” will charge you more for disposal if you have a high amount of water in your oil.  By using a belt oil skimmer, you will reduce the price a “sucker truck” charges you to haul away your used oil.  Another thing to consider if using a belt oil skimmer is, again because of the low water pickup, the used oil picked up by the oil skimmer could be re-used in a used oil heater which gives you free heat in the winter months.  Not only are you not paying someone to pick up your used oil, you’re not paying as much for heating in the cold months….it’s a win-win.