Oil Skimmer Blog

Companies look for effective ways to remove oil from water or coolant to reduce costs and the liability of proper disposal. Another reason for removing the oil is a better work environment. Letting oil remain in the coolant tank allows anaerobic bacteria to grow. Anaerobic bacteria break down the components of coolant, causing it to need changing more frequently. Oil-laden coolant with a high anaerobic bacteria content has two other drawbacks as well. The first drawback is an unpleasant odor caused by the bacteria. The second drawback the smoke generated from the oil-laden coolant coming in contact with the operating cutting tool. One of the easiest ways to remove hydrocarbons from water or coolant is by using an oil skimmer. It is a low maintenance, easy to use tool for removing oil from water or coolant.

The use of an oil skimmer holds many benefits including:

Reduction of Disposal Costs: The cost of disposing oil laden coolant is more expensive than the disposing of oil.

Recycling Opportunities: In some instances, companies may be able to re-use the skimmed oil elsewhere or sell it for recycling, choosing to keep their part of the world cleaner.

Extend Coolant Life: Having oil free coolant can also extend its usefulness and effectiveness, reducing the expense on maintenance and coolant replacement.

Esthetic Benefits: Removing the oil from a machine coolant tank will cut down on the amount of smoke generated from the cutting tool coming into contact with oil laden coolant thereby creating a visibly cleaner workplace.

Extend Tool Life: Removing floating surface oils while aerating and refreshing coolant will extend tool life as well.

Avoid EPA Violations: Many machining and metal working shops turn to aqueous parts cleaning because of limits imposed by the EPA on the discharge of emissions and wastes.

Hygienic Benefits: Keeping coolant oxygenated and oil-free reduces the “rotten egg” odor and bacterial levels are lowered resulting in a cleaner work environment.

Abanaki Corporation manufactures a wide variety of oil skimmers to meet any size application. From a small coolant tank in a CNC lathe to a scale pit in a steel mill, Abanaki Corporation can supply a skimmer to do the job. We manufacture skimmers that can remove from 1 gallon per hour to 200 gallons per hour. We offer turnkey systems with a variety of motors, heat options, stands, and oil concentrators. Our skimmers are used on parts washers, in car washes, wells, steel mills, and any other industry where hydrocarbons need to be removed.

To find out which of our skimmers would suit your application the best, please contact our experts at 440-543-7400, or click the button below to get our Oil Skimming Factbook.

It is a common question asked every day by people in all fields of industry. Machine shops, steel mills, industrial manufacturers, and many others are faced with the problem of removing oils from coolants and wastewater on an everyday basis. They are faced with high disposal and maintenance costs. Some manufacturers are charged extreme amounts to have their contaminated water treated properly by their local water treatment facility.

Companies look for effective ways to remove oil from water or coolant to reduce costs and the liability of proper disposal. Another reason for removing the oil is a better work environment. Letting oil remain in the coolant tank allows anaerobic bacteria to grow. Anaerobic bacteria break down the components of coolant, causing it to need changing more frequently. Oil-laden coolant with a high anaerobic bacteria content has two other drawbacks as well. The first drawback is an unpleasant odor caused by the bacteria. The second drawback the smoke generated from the oil-laden coolant coming in contact with the operating cutting tool. One of the easiest ways to remove hydrocarbons from water or coolant is by using a belt oil skimmer. It is a low maintenance, easy to use tool for removing oil from water or coolant.

Belt oil skimmers work because of the differences in specific gravity between oil and water. Water has a specific gravity of one. Most oils have a specific gravity of less than one. Because of these differences, oil floats to the top of the water where it can be removed. A belt oil skimmer uses oil oleophilic material, (usually made of stainless steel or plastic), in the form of a belt to break the surface tension of the water to attract
and collect the floating oil. The belt passes through a set of wiper blades via a motorized head pulley where the oil is wiped off both sides of the belt. The oil then flows through the skimmer troughs and into a proper disposal container. Because the belt materials used do not attract water, very little coolant or water is picked up.

Some of the advantages of using a belt oil skimmer over other methods to remove oil are the lower initial cost compared to coalescers and other filtration systems, low maintenance, no filters to change, and no mess involved as with absorbent booms or pads. With an oil skimmer, virtually the only required maintenance is replacing a belt and wiper blade set as needed. Next, Abanaki skimmers require very little operating space, usually with no modification to the tank. Finally, our oil skimmers have pick-up rates of up to 200 gph with minimal water or coolant content. Other forms of oil removal cannot perform as well.

There are many instances where companies have turned their disposal costs into income. By using an Abanaki oil skimmer to remove oil from the coolant, one company was able to sell its used oil to be recycled instead of being charged to have the oil-contaminated coolant disposed of. Another money saving benefit was an extended coolant life resulting in lower coolant and maintenance costs. Because of this, the Abanaki oil skimmer paid for itself in a short period of time.

Abanaki Corporation manufactures a wide variety of oil skimmers to meet any size application. From a small coolant tank in a CNC lathe to a scale pit in a steel mill, Abanaki Corporation can supply a skimmer to do the job. We manufacture skimmers that can remove from 1 gallon per hour to 200 gallons per hour. We offer turnkey systems with a variety of motors, heat options, stands, and oil concentrators. Our skimmers are used on parts washers, in car washes, wells, steel mills, and any other industry where hydrocarbons need to be removed.

To find out which of our skimmers would suit your application the best, please contact our experts at 440-543-7400, or click the button below to get our Coolant Guide Book.

