oil absorbent mats

[lilianroyle]

before I fork out £12 at the chandlers on a half metre long sausage of oil (but not water) absorbent material to keep the bilge clean, does anyone know where to get the stuff industrially? Its not the cost you understand, just the sure knowlege I'm being ripped off.
thanks
Pete

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[MarkJohnson]

I bought a mat from a chadler last year to soak up a drips of oil. I left it there to continue to do its job as per the manufacturers recomendation.

The other day.,I managed to get quite a lot of water into the bilge when washing down the cockpit. When I tried to use the bilge pump to clear the water, this mat blocked the water flow, and had to be removed.

If you leave a mat in the bilge below the engine, just make sure the end of the pump is below it, not on top of it as I had left it.

regards

mark j

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[sailorman]

I belive u can use baby disposable nappies or "ladies products"

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[Freebee]

There is a company called "pig" who sell these products to industry I think they are in wiltshire.

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[alpha]

I agree with your reservations - the mats sold by chandlers are a rip-off, good and proper.

Instead, either use nappies, or try my preferred method: Take a length of stockinette, tie one end up with a cable tie, pour cat litter in, tie the other end up with a cable tie, then put a couple more cable ties on along the length, done up tight, to make it like a string of sausages.

Does the trick perfectly, and at David Dickinson cost!

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[gosh]

Try www.enginewise.co.uk 6 pads for £5
or www.asap-supplies.com slightly cheaper

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[pvb]

Yes...

The stuff inside the "sausage" you describe is just polypropylene matting, which has the useful property of absorbing oil but not water. It's extensively used by environmental specialists to mop up after oil spills (I know this because contractors used it to clear oil from a ditch at my home after a neighbour's oil tank leaked). Suggest you try your local Yellow Pages first, under "Environmental Consultants". Only problem is, you'd probably have to buy a roll of the stuff, and it would be enough to keep your bilge clean for the rest of the century!

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[pvb]

...and here\'s an online source...

And, through the wonders of Google (who says it's not worth a squillion dollars?), here's a <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.spillkitonline.com/shop/xcart/customer/home.php?cat=310>link to a UK online supplier</A>. Cheaper than your chandler!!

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[Novice]

Try doing an internet search on "spill kits". This will throw up a long list of health and safety equipment suppliers who stock them.

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[scarlett]

There used to be a product on the market made of wool within netting to do this job. If you want to spend nothing, try recycling old jumpers inside your nearest lady's fishnet tights.

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[uforea]

Yes , Ladies towells work a treat and the cheap "own brand " work just as well.

Ted.

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[TrueBlue]

There's a company in West Malling, Kent

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.darcy.co.uk/maintenance.htm>Darcy Products </A>

who make a range of absorbent pads and mats "as supplied to" the EA and the like. If you buy enough they wor out to about 50p each. Very effective in separating the oil from water and holding on to it. If you're mean, you can wring them out and use again. Because they are PolyProp they float on the top of the fluid - where the oil is and don't break down. Burn nicely on a bonfire.

Nappies are excellent for absorbing oils from engine drip trays, holding up to two pints of fluid. They also work well for water, but don't leave them in for too long else the covering bio degrades and leaves a mess. I put one in my bilge and forgot it for ages...... OK, though if you whip it out in two or three days. I use them 'cos my bilge is flat and I can't get it all out.

Ver cost effective about 15p. each



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