Environmentally responsible way to remove oil from bilge.

I

IronMan

New Member
May 20, 2009
37
Western NY
Boat Info
270 Sundancer 1992
Engines
454 Mercruiser w/Bravo II
The oil reservoir for my Bravo outdrive has a small crack in the bottom of the bottle that is leaking into the bilge. I have a replacement part on order and will take care of the source of the problem when the part arrives. In the interim, I have a couple rags collecting any new drips.

While waiting for the parts I'd like to clean the oil out of the bilge. It is mixed with a small amount of water. Thankfully, there isn't enough to trip the bilge pump. What is the correct way to remove oily bilge water and residue from the bilge?
 
I keep a bunch of oil absorbing mats on my boat... I actually keep them under the engines (a "diaper" per se) such that I can quickly spot an oil leak (not that I have oil leaks... much... only when bolts fall out).

You can get them at West Marine but I get them from:

http://www.newpig.com/

I specifically use this stuff:

http://www.newpig.com/webapp/wcs/st...1_-1_106085_PIG-White-Oil-Only-Mat-Pads-Rolls

I bought a roll of them... Jeff (Sea Gull) turned me on to these guys a few years ago.

They are really cheap there... West Marine charges like $2-3 per pad and New Pig charges like 60 cents.

The pads will absorb oil and NOT water which is really nice. If you have oily water, just put a pad in it and it'll suck up the oil and leave the water behind. The remaining water I usually use a biodegradable soap like Simple Green and then it's all clean... and the fish are happy.
 
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Pads that absorb oil and NOT water. Didn't know that existed but sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Of course the manual labor will follow but at least most of the oil will be gone by then. Thanks.
 
Four Suns said:
I keep a bunch of oil absorbing mats on my boat... I actually keep them under the engines (a "diaper" per se) such that I can quickly spot an oil leak (not that I have oil leaks... much... only when bolts fall out).

You can get them at West Marine but I get them from:

http://www.newpig.com/

I specifically use this stuff:

http://www.newpig.com/webapp/wcs/st...1_-1_106085_PIG-White-Oil-Only-Mat-Pads-Rolls

I bought a roll of them... Jeff (Sea Gull) turned me on to these guys a few years ago.

They are really cheap there... West Marine charges like $2-3 per pad and New Pig charges like 60 cents.

The pads will absorb oil and NOT water which is really nice. If you have oily water, just put a pad in it and it'll suck up the oil and leave the water behind. The remaining water I usually use a biodegradable soap like Simple Green and then it's all clean... and the fish are happy.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%, Had a small disaster when an oil cooler blew out. Used all of the above and no sheen on the water.
 
Newpig is a good company run by a good guy that I ski with sometimes.

The pads and bilge socks work great in the boat and in the garage for cleanup. Good to have on hand.

Newpig as a company is more geared to commercial/industrial business but they do sell direct, however sometimes the minimum quantity you have to buy might be a lot.

Thanks for mentioning them and thanks for thinking of the environment.
 
Just turn on the bilge pumps when no ones looking. If a tree falls in the forest does it make a noise??? Clean as everyone says. Thats what I've done. Love the oil ring the boat gets in the marina from other peoples dirty bilge water being pumped out.
 
I like Garys idea but, if you have a fair amount of water there I have used my shop vac to suck up the water. I would then use the simple green to again wash the bildge and shop vac again. I had and accident once and got oil in the bidge and did this, I then put the stuff in a 5 gallon plastic gas can brought it home and flushed it. The city water treatment did the rest. Just another option. My .02 worth.
 
Gary I've been thinking of putting the sorb pads down below the engine as well. I recently changed my oil and I had some residual oil I must have missed removing the oil filter make it's way onto the bilge floor. I try to keep the engine bay spotless. So doing this, like you said, will make it easy and quick to see an issue quickly.
 
Todd,

I've seen pictures of your spotless bilge... I basically have "wall-to-wall carpet" in mine with a roll of the white oil absorbent pad stuff... If I get any leaks (oil or diesel fuel), it cleans up easy....
 
Four Suns said:
Todd,

I've seen pictures of your spotless bilge... I basically have "wall-to-wall carpet" in mine with a roll of the white oil absorbent pad stuff... If I get any leaks (oil or diesel fuel), it cleans up easy....
Click to expand...

Yeah I think I'll stop by my Dad's old work(Ballard Oil) and get a few of those...or a roll. I like that idea.
 
I can also generally spot where the bolts hit the pads when they vibrate out....
 
Four Suns said:
I keep a bunch of oil absorbing mats on my boat... I actually keep them under the engines (a "diaper" per se) such that I can quickly spot an oil leak (not that I have oil leaks... much... only when bolts fall out).

You can get them at West Marine but I get them from:

http://www.newpig.com/

I specifically use this stuff:

http://www.newpig.com/webapp/wcs/st...1_-1_106085_PIG-White-Oil-Only-Mat-Pads-Rolls

I bought a roll of them... Jeff (Sea Gull) turned me on to these guys a few years ago.

They are really cheap there... West Marine charges like $2-3 per pad and New Pig charges like 60 cents.

The pads will absorb oil and NOT water which is really nice. If you have oily water, just put a pad in it and it'll suck up the oil and leave the water behind. The remaining water I usually use a biodegradable soap like Simple Green and then it's all clean... and the fish are happy.
Click to expand...


What's funny is the first time I ever used these was to dry up a small pool of water in the bilge - to no avail. I was like, "these things suck!" Later I tried it on a small oily spot and said, "oh, now I get it!"

I do like Gary's idea of placing them in strategic locations as an "indicator" or sorts.
 
I thought it was a requirement to have these in the bilge.
 
osd9 said:
You have engines????? Or are you talking about the spare motors in your garage????.....
Click to expand...

I missed this post. My spare motors are being installed next week. I may run up to Atlantic City to break them in and see if I know anyone.
 
If you shop vac out an oily bilge and dump the contents into the city sewer system, doesn't the treatment plant have the capability of separating out the oil? Not advocating, just asking.

What do you do with the absorbant socks and diapers after cleaning up a bilge spill?
 
The city sewer does not have a way of separating oil out... bad... very bad!

I bag up the oily stuff and toss it in the garbage... Where it will go into a landfill for 4,500,000,000,000 more years.
 
Did a bit of research to come up with a bilge sock appropriate for my new/old 1990 210 BR after reading in the owner's manual that there is a $5000 fine for any sheen or discoloration occurring on the lake surface after the bilge pump has done its' thing. Discovered something called Enviro-bond from Lakeland Enterprises and a guy named Bob up in New Hampshire who has been working on this technology for 20 years.

A comparison of various products was done for the city of Buzzards Bay to help keep their harbor clean from recreational boaters and Enviro-bond won the day. Apparently these things absorb the oil (not water) and chemically interact with it to turn it into rubber. Bob's online consumer store is not very good as he typically sells by the container load to state and local governments so I just called him and ordered 3 at $16 each. We'll see how they work.
 
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