First Response Oil Skimming Systems

Complete spill response kits with floating skimmers, pumps, hoses, and portable tanks
Floating Weir Skimmers (FWS) self-adjust to pump flow and skim from 1/32″ to 1.5” of surface fluid
FDS SteelMax Drum Skimmer recovers oil with minimal water and is operable by one person
ABS and stainless steel skimmer options built for rugged, industrial-grade durability
Deployable in minutes — towable bladders, pillow tanks, and vac-truck compatibility streamline cleanup
Specialty SkimHawg AOD pumps pass 2″ solids and operate with minimal air consumption
Custom hose fabrication from YourHoseSHOP — suction, chemical, stainless steel, and more
Built for first responders — rapid deployment and training-focused systems to minimize environmental damage

IN STOCK. FIRST TO RESPOND.

SkimOil® keeps First Response Systems in stock, so you don’t have to wait weeks for backorders. Units are rugged, proven, and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. Be equipped, prepared, and confident that your facility can handle a spill quickly and efficiently.

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First Response Oil Skimming System Features

Design

Modular, field-proven design tailored for industrial spill scenarios and first response readiness
Floating Weir Skimmers (FWS) in ABS or stainless steel – skims from 1/32″ to 1.5″ of surface oil
FDS SteelMax drum skimmer uses rotating drums to recover oil with minimal water content
Corrosion-resistant construction with rugged materials for harsh industrial environments
Only one moving part – hinged weir or motor-driven drum – ensures high reliability
Multiple sizes and formats available – from 2 GPM to over 400 GPM
Compact, portable systems easily staged for rapid deployment in remote locations

PERFORMANCE

Rapid oil recovery with minimal water pickup – ideal for early containment
FWS skimmers work with any pump that can pull suction; FDS operates on hydraulic, diesel, or vac truck air
SteelMax can be operated solo and recovers up to 20 GPM of surface oil
Built for continuous duty in tough environments like rail yards, mills, and plants
Self-adjusting skimmers adapt automatically to flow rate and surface conditions
Control wands, suction poles, and skimming heads included for precise handling
Compatible with rugged hose systems and flotation gear for continuous operations

EQUIPMENT & OPTIONS

Complete kits available including skimmers, pumps, hoses, and storage tanks
Towable bladders and pillow tanks in 500–10,000 gallon capacities
SkimHawg AOD pumps pass up to 2″ solids – ideal for debris-heavy oily water
Custom hose fabrication from YourHoseSHOP for all fluid types and lengths
Scalable systems – deploy more skimmers to cover larger spills
Individual components or full systems available depending on needs

SUPPORT & DELIVERY

In-stock components ship immediately – no 12-week wait
FDS SteelMax and ABS FWS units available for fast deployment
Training guidance included so you’re not learning during an emergency
Emergency replacement parts ship within 24–48 hours
Lifetime technical support from SkimOil ® ’s in-house engineers
Field-ready systems built for real-world use from Day One

WHY FIRST RESPONSE OIL SKIMMERS ARE MISSION-CRITICAL

In the critical first minutes of a spill, having the right equipment on-site makes all the difference. First Response Oil Skimming Systems provide a fast, effective way to contain and remove oil before it spreads, protecting your facility, operations, and the surrounding environment. Rugged, ready-to-go equipment ensures that you can act immediately rather than waiting for contractors or delayed deliveries. SkimOil® First Response Systems combine high-performance skimmers, pumps, hoses, and storage with operator training to give you confidence in any spill situation.

FROM PLAN TO ACTION

The Challenge: Beating the Clock In Spill Situations

Complete Systems In Stock Now!

The Solution: Be Equipped, Be Trained, Be Ready

Most of our work is in and for the industrial world where oil is spilled, mixed, dripped, dropped, leaked/ lost and even dumped sometimes too regularly as part of the process or an accidental release. Stuff happens and Oil happens. SkimOil ® can provide complete turn key systems that include EVERYTHING needed for you to go out and start skimming oil as a first response.

You are only as good as your preparation, so be prepared. Have everything in place, every fitting, every connector, every hone that is part of your system. If it’s not dedicated equipment you can’t be sure it’s there and operable. Operators too have to be ready, available, with the right safety equipment, skimming equipment and supplies AND training and exercising with the equipment at 2 in the afternoon instead of learning it at 2 in the morning with rain.

We can help you assemble oil skimming systems including “the right stuff” that along with the right training for your responders to be able to go out and handle a spill situation. Equipment, supplies and trained people make up any oil skimming system. Be equipped. Know your equipment. Be ready! A spill may happen.

The Workhorse: Floating Weir Skimmers

Floating weir skimmers(FWS) are floating surface suction devices. Our FWS is automatically self adjusting and flow controlled, meaning that you can adjust the cut or skim coming off the surface (from 1/32″ to 1.5″) by simply adjusting your pumps flow rate. The FWS works with any pump that can pull suction and has only one moving part, the hinged weir.

The FWS is available in ABS plastic, which is really tough, or in stainless steel (As Shown Above). The standard FWS comes in 4 sizes from 2 gpm to 400 gpm flow rates. They all work the same. The FWS is a surface skimmer that is going to give you a well controlled tool for draining an area from the top down by skimming off the surface. The FWS will give you a goodly amount of water with the oil if you are skimming at or near oil water interface. The FWS can be scaled up in size easily and is in fact the platform for our floating SBR decanters. This skimmer is fast , light and easy to move around and can be easily and finely controlled with our FWS/CS -controller system with extension poles which are actually a suction pole with head, allowing you to almost use it like a vac (pictured right). The FWS is rugged, durable industrial equipment and will last until you wreck it.

