Frequently Asked Questions
Q. "What connections come at the both ends of your grease trap interceptors?"
A. Both ends come with no-hub fittings. In other words, they come with a plain end. To adapt the ends to steel or plastic pipe you simply use a standard no-hub adapter.
Q. "Why does my grease trap back up and overflow? If I buy a new one from you will it backup and clog less?"
A. Grease traps back up either because they need to be cleaned or because of an outlet or drainage blockage. Buying a large unit would mean you wouldn't need to clean it as often because there is more storage capacity of grease. But please understand that all grease traps will clog if you do not clean out the grease regularly. Every commercial kitchen should have a regular maintenance schedule for cleaning out their grease trap.
Q. "Yesterday I had our grease trap pumped clean and today the trap overflowed. Why did this happen?"
A. Pumping the grease trap alone does not clear stoppages down the line. Also, if the trap has overflowed or pumping is done wrong, grease can get into your main line. If the trap was pumped because it had a stoppage it might be that there is still a partial stoppage already in your main line. It is very important to maintain your grease trap and not let it get to the point of a blockage.
Q. "How does a grease trap work?"
A. A grease trap works by slowing down the flow of warm/hot greasy water and allowing it to cool. As the water cools, the grease and oil separate and float to the top of the grease trap. The cooler water, with less grease, continues to flow down the pipe to the sewer. The grease is actually trapped by baffles, which cover the inlet and outlet of the tank, preventing grease from flowing out of the trap. To learn more about the methods different traps use to achieve this and how to size a grease trap, click here
Q. "Does a grease trap prevent blockages and stoppages?"
A. Grease traps do help prevent stoppages after the trap but blockages can, and do, occur as a result of insufficient and infrequent grease trap line maintenance. A grease trap or drain line which is not periodically maintained will eventually clog. To correctly maintain a grease trap, you must take the grease out of the trap. Another thing to consider is that your toilet and various other plumbing is not attached to this grease trap which can also be the cause of stoppages. Likewise, the municipal sewer system can back-up and cause your system to have a blockage out of your control.
Please note: code requires that grease traps are mandatory for a commercial kitchen.
Q. "My local governmental code wants to know how long the water stays in the grease trap?"
A. Although many health/safety/engineering departments work differently, basically the way they figure the grease trap size needed is by the amount of water that travels through the trap in a certain length of time. What that means is that if you have a 3 gallon per minute drain flow, and a 30 gallon grease trap, some agencies will consider the 3 gallons as having a 10 minute "hold" time. You figure this by dividing the gpm by the gallon volume of the trap.Not all governmental bodies operate the same way so, please, contact them before you order a grease trap. Make certain that the size that you are ordering is the size that they will accept. Note that all grease traps have a maximum flow rate. Also note that for sanitation reasons, all brands of grease traps are sealed and not open to the elements. However, some brands of grease traps (we do not offer) are more difficult than others to open. Again, generally but not always, the size of the grease trap versus the gallons per minute of your drainage is what determines the size that you are required to have. Please be certain of the size that is required by your local code or governmental regulatory agency because shipping is very expensive and we do not take them back. When in doubt, do not order these until you are certain of what you need.
The codes are designed to try to take the most grease out of the water. If you under size your grease trap then some of the grease could pass through. You might also need to take the grease out and pump out the trap quite frequently.
