Grease Interceptor and Trap Repair for Phoenix Kitchens

A Phoenix grease inspection is unannounced, and it covers four things: your maintenance records, the interceptor, the kitchen and the outside. The inspector reads three years of pumping records on site, checks whether parts are missing or the interceptor has rotted out, gauges how much grease is in it, counts every grease-bearing fixture in the kitchen, and walks the tallow bin and dumpster area. If something needs fixing, you get a written requirement and a time frame. The time frame depends on how much the problem affects the sewer and how much work the fix takes, and an extension has to be asked for in writing.

Bring us that requirement. It tells us which part the city wants fixed and by when, and we plan the pumper and our crew around the date. More on the inspection itself is in our page on what grease inspectors check and the Phoenix Chapter 28 grease program.

Start with what kind of unit the kitchen is allowed to have. Phoenix approves indoor hydromechanical traps only for kitchens with up to four plumbing fixtures, typically a three-compartment sink, a prep sink and a mop sink. Once there are more than four fixtures, or any garbage disposal or dishwasher, the city requires an outdoor gravity interceptor regardless of fixture count. So when the inspector's fixture count comes back at six, repairing the indoor trap does not clear the finding. The kitchen has outgrown it.

Repair fits when the unit is the right type and size and a part has failed: a baffle, an inlet or outlet fitting, a flow control, a gasket or a lid. That is most of our work.

Add on is Phoenix's middle path. Its 2024 code amendment lets an owner install one or more interceptors on or above the floor, upstream of an existing interceptor, when lack of space or other constraints prevent replacing it. Automatic grease removal devices cannot be used as a standalone device here.

Replace is required when the tank has rotted out or the kitchen needs a bigger or different unit. In Phoenix every replacement goes through plan review, a like-for-like indoor trap can be reviewed over the counter, and the new unit has to be on the city's approved list. See grease interceptor replacement and the Phoenix plan review rule.

Phoenix's amended plumbing code sets the sizes. Add the drainage fixture units on grease waste, multiply by 3 gallons per minute and by 12 minutes of retention, or 17 minutes with a disposal. The city's FOG manual sets 500 gallons as the smallest gravity unit it accepts. At 500 gallons the tank needs two compartments and two manways; at 750 gallons and up, three manways, each at least 20 inches across. Missing or undersized manways are a real finding, because a pumper cannot clean what it cannot reach. The grease interceptor sizing calculator runs the same math.

For indoor traps, the city amendment requires a two-way cleanout on the discharge side. When the line past a trap keeps clogging and there is no cleanout to jet from, adding one is often part of the fix. See hydromechanical grease trap repair.

HQ does not pump interceptors. Phoenix's manual says cleaning must be done by a licensed pumper, the unit has to be left completely empty, and nothing removed may go back into the tank or the sewer. We coordinate with your pumper so our crew arrives right behind the truck. A gravity interceptor can hold a hazardous atmosphere, so we treat entry as permit-required confined space work. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.146 requires air testing before entry, an authorized entrant, at least one attendant outside the space, and retrieval equipment. On top of that, HQ's own practice is to send a three-person crew for interceptor repair.

The city also tells operators to watch every cleaning and look for damaged or missing parts while the tank is open. If you see one, call us that day. See pump and repair coordination.

Two Phoenix rules catch kitchens out. Most interceptors stop working when fats and solids reach 25 percent of capacity, and the city requires a full cleaning at that point, regardless of the schedule. Indoor traps are pumped every 30 days and never past 90; gravity interceptors at least every 3 months. And Phoenix bans chemicals, enzymes, bacteria, solvents and emulsifiers used to dissolve grease. If a new baffle is in and grease still reaches the lateral, check the pumping interval and the products before blaming the repair.

If the inspector counted more fixtures than the unit allows, if a dishwasher or disposal drains to an indoor trap, or if the concrete is failing, a repair only buys time until the next inspection. Then the answer is an add-on or a replacement through plan review. And if the only finding is that the tank is too full, you need your pumper on a shorter schedule, not us.

Send us the inspector's requirement, the type of unit and your last few pumping invoices. We offer 24/7 emergency service, free estimates and an upfront price before work starts. Related: grease interceptor repair, grease trap service, restaurant plumbing and our Phoenix service area page.