Oil Skimmer Common Sense
Don't make your decision on which oil skimming system to buy based only on removal rates! Removal rates are only one piece of the decision making puzzle.
All oil skimming systems (including ours) rate their removal rate capacities in the most favorable conditions when there is a constant amount of oil present. Laboratory tests do not typically translate to real-life industrial experience. Think of it, if you are losing 200 GPH or more of heavy oils into your process, environmental or waste treatment application, that's 4800 gallons of oil per day! With today's high oil prices, you should clog a few leaks!
Oil skimming systems are designed for specific types of applications. They generally fall into three categories:
- Skimmers designed for emergency oil spill situations that have a very high removal rate, but operate very inefficiently - require regular maintenance and operator attention, high water removal rate, prone to clogging - fuzzy hair "Rope Mop" Type systems, floating weir/pumping systems.
- Skimmers designed for very small tight applications that cover only a small slice of surface area - "Disk", "Belt" Type systems.
- Skimmers designed for continuous operation in industrial applications - "Tube Type" systems.
Tube Type oil skimming systems have a realistic removal rate for most industial applications and operate in the most efficient way possible for any skimming system, which can help you save costs and reduce waste water treatment operating expenses.
Choose the right skimmer for your application. Why buy a skimmer with an unrealistically high removal rate for an industrial application, or one that reintroduces the material you want to remove back into the water? Removal rates are only one piece of the decision making puzzle.
Price is another...light-duty "throw-away" disk or belt type skimmers are designed for small applications where water quality is not important for discharge or treatment, or the performance of machine tools or other manufacturing processes. If improving water quality is an issue, then an investment in a skimming system designed for tough industrial applications is the solution - not a cheap toy that will have to be replaced weeks or months after installation.
SkimTech will help you choose the right skimmer for your application...if ours is not right for your application, we'll tell you and refer you to another company. We guarantee your satisfaction with every SkimTech product!
The Problem With Belt Skimmers (They Won't Tell You This):
Belt skimmers are designed for small applications. Applications where improving water quality, reducing filtration and water treatment costs, improving product quality or achieving a lower oil/grease discharge limits is not important.
Click the thumbnail to the right to view the a PDF representation of how belt skimmers reintroduce free-floating oil and grease back into water and coolant.