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Oil spill cleaning fork sifts tarballs and
marsh debris. Mini-Tines quickly rake the smallest tar balls from beach
sand. Auto-sifting feature doubles productivity and eliminates
excess sand
removal. They are the ultimate beach cleaning hand tools
and are being used on beaches from
Pensacola to Biloxi. These quality oil cleanup
hand tools have been approved by B.P. for cleaning shorelines
fouled from
the B.P. drilling platform leak. |
Oil Disaster: Alabama
Shake'n Fork outperforms all other beach cleaning hand
tools.
Successful testing by crews working in Alabama convinced BP
to purchase 100 Equi-Tee forks for use on Gulf beaches.
Continue
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Quality Hand Tools for Cleaning Sand Beaches
Equi-Tee sand cleaning forks are the standard by which all other sifting
hand tools are judged! Available in two basket
sizes with two tine spacing and then optionally equipped with a screen, they
will efficiently sift debris down to 1/8th inch. They can be manually agitated or equipped
with an integral motor to auto-sift. They are mounted to a full length
fiberglass shaft with a comfortable ergonomic grip. They are chemical, oil
and salt and heat resistant making them ideal as an oil spill cleaning product. Equi-Tee tarball forks function as
sand rakes, shovels and screens,
eliminating the need to
carry multiple sand cleaning tools. It is unnecessary to have one
worker shovel up the goo and sand, only to dump it into another workers screen,
and then into a bag. With these tarball sifting forks, one worker can do it
all! There are no other beach cleaning tools that will sift sand and pick
small oil soaked debris as effectively as our Mini-Tine forks.
The auto-sifting Shake'n Fork is the only hand tool of its kind in the world,
eliminating virtually all excessive sand removal. Include them both as part of an effective oil spill kit
in a oil spill contingency plan.
Multi-Industry Proven
Equi-Tee Forks are patented
(7,222,899) and are sold worldwide. They have been used and proven in the
agricultural industry (for sifting horse waste from stalls and cleaning outdoor
pastures) in the pet market (as a
kitty litter tool) as
well as for recreational lake shoreline cleaning where debris or seaweed removal
is required. The patented (7,222,900)
Shake'n Fork-TF is a purpose built version incorporating an auto-sifting function,
a screened basket design, a larger standard battery pack and additional
modifications for the sand environment. Equi-tee forks function well as
rakes and are
used to incorporate oil bio-remediation bacteria into beach sand. Governments,
cleanup agencies, hotel and beach managers can utilize this beach sand sifting
tool to help make beach cleanup more effective.
Order yours today.
The
Equi-Tee Flex'n Fork with a Mini-Tine(tm) basket is the most effective way to
manually clean oiled debris, seaweed and tar balls from wet or damp beach sand.
A screened TF version is available for dry sand. The smaller 1/2 size Sift'n Fork is best for
spot cleanup. Both
tar ball picking forks quickly and easily separate the sand from the oil spill
debris
so that all you dispose of is the oil, leaving more clean sand on the beach.
Equi-Tee Manufactures these specialized forks with an optimized tine spacing of only 5/16 of an
inch apart. The patented Mini-Tine forks pick up the smallest tarballs,
yet lets the beach sand sift through. With a full length handle it ends the continual
stooping to pick up tar balls, and allows beaches to be quickly and effectively
cleaned of oil and debris.
Order yours today.
Motorized Forks
The motorized Shake'n Fork is for
cleaning large expanses of beach. It is similar the
Flex'n Fork, but has a 1/4 inch screen that is built into the basket. With
other screened tools, damp sand will not flow through a screen. However, because this
is a powered fork, the sand easily sifts through. An integral motor automatically performs the function of
manually sifting the
sand, so
all the operator needs to
do is hold the grip and squeeze the variable speed trigger. It incorporates rechargeable Lithium Ion
batteries and a small motor with variable speeds to gently agitate the tines
without breaking the debris. This automatic
sifting function speeds the process of cleaning while greatly reducing the
effort required to manually sift. Yet is still still captures the
smallest tar ball. This motorized version can be used with dry or damp sand
but should not be used near water.
Order yours today.
Handy tools for Cleaning Oily Debris
The larger Flex'n Fork is also with the Standard Width tine spacing basket is suited for oil cleanup
where larger debris must be collected. Straw and marsh debris as well as
oil absorbent pads can all be captured in an oil spill containment area,
especially one utilizing oil booms. Equi-Tee oil clean up forks sift oily
debris to be removed and the water is left behind. Unlike a shovel, these forks only
capture what you want to dispose of, reducing the volume of oily waste. As an
oil spill cleaning product, it should be first on your list.
Order yours today.
Order the screened and powered Shake'n Fork TF
here for only $309.00 $249.00.
Order the Flex'n Fork
here for only $59.00 $49.00.
Order the screened Flex'n Fork TF
here for only $128.95 $99.00.
View Assembly Instructions
HERE
Quantity Discounts are available
for 10 or more Flex'n Forks.
SPECIAL
THANKS TO CROWDER GULF FOR THEIR HELP!!!
