To prevent costly sewer backups and overflows and keep up with regulatory requirements, grease interceptors are a necessity in any restaurant or commercial kitchen, not to mention a lucrative diversification opportunity for onsite installers. Infiltrator Water Technologies has likewise branched out, offering a new line of lightweight and efficient gravity and hydromechanical grease interceptors.
“There was a gap in our offering, so by identifying that, we are able to better serve the onsite industry and break into municipal, centralized wastewater management,” says Matthew Mahoney, product manager – tank business segment for Infiltrator.
The product line, including the GIT-540 HGI and the GIT-1060 and GIT-1530 gravity interceptors, are built with a corrosionproof polypropylene material reinforced with fiberglass, offering greater durability and ease of installation compared to interceptors made from concrete. Mahoney says polypropylene is also an ideal material for kitchens where hot water regularly goes down the drain.
“It’s not going to warp or change in shape when exposed to varying temperatures,” Mahoney says.
Since gravity grease traps must be emptied and cleaned at 25% capacity, Mahoney recommends the hydromechanical GIT-540 in nearly all grease applications due to its smaller footprint and greater efficiency. Certified under ASME A112.14.3 after extensive testing, the 540 is rated at 97.9% efficiency with a maximum grease capacity of 3,011 pounds with a working tank capacity of 475 gallons.
“That’s really the value of hydromechanical,” Mahoney says. “That reduced footprint is significant, over 2.5 times smaller compared to the 1530.”
As an emerging technology, Mahoney says that some state and local regulations have not caught up with HGIs. In these situations, he says the gravity interceptors are viable options. The GIT-1060 and GIT-1530 have working capacities of 1,111 and 1,537 gallons, respectively, and meet IAPMO Z1001 standards for prefabricated interceptors.
The interceptors’ lightweight designs, especially the GIT-540, allow for installations in a range of challenging site conditions, such as in small land plots, green space and areas with heavy vehicular traffic. To be traffic-rated under AASHTO H20, Infiltrator performed a series of drive-overs on top of the buried interceptor with a 64,000-pound truck, and then parked the vehicle on top for an extended period of time.
“We tested this ourselves in Old Saybrook, Connecticut,” Mahoney says. “We feel very confident our interceptor can perform very well in a traffic-rated environment.”
When installed below-grade, all interceptors achieve green space rating with Infiltrator’s EZsnap riser. And in traffic installation, the interceptors require a reinforced concrete slab used with an Infiltrator cast iron lid, dual-wall corrugated pipe, and Infiltrator’s pipe adapter ring.
800-221-4436; www.infiltratorwater.com
