Grease arrestor sizing
The size of a grease arrestor is critical in ensuring the wastewater discharged from a greasy waste producer (i.e. restaurant, café or fast food take away business) has the optimum conditions for efficient suspended solids, fats, oil and grease removal.
Two methods can be used to determine the appropriate size of a grease arrestor and both are based on ensuring the wastewater has a minimum retention time of one hour.
We have a minimum grease arrestor size of 500 litres. Larger sizes are available and all approved grease arrestors can be viewed on our approved products page. Customers wishing to install grease arrestors larger than 2,000 litres (including configured in series) should seek our approval at the design stage to ensure it will meet our requirements.
Method 1 – Fixture unit rating method
Add the fixture unit (FU) ratings (see Table 1) for all fixtures that feed into the grease arrestor and multiply by 100 litres. Cross-check where this calculated volume lies in the ‘calculated grease arrestor size range’ (Table 2 below) to determine the corresponding ‘minimum grease arrestor size’ required.
Table 1: Fixture unit ratings
| Fixture | Fixture unit rating | Fixture | Fixture unit rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steamer | 1 | Kitchen sink | 3 |
| Wok (per burner) | 1 | Double kitchen sink | 3 |
| Hand basin | 1 | Pot sink | 5 |
| Rinse sink | 3 | Double pot sink | 5 |
| Combi ovens | 5 |
Table 2: Minimum grease arrestor size
| Maximum number of fixture units | Calculated grease arrestor size range | Minimum grease arrestor size |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 100L – 700L | 500L |
| 13 | 701L – 1300L | 1000L |
| 17 | 1301L – 1700L | 1500L |
| 26 | 1701L – 2600L | 2000L |
| 52 | 2601L – 5200L | 2 x 2000L, 4000L |
| 78 | 5201L – 7800L | 6000L |
Method 2 – Peak flow rates
Where the hourly peak wastewater flow rate is known, it can be used to determine the required minimum grease arrestor size. Compare the peak hourly flow with the ‘calculated grease arrestor size range’ in Table 2 to determine the corresponding ‘minimum grease arrestor size’ required.
Shared grease arrestors
In circumstances where we approve businesses to share a grease arrestor the minimum size can be calculated using either Method 1 or Method 2. If it is not practical to connect grease arrestors in series, or the FU loading is too high for a single grease arrestor, then the fixtures are to be connected to individual grease arrestors that meet our grease arrestor sizing requirements.
Dishwashers & glass washers
Dishwashers and glass washers are not to discharge into grease arrestors due to their use of detergents, high water temperatures and surge loads, which can liquefy or emulsify oil and grease allowing it to be discharged to sewer or overload the arrestor.
Non–typical grease arrestors
We may accept the use of other approved types of grease arrestors such as those which may include the use of filters. These types of grease arrestors may be subject to specific conditions or restrictions in use. Therefore, it is recommended prior to the installation of such arrestors, that customers seek advice from us if any conditions or restrictions apply before doing so.
Worked examples
Example 1: Fixture unit rating method
If a restaurant kitchen has: 1 Double Pot Sink (5 FU), 1 Single Pot Sink (5 FU) and 1 Hand Basin (1 FU), the maximum hourly flow that could be expected can be calculated as follows:
11 FU x 100L = 1100L
Therefore the recommended size is 1000L (from Table 2).
Example 2: Peak flow rate method
The peak flow rate from a kitchen/production area is known to be 0.5L/sec. The minimum grease arrestor size is calculated as follows:
0.5L/sec x 3600 sec/hour = 1800L/hour
Therefore the recommended size is 2000L (from Table 2).
Example 3: Fixture unit rating method – shared arrestor
Business A – 5 FU, Business B – 11 FU and Business C – 4 FU
When 3 businesses (A, B, & C) share a grease arrestor, the maximum hourly flow that could be expected, and hence the grease arrestor size, is calculated as follows:
20 FU x 100L = 2000L
Therefore the recommended size is 2000L (from Table 2).