Overview of Current Methods to Clean
Beach Sand
A White Paper for
IATAP presentation is available here as a PDF
Cleaning beaches by hand is a labor intensive and tedious process,
especially when picking up tarballs using the traditional hand tool
selection of heavy shovels, rakes, screens and bags. Using these tools is terribly inefficient,
uses manpower ineffectively and often generates a mountain of garbage
bags mostly full of clean beach sand and only a small percentage of oil.
Imperfect
Method 1: Worker one scoops up small tarball with a shovel.
Along with the tar comes two cups of clean sand which is dumped into the
bag worker two is holding. After 3 or four scoops, the bag
has reached its recommend fill level and set aside for disposal.
Many bags hold less than 10% of their contents in tar balls so excessive bags are filled with minimal
beach remediation.
Abysmal Method 2: Worker one scoops up the
tarballs and sand with a shovel and dumps it into worker two and
three's screen. These workers proceeds to manually agitate the
screen, then dumps the remains into the bag that worker four
is holding. Neither worker one or worker four can perform any
faster than worker two and three can sift. Although this method puts a higher
percentage of oily debris into the bag, it does so at a terrible cost in
manpower with the four men working to pick up one small tarball.
Better Practices Method! Worker one places his
bag on the ground, open end up. Using his lightweight Equi-Tee
Mini-Tine sifting fork he scoops up the tarball and sand. By
manually agitating the tines, the optimal narrow
tine spacing of the fork allows the sand to sift through, leaving
mostly debris and tar balls in the basket. He disposes of the tarball
into the bag, picks up the bag, and moves to the next location.
Best Practices Method! Worker one uses his
Equi-Tee Shake'n Fork to gather the tarballs and sand into a row or
pile. He then uses the auto-sifting function to quickly and
effortlessly sift virtually all the sand from the tarballs. The oil is
dumped into a bag, with a far larger percentage of the contents being
tarballs. Ideally the Shake'n Fork operator should be part of a four
person team, where two other workers are gathering the oily sand into
piles or rows. Then one worker holds the bag open and the other sifts
out the sand and deposits the oil into the bag. If a large bucket or
container were used, bag use could be eliminated altogether.
With our
specialized Mini-tine fork and powered Shake'n Fork, the same number of workers can clean far
more efficiently, picking up many times more the beach area in the
same amount of time. In addition the volume of sand waste
is greatly reduced, making this waste easier to transport, store and
eventually dispose of.
Made in
the USA
Founded in 1998 as an offshoot of Equi-Tee Farm and Fence, the company
has already developed other well-known agricultural and forestry
accessories such as
Equi-Tee horse fencing and
Max-flow air filters. Inventor Joseph Berto and his wife operate a
horse breeding and training facility in Oregon and when it became clear
that there was a need to improve the beach cleaning tools available,
Joseph used the resources of the company to develop and test the
Equi-Tee Sift'n Forks. The beach cleanup hand tools are manufactured and
assembled in the USA by Equi-Tee Manufacturing.
Equi-tee Manufacturing
is located in Medford, Oregon and operates injection molding machines
using our own tooling. All of the assembly is done in house. These
forks have been sold worldwide and are known for their durability and
ease of use. Equi-Tee forks can be shipped via UPS to any location in
the USA, FOB our warehouse. Except for attaching the basket, they are
fully assembled. Larger quantities can be shipped on a pallet via
truck.
Watch all 12 incredible BP oil spill
live feed video at the
same time. BP oil
spill
update
Information from NOAA about Tar Balls:
- They are the remnants of crude oil dumped into the ocean by marine vessels or,
in this case, by a the B.P. Deepwater Horizon's blown-out undersea well. They are "little, dark-colored
pieces of oil that stick to our feet when we go to the beach," according to the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- During the initial stages of a spill, the oil will spread into a thin slick,
leaving it susceptible to tearing by wind and wave action. The smaller patches
that result often disperse over a wide area and some of the crude mixes with
water to form an emulsion that looks like chocolate pudding.
- This mix is thicker and stickier than the original oil in the spill, but it
can still be torn by wind and waves. The smaller pieces it breaks into are tar
balls.
_ They can be as big as pancakes but are mostly coin-sized, according to NOAA.
THREATS TO HUMAN HEALTH/WILDLIFE
- Tar balls "are very persistent in the marine environment and can travel
hundreds of miles," NOAA said
- "For most people, an occasional brief contact with a small amount of oil,
while not recommended, will do no harm. However, some people are especially
sensitive to chemicals, including the hydrocarbons found in crude oil," it said.
"They may have an allergic reaction or develop rashes."
- Sea turtles are known to eat tar balls. Dr Gilly Llewellyn, the Oceans Program
Manager for WWF-Australia, a conservation group, said tar balls can "attract a
curious or hungry turtle" with often fatal results.
- Tar balls can also heat up and ooze into the sand, fouling crucial nesting
habitat for turtles, said John Hocevar, the Oceans Campaign Director for
Greenpeace USA.
TAR BALL CLEAN UP
- "There is no magic trick to making tar balls disappear. Once tar balls hit the
beaches, they may be picked up by hand or by beach-cleaning machinery. If the
impact is severe, the top layer of sand containing the tar balls may be removed
and replaced with clean sand," NOAA said
Contact Information:
Equi-Tee Mfg.
Telephone: (541)
826-8301
10984 Meadows Road, White City, OR 97503
Copyright © 2007/10
Equi-Tee Mfg
Last modified:
August 22, 2010
