Selecting the right belt material for you oil skimmer is just as important as selecting the right oil skimmer. Learn about different belt types.
Abanaki Mighty-Mini Oil Skimmer Can Extend your Coolant Life and Save you Money
Selecting the right belt material is just as important as selecting the right skimmer. Choose the wrong belt and the skimmer will not work correctly. Things like pH, temperature, and oil type are crucial considerations.
Purpose of Oil Skimmer Belts
Selecting the right belt material is just as important as selecting the right skimmer. You might choose the right skimmer but the wrong belt type and the skimmer will not work correctly to solve your oil in water problem. It is crucial that things like pH, temperature, and oil type are considered when selecting a skimmer AND a belt type.
A belt is to a skimmer like wheels to a car’s chassis: although the latter is the most identifiable part, it needs the former to actually run. Just like tires, belts are not one size fits all. Just as there are snow tires, street tires, year-round tires, and more, so too are there a variety of belt materials. So, what purpose does each serve?
Different Kind of Oil Skimmer Belt Materials
There is a great deal of variance in applications where belt oil skimmers are present. Figuring out what would be the best belt material for your belt skimmer will depend on a few factors. For the most part, belts pick up the oil in the same fashion so the big difference is finding what will give you the longest operating life.
Steel Belts
Steel belts are the standard for many applications. Their durability, corrosion resistance, and strong oleophilic tendencies make the material effective in most scenarios. The lower price and ease of welding also reduce costs. The biggest caveat is their ineffectiveness when confronted with rust inhibitors in wash water. Steel belts are also ineffective in most applications where Petro-Xtractors are used.
Elastomer Belts
Elastomer belts are an alternative to steel belts that perform well in a multitude of situations. These belts can handle some of the harshest, most abrasive conditions a skimmer can be placed in and are fully compatible with the Petro-Xtractor. Still, steel belts will not stretch when exposed to UV rays over a long period of time.
Polymer (Poly) Belts
Polymer belts, commonly shortened to poly belts, are meant for higher temperatures and conditions where UV exposure and rust inhibitors are an issue. The textured nature of the poly belts causes more oil than usual to be picked up. This option tends to be pricier, but works like a charm in intense functions.
Fuzzy Belts
This video demonstrates how choosing the right belt material makes all of the difference. The Fuzzy belt does a better job at picking up the hydrocarbon than the standard belt on the right.
LFO belts, commonly referred to as Fuzzy belts, are a proprietary skimmer belt exclusive to Abanaki. This material specializes in the rapid removal of light, non-viscous hydrocarbons from water. If your problem is an oil like gasoline, the Fuzzy belt will remove it much more efficiently than any other belt in normal conditions. The Fuzzy belts are also extremely resistant to stretching.
XP Polymer (Poly) Belts
XP polymer belts, commonly shortened to XP poly belts, are very similar to poly belts. The key difference comes in its texture and temperature resistance. The XP poly belt is better able to handle high temperatures, maxing out at 180ºF. The belt also has a smooth texture rather than the ridged design of the standard poly belt. Although this change means the XP poly belt will not pick up oil as quickly, the belt will function better than the standard poly belt in conditions that would wear away the ridged design.
More information can be found in the Abanaki Oil Skimmer Factbook or Abanaki Belt Selection Guidebook. It is best to call (440-543-7400) with details of the application and ask your Abanaki representative what will work best with your belt skimmer.
Coolant skimmers typically don’t come attached to CNC machines when they are newly bought. This is because nobody wants to admit that the brand-new machine is eventually going to leak oil into the coolant. This looks good on paper, but there is a reason why so many coolant skimmers are bought annually. CNC machines are bound to have at least a small amount of oil leaking into the coolant at some point. The skimmer will remove this oil from the top of the coolant for disposal. Without some type of coolant skimmer, the coolant life will be dramatically decreased. These small coolant skimmers will save you money throughout the operational life of your CNC machine.
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 coolant skimmer, you can significantly increase the life of your coolant.
So, is your product quality being affected by floating oil? Have you asked yourself how you remove oil from water effectively and efficiently?
One of the best coolant skimmers of Abanaki coolant maintenance line is Mighty Mini Oil Skimmer. It is a belt style skimmer that will remove the floating oil that is compromising your product quality, reducing your coolant life, and stinking up the shop. Putting an oil skimmer in your coolant tank will allow you to remove this oil from the top of your coolant 24 hours a day if needed or you can set the timer to turn on in 15-minute increments. A belt oil skimmer is easily maintained and the only consumables are the belt and wipers. We have been providing oil skimmers for years to machine shops and manufacturers across the globe and they have proven to be both reliable and cost-effective. 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.
To find out more about Mighty-Mini Oil Skimmer, please contact our experts at 440-543-7400, or click the button below to get your Mighty-Mini Brochure.
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Abanaki Corporation Oil Skimming Division
17387 Munn Road
Chagrin Falls, OH 44023
Phone: (440) 543-7400
Email: skimmers@abanaki.com
Fax: (440) 543-7404
ISO 9001:2015 Certified Company
Don’t Choose the Wrong Belt Material | Abanaki
Selecting the right belt material for you oil skimmer is just as important as selecting the right oil skimmer. Learn about different belt types.
Abanaki Mighty-Mini Oil Skimmer Can Extend your Coolant Life and Save you Money
Abanaki Mighty-Mini Oil Skimmer Can Extend your Coolant Life and Save you Money