Abanaki Corporation offers the Oil Grabber® Model 8 with a Solar Option, the leading oil skimmer with a solar-power enhancement, which makes it a portable oil-skimming powerhouse. Applying the Model 8's already proven success at removing oil from water and water-based solutions, this unit provides a continuous belt and wiper to remove up to 40 gallons of oil per hour from the fluid surface - and lets you "run with the sun." A 12-V motor powers the compact, self-contained unit. That motor runs off a deep-cycle battery, which in turn is recharged by an adjustable solar panel. It takes only a couple of hours to recharge the battery. The solar option makes this unit ideal for locations far from electric service, such as mine sites and the remote corners of steel mills, food processing plants, and rail yards. At times, skimming alone can reduce oil to an acceptable level of water purity. Depending on the characteristics of the liquid, it is possible for the Model 8 solar oil skimmer alone to reduce oil content to less than five parts per million in water. The unit is used as a pretreatment before disposal, as well as in conjunction with coalescing systems and with systems where it prevents filters from blinding prematurely. Using an upper and lower pulley system, the belt runs through contaminated liquid to pick up oil from the surface. The belt travels over the head pulley and then passes through tandem wiper blades, from which oil is scraped off both sides and discharged. The tail pulley features flanges that allow the pulley to roll freely on the inside of the belt without becoming dislodged. No bearings are needed; the unit does not need to be fastened to the tank. An optional tether and cage assembly is offered to prevent the tail pulley from being dislodged. The Oil Grabber Model 8 can be used in tanks with depths as shallow as one foot or as deep as 100 feet.