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Bar sink grease interceptor size seems way off!?

H

heartofglass

Bronze Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
34
Location
Smalltownville, CA
Under our small bar we have a 3-compartment sink where glassware is washed by hand. It's smaller than a restaurant dish sink, with three 10 x 14 x 10" compartments. There's also a prep sink, but since it is only used to rinse garnishes (lemons, limes, mint for mojitos) it was determined by wastewater department that it does not need to be tied into the grease trap (if we never dump grease - which we don't produce - into the prep sink, and put a sign on it disallowing this). On the phone, I was told we'd need a 20gpm grease trap in this case, which is the calculation I get using various calculators and directions for grease trap sizing that I've found online. But in the letter from wastewater it says 40gpm!! Which won't fit under out bar, for one thing. And I can't find any calculation that supports this, for a 10x14x10 3-compartment bar sink. I was surprised when the person I talked to called our bar sink a "very large sink" since restaurant sinks are typically 16 x 20 x 12 at the smallest, and this is just a typical (smaller) bar sink. So I'm hoping the 40gpm is a typo?

This is in California. And there is no grease produced in this bar, which would be considered "minimum prep" if not for the fact that we slice fruit to put in drinks. I'm getting 20gpm in every calculation. I'm a little surprised that we need a grease trap at all, but had picked out a 20gpm grease trap after confirming on the phone with the inspector that this is what was needed. This is a small neighborhood bar with a 32 person capacity. I keep trying to figure out if I filled out the wastewater survey wrong somehow, because this just seems way off to me. :(
 
On another note, in the same county, coffee shops that serve espresso and baked goods are not necessarily required to have grease traps. Really odd. I must have done something wrong when I turned in my survey?? ...Right? My head is going to explode if I redo this calculation one more time.
 
OK, nevermind, it was a typo by the inspector! THANK GOODNESS. I thought I had done something seriously wrong but couldn't fathom where I made the mistake. Feel free to delete this thread!
 
heartofglass said:
Under our small bar we have a 3-compartment sink where glassware is washed by hand. It's smaller than a restaurant dish sink, with three 10 x 14 x 10" compartments. There's also a prep sink, but since it is only used to rinse garnishes (lemons, limes, mint for mojitos) it was determined by wastewater department that it does not need to be tied into the grease trap (if we never dump grease - which we don't produce - into the prep sink, and put a sign on it disallowing this). On the phone, I was told we'd need a 20gpm grease trap in this case, which is the calculation I get using various calculators and directions for grease trap sizing that I've found online. But in the letter from wastewater it says 40gpm!! Which won't fit under out bar, for one thing. And I can't find any calculation that supports this, for a 10x14x10 3-compartment bar sink. I was surprised when the person I talked to called our bar sink a "very large sink" since restaurant sinks are typically 16 x 20 x 12 at the smallest, and this is just a typical (smaller) bar sink. So I'm hoping the 40gpm is a typo? This is in California. And there is no grease produced in this bar, which would be considered "minimum prep" if not for the fact that we slice fruit to put in drinks. I'm getting 20gpm in every calculation. I'm a little surprised that we need a grease trap at all, but had picked out a 20gpm grease trap after confirming on the phone with the inspector that this is what was needed. This is a small neighborhood bar with a 32 person capacity. I keep trying to figure out if I filled out the wastewater survey wrong somehow, because this just seems way off to me. :(
Click to expand...
A Bar sink is about 2 PFU: a 200 Gal 2’-0” x 4’-0” x 4’-0 is about the smallest "cast unit" (in ground) you will find.

There are smaller unit, under counter units...
grease_trap_chart_2013-march.jpg
 
Woops, tried to reply to north star and it replied to the thread in general. And thank you for the chart, mark. The grease interceptor we had our eyes on is a 20gpm under counter unit that will go under our bar. Thanks.
 
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