What Are The Types Of Oil Skimmer?

An oil skimmer is a mechanical device that separates oil or particles floating on a liquid surface and are most commonly used for oil spill remediation, as a part of oily water treatment systems, removing oil from machine tool coolant and removing oil from aqueous parts washers.

Oil skimming devices come in a variety of types with varying features.  Oil Skimmers can be used for tanks, pits, ponds, lagoons, basins, wash systems, API separators, clarifiers, sumps and many more purposes.

Here are some types of oil skimmers:

Floating Oil Skimmers

These skimmers float on the water surface and can generally recover oil in gallons per minute (GPM).

Fixed or Mounted Skimmers

These usually require a mechanical installation, more permanent and often part of a process. Generally recovers oils in gallons per hour (GPH).

Floating Drum Oil Skimmer

These sit right in the water — and are very well engineered, rugged heavy duty skimmers in sizes that start off weighing about 100 lbs. (with hose) and can skim from 20 to over 100 gallons per minute when they are in heavy oil. This is the tool of choice for heavy skimming. Dimensions from 2 x 3′ to 3 x 8′. Can even have an on-board pump. These will move a LOT of oil fast. Air drive motors work pretty well but are a bit funky in the winter with potential for air lines freezing up, BUT the hydraulic drive systems are Bullet-Proof and very powerful — will actually pull a whole pond’s worth of oil right into the skimmer. Of course, the hydraulics cost more, but oh do they work GREAT! Entry level $5K. A variety of pumps could be used to pump the oil from the sump. Call us — we do this! We can furnish it as a whole system, with pump and hoses, etc.

​Floating Weir Oil Skimmer

Free floating where you want it — connected to a hose connected to a pump on shoreside. Works great with a vac truck or AOD pump or hose pump but does give you a LOT of water to deal with. Very portable. Flow rates from 10-300 GPM. Steel industry entry level $3K. You could take this skimmed product and run it into a separator or tank, and decant water back to pit/tank? We can set you up with a pump, hoses — the whole works — as a whole system.  From briefcase size to 3′ square — with up to a 4″ outlet.

​Belt Oil Skimmer

These are fixed and mounted in one location — and work pretty well when the oil is touching the belt, BUT no touch, no skim! They lift the oil from the surface to the wipe-off blades/scraper. Then the oil flows by gravity to some type of receptacle for transfer to? If you have to lift the oil very high, it has a tendency to want to run back down the belt before it gets to the top.