Are you a restaurant manager or owner looking to decide between a grease removal unit or a conventional grease trap? For years we’ve been the go to supplier for grease removal units for commercial kitchens and in this post we’ll give you a breakdown of the main differences between GRUs and conventional grease traps so you can make the best choice for your business.

A conventional grease trap will store grease until it has reached capacity. Once capacity is reached there is no room for grease and it will simply wash-through and pass on into the drain system. With a typical restaurant grease trap collecting 1-2 litres of grease per day that means a 40 litre trap would need to be emptied every 10-20 days to remain effective. This service interval is expensive to maintain. Conventional grease trap waste is low-grade because it contains a high proportion of food waste and the fats and oils within are low quality as they degrade over time.

Grease Removal Units or GRUS have been developed to address the shortfalls of grease traps. GRUs work in the same way as conventional grease traps but with two added features – they screen out food waste and automatically discharge the grease from the trap into an external container throughout the day. This means not only does the trap never lose capacity – the oil collected is better quality with lower food content and has lower acidity making it more valuable for re-processing.

In addition to the performance benefits of GRU the maintenance costs are typically less as waste does not need removing in the same way. Whereas a grease trap requires a high volume of waste removal a GRU service visit is in essence a cleaning and de-silting operation. However it is important to note that staff engagement is key as daily maintenance tasks are required for most GRUs.

There are two GRU types available:

1. Mechanical Oil Skimming Devices – these units collect grease in a central chamber and use an electric motor to drive a semi-submerged wheel or drum which turns slowly in the trapped grease, a wiper blade is then used to scrape the oil into an external container for disposal.
2. Non-mechanical Oil Separation Devices – non-mechanical GRUs such as the FiltaFOG Cyclone use gravity-differential to separate oil from water. In simple terms it is using nature – the fact that oil and water have a different specific gravity. The process is achieved first by using a specially designed chamber to encourage oil and water separation. Secondly, as oil separation completes, the effluent passes to an oil harvest valve (through which only oil is allowed to pass) allowing the recovered oil to be ejected into an oil collection container.

As one of the leading suppliers of commercial kitchen services we maintain all types of GRUs for clients across the UK and beyond. To find out more and to discuss your specific requirements please get in touch today on 01788 550100 or contact us online now.

Own a grease trap? Check out our handy guide to grease trap cleaning.