Grease Interceptor and Trap Repair in Chandler

Chandler keeps the rule short. Any business that prepares or packages food or drinks for sale needs a fats, oils and grease (FOG) treatment device, which covers both the small hydromechanical trap under a sink and the big gravity interceptor in the ground. The owner of the device pays for its cleaning, maintenance and repairs.

Three things decide whether you pass. The device has to be the right size for the fixtures that drain to it. It has to be cleaned before grease and solids pass 25 percent of its capacity. And you need three years of service records on site showing it was. Under City Code 51-25 the building official enforces the plumbing code's interceptor rules, so size and installation are settled at plan review and inspection, and the city's pretreatment program inspects the devices once the kitchen is open. More detail is on our page about Chandler's food service grease rules.

This is where Chandler parts ways with Phoenix. Phoenix sizes a gravity interceptor with a flow formula. Chandler's City Code 29-4.4 replaces that with a chart based on drainage fixture units (DFU), the number the plumbing code gives each fixture for how much it can drain:

Above 342 fixture units, an Arizona registered professional engineer designs it. The city's worksheet (Form UDM-062) counts each fixture by drain size, and a commercial dishwasher at 2 fixture units for every gallon per minute it is rated for. One added sink can push a kitchen from 750 to 1,000 gallons, which is why the count comes before the layout is final. The full chart and examples are on our Chandler interceptor sizing page.

That matters most in a tenant improvement. A retail center space that comes with a 500-gallon interceptor from the last tenant is already below Chandler's smallest size, so a new restaurant there may be looking at a replacement, not a repair. Whether an existing tank can stay is decided at plan review. See grease interceptor replacement.

Most of our grease work starts when something inside the unit has failed: a baffle has broken off, an inlet or outlet tee has rotted, a lid or riser has cracked, or the line between the kitchen and the interceptor keeps stopping up. Here's how a repair goes:

1. 1Your hauler pumps it first. HQ does not pump interceptors. Chandler wants a Maricopa County licensed non-hazardous liquid waste hauler if anyone other than your own staff cleans it, and the tank has to be emptied of all contents before anyone goes in. We schedule our crew right behind the truck. See pump and repair coordination.
2. 2We go in as a confined space. A gravity interceptor can hold a hazardous atmosphere, so we treat entry as permit-required confined space work under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.146: air tested before entry, an attendant outside and retrieval gear rigged. HQ sends a three-person crew for interceptor entry. More on that in confined space interceptor entry.
3. 3We put the parts back to code. Broken or missing baffles are reinstalled, failed tees and standpipes replaced, and damaged lids and risers repaired. See baffle repair.
4. 4We clear and check the lines. The line from the kitchen into the interceptor and the line out to the city sewer are hydro jetted, then camera-inspected to confirm no grease is left in either. That's the fix. See restaurant grease line jetting.

You get a written record of what was done, ready for the three-year file the city expects.

No calendar, just the 25 percent rule. Phoenix and Gilbert set pumping intervals. Chandler doesn't. It asks you to clean before grease and solids reach a quarter of the capacity, and more often if grease is seen leaving the device. A busy fryer line can hit that mark long before a slow cafe does, so the right interval is the one your pumping records support. Our 25 percent rule page explains how to measure it.

Enzymes and additives. Chandler City Code 51-24 prohibits adding chemicals, enzymes or bacteria to a grease device to put off pumping. A dosing system found in place has to come out at the owner's cost, and citations and fines can follow. See enzyme grease treatments.

A disposer on the grease line. The city says a food waste disposer or grinder can't discharge to a FOG device. If a remodel added one at the prep sink and tied it into the interceptor, it needs its own drainage or it comes out.

Grease past the device. Chandler's limit for fats, oils and grease at the sewer is 100 mg/L, emulsified or not. When grease keeps showing up in the lateral even with a good pumping schedule, a missing baffle or a failed outlet tee is the usual cause, and it's what we look for first. The city's discharge limits are on our code library page.

Repair fits when the tank is the right type and size and a part has failed. Replacement is the answer when the concrete or steel has corroded through, when the kitchen has outgrown the unit under Chandler's chart, or when an indoor trap is being asked to take a dishwasher or disposer it can't. Replacements go through Chandler Development Services with a fixture count and plumbing plan, the same as a new install. Our repair or replace guide walks through the call.

Call with the type of unit, any notice from the city and your last few pumping records. We offer 24/7 emergency service, free estimates and an upfront price before work starts, and Chandler is in our regular dispatch area. Related: grease interceptor repair, grease trap service, restaurant plumbing and our Chandler service area page.