Abanaki is proud to announce that our technology partner in the Philippines, Resource One/Fluid Solutions, exhibited at the International Metalworking Philippines (IMTP2018) Show, held in Manila in August of this year. The show, which is backed by associations based in industries such as die and mold making, aerospace, and automotive parts manufacturing, saw participation from companies located in eleven different countries. 

With the manufacturing sector seeing tremendous growth recently in the Philippines, IMTP2018 provided an excellent venue for vendors and manufacturers to establish new relationships. This was certainly the case for the representatives from Resource One/Fluid Solutions, who source the best and most appropriate lubricating technologies and coolant maintenance equipment for the most demanding applications in metalworking, as they were able to showcase some bright new stars in their product line. 

One such piece of equipment is the Abanaki Oil Boss Oil Skimmer, a new addition to the Abanaki coolant maintenance range. The Oil Boss is designed for use with machining centers, namely keeping tool coolant free of tramp oil, which is imperative for extending coolant life and reducing bacterial growth in coolant sumps. These units are small but robust, with an effective magnetic mounting system that allows the unit to be located for easy access. The magnetic mounting base also makes these units portable, so they can be moved from machine to machine as needed. This versatility makes the Oil Boss uniquely capable of conquering your shop’s coolant cleaning demands.

To learn more about the Oil Boss, please contact Abanaki Corporation at 440-543-7400 to find their solution or click the button below to get our Oil Boss Oil Skimmer brochure.

1. Oil Boss

Abanaki's Oil Boss is an innovative tool for keeping coolant free of oil. The patent-pending design allows for easy visual inspection of your coolant’s condition; and will also help extend tool and coolant life. It will decrease loss of production and maintenance time. And it will allow for easy cleaning of various sumps or tanks around any plant or shop due to its portability and magnetic base. The Oil Boss has a small footprint that reduces the amount of clutter and equipment on the shop floor.

2. Mighty Disk

Mighty Disk is the inexpensive way to remove unwanted tramp oils from coolants and parts washers, but with all the quality that you expect from Abanaki! Removes up to 1 ½ gallons of oil or more of medium weight oil per hour. Use it almost anywhere a flat surface is available for mounting. Weighs less than 10 pounds, installs in no time, and runs on 110v power.

3. TubeTastic

The Abanaki TubeTastic! oil skimmer can be used on machining centers with little or no access to the coolant sump from above. This unit can skim oil from chip conveyors or even totally enclosed machining centers. The TubeTastic! can be easily mounted on the side of virtually any machining center coolant sump. By use of an existing opening or by making a small access cutout, the collector tube runs through the surface of the coolant and collects the unwanted oils. The oil then flows out the discharge tube into any waste oil container for easy disposal.

4. Mighty Mini

The stainless steel Mighty Mini is a compact belt skimmer designed for parts washers and machine tool coolant sumps. With its large discharge trough and small operating space, the Mighty Mini fits almost anywhere. The stainless steel construction resists rust and corrosion in harsh environments. It is lightweight and requires minimal assembly. With its durable stainless steel construction, it is built to give long lasting performance. The removable trough makes cleanup fast and easy.

5. Lil Blue

Lil Blue is the economical solution to remove unwanted oil in coolant sumps and machining centers! Removes one gallon or more of medium weight oil per hour. Use it almost anywhere, even through a 2" diameter bunghole in a drum. Use it here today, there tomorrow. Weighs only 6 pounds, installs in seconds and runs on 110v power. Constructed of tough engineered plastic and includes long life fan-cooled motor.

6. Ultra Mini

The Ultra-Mini is a lightweight, compact belt oil skimmer that can be used with 12v power allowing the skimmer to be wired directly into machining center control panels or plugged into a 110v wall outlet. The simple design means very little maintenance and requires few replacement parts. The cogged belt coupled with the weighted tail pulley prevents the belt from slipping during operation. Its compact design requires very little mounting space.

Multiple options exist for the collection of tramp oils. Two of the most common are oil skimmers and coalescers. Both offer unique advantages and disadvantages in certain applications.

Coolant Coalescers

Coalescers focus on collecting oil into larger droplets. Using a filter medium, the oil is gathered into one place and combines into a larger oil droplet. heightening the differing densities of oil and water. The oil then floats to the top of the coalescer, allowing removal by other means. 

Coalescers have an advantage in specific coolant-related applications. Coalescers cover a bigger collection area than oil skimmers, speeding recovery and reducing need for moving the oil collection device.

Unlike skimmers, coalescers have no need for a collection container, preventing the potential for spillage. Abanaki's Oil Boss can also be hung from a metallic surface, preventing the floor space footprint of other coalescers and skimmers.

Oil Skimmers

Oil skimmers focus on removing tramp oils using oleophilic belts. These belts attract the tramp oils and drag them up to a trough where they are scraped off, removing them from the water or coolant. Different belts have different specialties, such as steel belts being suited for LNAPLs and tramp oils.  

Oil skimmers have an advantage in more varied conditions. Able to be used in high temperature applications where plastic coalescers might face pump failures, skimmers can withstand more extreme environments.

In addition, oil skimmers do not have to worry about pumps clogged by shavings or solid byproducts like coalescers might. Dirty oil can also go back into the sump in coalescers, while oil is completely removed by a skimmer.

Oil skimmers also have more applications than coalescers, such as environmental remediation. 

For more information about our line of coalescers and skimmers, take a look at our product catalog, or contact us via phone at (440) 543-7400 or via e-mail at skimmers@abanaki.com.

Abanaki Corporation, the world leader in oil skimming technologies, announces the addition of the Oil Boss® Oil Skimmer to its extensive coolant maintenance product line. The Oil Boss solves problems that have plagued regular skimmers in machine shops.