Frequently Asked Questions

Large grease generators in the kitchen are the pre-rinse sinks and the pot-washing sinks. Grease comes from the food residue that is on used plates and cookware. The biggest generator of grease is the three-compartment sink, where a lot of the pots and pans are washed.

Surprisingly, very little grease comes from the dishwasher. Plates and cookware have grease and food residue scraped/rinsed off at the pre-rinse station before they go into the dishwasher. Any grease that does come out of a dishwasher is emulsified grease. Grease emulsifies due to the high concentration of detergents and high strength soaps that dishwashers utilize. Emulsified grease cannot be trapped.

Thermaco recommends you follow the local and state plumbing codes with regard to flow controls and vented flow controls. Your local distributor of Thermaco products can help you as they are very knowledgeable in this area.

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The Trapzilla grease interceptor units (TZ-400-ECA, TZ-525-ECA, TZ-600-ECA, and TZ-1826-ECA) and Trapzilla solids separator units (TSS-70-ECA and TSS-95-ECA) can be installed in traffic rated areas when following our traffic rated installation instructions. These instructions can be found on the bottom of this page. 

The vessel vent connection needs to be vented to the facility vent in order to regulate tank pressure. The outlet vent needs to be vented to the facility vent or code-approved vaccum breaker to prevent siphonage. Failure to properly vent outlet voids Thermaco's warranty. For an overview on Big Dipper installation, click here. Additional information can be found in the manual. 

Install the Big Dipper as close as possible to the fixture(s) it is serving. The unit should be visible and easily accessible for daily maintenance and inspection. Do not install in a vault. For an overview on Big Dipper installation, click here. Additional information can be found in the manual. 

For best odor management, upgrade to the Big Dipper Advanced or purchase an Upgrade Kit. There are a few tips to help reduce odors from your existing Big Dipper. (1) Daily Maintenance, (2) Increase Water Intake, (3) Add Bleach, (3) Reduce Skim Cycle Time, (4) Add grease or Oil, (5) Other causes such as indirect floor drains, area ventilation, and ware washing practices. For full information, click here.

Vent the vessel vent to atmosphere to properly regulate airflow in and out of the Trapzilla tank. The outlet vent needs to be vented to the facility vent or code-approved vaccum breaker to prevent siphonage. Failure to properly vent outlet voids Thermaco's warranty. For Trapzilla installation overview, click here. Always refer to the manual for more instructions.

The Standard Flow Control is included with every Trapzilla unit shipped. When a Trapzilla is installed after a drop of 6+ feet, a High Head Flow Control (VFCA) is required to reduce overflow issues due to a high head pressure. Vent either flow control to atmosphere. For Trapzilla installation overview, click here. Always refer to the manual for more instructions.

Extension Collars (Risers): Trim any excess extension collar when the full length is not needed. Leaving excess risers protruding into the tank interrupts water and air flow. The riser must be sealed with silicone around the joints.

Tightening Lid: Remove and tighten bolts on lid with a nut driver by hand. Over tightening the lid causes the brackets on the unit to bulge up, allowing odors to escape.

People sometimes get grease separators confused with grease receptacles (barrels or bins) where spent fryer grease and grill drippings are kept. Grease separators are part of the plumbing system and capture grease, oils and fats from kitchen drain water. You should NEVER pour grease from fryers or grill drippings into a grease separator.

Always properly dispose of fryer oil and grill drippings into a designated grease barrel or bin provided by your local cooking oil recycling company. Please visit this site for the rendering/recycling company in your area.

A point of use grease separator is usually not required for a three (3) compartment pot washing sink when there is a central grease removal system receiving the flows from the entire kitchen.

Yes. Ice cream production plants utilize milk and cream products containing homogenized and non-homogenized (free-floating) butterfat. The homogenized fats cannot be separated. Free-floating (non-homogenized) butterfat can be separated by grease separators having sufficient retention times. Most of the butterfat at ice cream production facilities is homogenized product. Because of the inability to separate homogenized butterfat, production process spill and waste prevention is usually the best practice for ensuring an ice cream production facility meets community fats and oils discharge limits.

You can download them from our website or you can contact us at 1-800-633-4204.

Click the appropriate link below to access specifications and drawings for our products.

• Big Dipper
• Trapzilla

An air gap is the unobstructed vertical distance through the free air between the outlet of the discharging pipe and the flood rim of the receptacle receiving the flow. Some code areas require a 50 mm (2") air gap above the receptor, whereas other code areas call for the distance to be a minimum of 25 mm (1"). There are also some code authorities that specify air gap distance to a minimum of 2X the internal diameter of the discharging pipe. Please check your local code requirements on this question.

We have a number of different sized units for different situations. The size of the inlet/outlet pipe for each unit can be found on the Specifications for that particular unit. Please use the link attached to download the associated Spec for the unit to get any dimensions you might need.

Click the appropriate link below to access specifications for our products to determine the correct pipe sizes.

• Big Dipper
• Trapzilla

The answer to your question would depend on the regulations imposed by your local sewer district. Each municipality has its own regulations with regards to what food service sites require grease traps, whether they must be automatic or passive, central or point source, etc. We recommend that you check with your city's regulations before purchasing anything to ensure that you remain in compliance.