The FWS is solid workhorse type of oil skimmer, ABS plastic is almost always in stock. Stainless versions are usually built to order in 2-4 weeks ARO, but we do have some stainless FWS skimmers in stock at present.

When Things Get Serious: FDS & Steelmax

The Floating drum skimmer (FDS) is another animal entirely. The FDS is a motor driven drum skimmer that sits on the surface, where the drums attract the oil to it’s surface, coats it-then gets scraped off and oil stays in the sump till pumped away. This FDS is a serious bit of skimming work. With sizes ranging from 10 gpm to over 300 gpm . The FDS is the tool of choice when you can use it. It requires air or hydraulic power to turn/drive the drums and to power whatever pump you plan to use. It’s also available in diesel powered/hydraulic and the drums can even be run off the air brakes on a vac truck. (Shown Left)

Our smallest industrial grade FDS, the SteelMAX, can be wrestled around by one man or easily finessed by 2 people. The SteelMAX can recover up to 20 gpm of oil and gives you very little water to deal with. We’ve had these running for years in the steel mills and rail yards. This is a tough, fast, rugged and simply effective drum skimmer that delivers results and lots of oil. It’s compact and rugged and simple to operate and can allow you as a first responder to a spill incident to make a difference and save a lot of damage until the OSRO gets there. It’s the 1st response that is so important in a spill situation. You as operators are part of the whole. You are a Skimming System!

FDS SteelMax In Stock For Immediate Delivery!

Support Gear: Everything Else You’ll Need, All In One Place

The FWS is available in ABS plastic, which is really tough, or in stainless steel (As Shown Above). The standard FWS comes in 4 sizes from 2 gpm to 400 gpm flow rates. They all work the same. The FWS is a surface skimmer that is going to give you a well controlled tool for draining an area from the top down by skimming off the surface. The FWS will give you a goodly amount of water with the oil if you are skimming at or near oil water interface. The FWS can be scaled up in size easily and is in fact the platform for our floatSo you’ve learned to operate these very simple skimmers, now what? You have to be able to pump the accumulated/skimmed oil into some type of storage container or tanks? If you have a vac truck you’re way ahead of the game. You have a suction device and a storage tank on wheels. Hoses going to floating oil skimmers need to be suction grade, preferably lighter stuff on the water with more rugged tank truck hose dragging across the ground and rocks. Also have hose floats to counteract the weight of the hoses on the back of the skimmer.

YourHoseSHOP is our custom industrial fabrication hose shop open to the world now. Located in St. Louis, YourHoseSHOP can fabricate any and all types of industrial hoses ranging from pvc suction, stainless steel, chemcial transfer and specialty hose of all types. YourHoseSHOP has the inventory, the facility and the trained personnel to get your specialty hoses out the door-on time-every time.

We work with a few very unusual specialty pumps. Our SkimHawg AOD pumps have two HUGE advantages over most other AOD’s. They pass BIG solids and use little air. Consider our two inch #S/HDF2 aod pump can pass 2″ solids. Wow! Usually in oil skimming you’re going to be dealing with having lots of floating junk in the oily water. Most pumps simply cannot deal with large solids. SkimHawg 1 & 2″ pumps can pass those size solids. On our hydraulic powered drum skimmers we can equip them with a grinder/chopper type pump that can handle soft materials you will generally be found in floating oil.

Portable tanks, towable bladders, pillow tanks available in several sizes from 500 to 10,000 gallons. Most likely you will use a 1000 gal tanks most easily. We recommend using same types, so the guys know exactly what they are dealing with and can get efficient at deployment These portable tanks live in a folded package that can be pulled out/setup and hooked up in 10 minutes if you’ve got all the right stuff. We furnish the right stuff. Pillow tanks come with a ground cloth and it’s the equivalent of a beach ball except it get’s full of oil , oily water–not air.

Towable bladders are super reinforced sausage tanks that are tough enough to be towed behind a workboat. These tanks have a threaded and quick connect coupling usually. Make sure you get the fill valve and connection assembly for hookup to your hoses.

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of skimming equipment do I need for first response to oil spills?

SkimOil ® offers complete turnkey systems including Floating Weir Skimmers (FWS) and Floating Drum Skimmers (FDS), pumps, hoses, and storage tanks — everything needed to begin cleanup immediately.

How do the Floating Weir Skimmers (FWS) work?

FWS units automatically adjust to water levels and remove surface oil by skimming from the top down. They work with any suction pump and come in ABS or stainless steel models.

What’s the difference between the FWS and FDS skimmers?

FWS is passive and works by suction, ideal for fast deployment. FDS uses powered rotating drums to attract and remove oil with very low water pickup — better for heavy-duty or continuous applications.

What power options are available for skimmers and pumps?

FDS units can be air-, hydraulic-, or diesel-powered. SkimHawg pumps are available in pneumatic or hydraulic configurations, and can handle large solids often found in spill cleanup scenarios.

Do you supply portable oil storage tanks too?

Yes — we offer pillow tanks and towable bladders ranging from 500 to 10,000 gallons, complete with connection kits and setup accessories for quick deployment in the field.