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Extraction cleaning - grease management
Managing a kitchen's grease is not one problem but two: the grease in the air the extraction handles, and the grease in the wastewater that goes to drain. Specifying a grease management system means understanding what your kitchen actually produces and matching the system to it. Here is how to think about specifying grease management that suits your kitchen's real demands.
The short answer
Specifying a grease management system starts with recognising that kitchen grease has to be managed on two fronts: the grease in the extracted air, handled by the extraction system and its filtration, and the grease in the wastewater going to drain, handled by a grease trap or interceptor. Specifying well means understanding your kitchen's actual grease production - how much cooking, what kind, what volume - and matching each part of the grease management to it: extraction and filtration sized and specified for the airborne grease, and a grease trap sized for the wastewater grease. The system should suit the real demands of your kitchen, be adequate for the grease load, and be maintainable. So specifying grease management is about matching the right control, on each front, to what your particular kitchen actually produces.
Grease is two problems
Specifying a grease management system starts with recognising that a kitchen's grease is not a single problem but two, arising in two different places. There is the grease in the air - the grease-laden air from cooking that the extraction system draws away, carrying grease that has to be captured and managed. And there is the grease in the water - the fats, oils and grease that go into the kitchen's wastewater, down the drains, which have to be managed before they reach the sewers. These are two distinct streams of grease, in two different media, each needing its own management.
Understanding this two-front nature is the basis for specifying grease management properly, because the two need different systems. The airborne grease is managed by the extraction and its filtration - the canopy, filters, and any grease extraction units that capture grease from the air. The wastewater grease is managed by a grease trap or interceptor that captures the fats, oils and grease from the water before it goes to drain. So a complete grease management approach addresses both: the extraction side for the grease in the air, and the drainage side for the grease in the water. Specifying it means thinking about both fronts and matching each to what the kitchen produces.
Start with what the kitchen produces
The foundation of specifying grease management well is understanding what your kitchen actually produces - because the system has to be matched to the real grease load, and that varies enormously between kitchens. A high-volume kitchen doing a lot of grease-heavy cooking produces far more grease, in both the air and the water, than a low-volume or light-cooking one. So the first step is to understand your kitchen's grease production: how much cooking, of what kind, at what volume - the factors that determine how much grease has to be managed. Specifying without this understanding risks a system that is under or over specified for the actual demand.
This understanding informs the specification of both fronts. The more grease the cooking produces into the air, the more capable the extraction and filtration need to be to capture it; the more grease goes into the wastewater, the larger the grease trap needs to be to handle it. So the grease load drives the specification: a system matched to a kitchen's actual production will manage its grease effectively, while one specified without regard to the real load may be inadequate for a heavy producer or unnecessarily large for a light one. So specifying grease management begins with understanding the kitchen - its cooking volume and type - because that is what the system has to be sized and specified to handle.
Specify each front to the load
With the kitchen's grease production understood, each front of the grease management is specified to handle its share. On the extraction side, the extraction and filtration have to be capable of capturing the airborne grease the cooking produces - the extraction sized for the cooking, the grease filtration adequate to capture the grease from the air, and, where the grease load is heavy, potentially additional grease extraction or filtration to handle it. The aim is extraction and filtration that genuinely capture the airborne grease the kitchen produces, so that grease is managed at the extraction rather than escaping into the system or the air.
On the drainage side, the grease trap or interceptor has to be sized for the wastewater grease the kitchen produces. A grease trap works by capturing the fats, oils and grease from the wastewater before it goes to drain, and it has to be large enough to handle the volume of grease the kitchen puts into its wastewater - an undersized trap fills too fast and lets grease through, while an appropriately sized one captures the grease effectively. So the grease trap is specified to the kitchen's wastewater grease load. Specifying each front to its share of the grease - the extraction and filtration for the air, the grease trap for the water - is how the grease management is matched to the kitchen, so that both streams of grease are adequately managed.
Make it adequate and maintainable
A well-specified grease management system has a couple of further qualities beyond being matched to the load. It should be adequate - genuinely capable of managing the grease the kitchen produces, with enough capacity and capability that it captures the grease effectively rather than being overwhelmed. Under-specifying, to save cost, risks a system that cannot cope with the actual grease load, letting grease escape into the air, the extraction system, or the drains. So specifying adequately for the real demand, rather than skimping, is important to the system actually working.
It should also be maintainable - designed and specified so that it can be cleaned and maintained, because grease management systems capture grease and so need regular cleaning to keep working. The extraction and filtration need to be cleanable, with access for cleaning; the grease trap needs to be accessible for emptying and cleaning. A system that captures grease but cannot easily be maintained will clog and fail, so maintainability is part of specifying well. So the marks of a good grease management specification are that it is matched to the kitchen's actual grease production, adequate for the load, and maintainable - addressing both the air and the water, each with a system sized and specified for its share of the grease, and able to be kept working over time. Specify it that way, and the kitchen's grease is properly managed on both fronts.
The takeaway
Specifying a grease management system starts with recognising that kitchen grease has to be managed on two fronts: the grease in the extracted air, handled by the extraction and its filtration, and the grease in the wastewater going to drain, handled by a grease trap or interceptor. Specifying well means understanding your kitchen's actual grease production - how much cooking, of what kind, at what volume - and matching each part of the system to it: extraction and filtration for the airborne grease, and a grease trap sized for the wastewater grease.
A good specification is matched to the real load, adequate for it rather than skimped, and maintainable so it can be cleaned and kept working. Under-specifying risks a system overwhelmed by the actual grease; neglecting maintainability risks one that clogs and fails. So specifying grease management is about matching the right control, on each front, to what your particular kitchen actually produces - the extraction and filtration for the air, the grease trap for the water - each sized and specified for its share, and able to be maintained. Get that right, and the kitchen's grease is properly managed both in the air and to the drain.
Questions
The systems that manage a kitchen's grease on two fronts: the grease in the extracted air, handled by the extraction and its filtration, and the grease in the wastewater going to drain, handled by a grease trap or interceptor. A complete grease management approach addresses both streams of grease, each with its own control.
Because a kitchen's grease arises in two different places and media: the grease-laden air from cooking that the extraction draws away, and the fats, oils and grease that go into the kitchen's wastewater down the drains. These are distinct streams needing different management - the extraction and filtration for the air, a grease trap for the water.
By understanding what your kitchen actually produces - how much cooking, of what kind, at what volume - because the system has to be matched to the real grease load, which varies enormously between kitchens. A high-volume, grease-heavy kitchen produces far more grease than a light one, so the specification must reflect the actual demand.
The extraction and filtration are specified to capture the airborne grease the cooking produces - sized for the cooking, with adequate grease filtration and, for heavy loads, potentially additional grease extraction. The grease trap is sized for the wastewater grease - large enough to capture the fats, oils and grease the kitchen puts into its wastewater.
Because under-specifying, to save cost, risks a system that cannot cope with the actual grease load - letting grease escape into the air, the extraction system, or the drains. Specifying adequately for the real demand, with enough capacity and capability, is important to the system actually managing the grease effectively rather than being overwhelmed.
Because grease management systems capture grease and so need regular cleaning to keep working - the extraction and filtration need to be cleanable with access, and the grease trap accessible for emptying. A system that captures grease but cannot easily be maintained will clog and fail, so maintainability is part of specifying well.
A grease management system captures grease and so needs regular cleaning to keep working - we clean the extraction side, keeping the filtration and system capturing the airborne grease as specified.
