The Pickle Bucket Solution
We get asked many questions in the course of a week at Omni Containment Systems. Most of the time it is along the lines of, “What hinge will work best here?” or, “What containment system will work best on this fan?” In future blogs, we will try to address these situations and in doing so will try to give identifiers for what solutions will work in specific cases. In this blog, however, we would like to point out an inherent flaw in the design of the basic grease trays that come with a fan, as well as one of the most common errors facility maintenance staff employ in trying to contain rooftop grease, and that would be the improvised empty container.
Often we see a bucket or even a chafing dish set on a roof to try and catch the Fats, Oils, and Grease (F.O.G.’s) discharge from a fan. While we could applaud the effort of at least trying to keep grease off of a roof, there is a major flaw in the use of these methods. F.O.G’s sit on top of water. If you live in an area with any precipitation you are more than likely going to have grease on a rooftop. As the open-topped, improvised device fills with water, the F.O.G’s sitting on top of the water are the first items to spill onto the roof.
We have seen this same scenario countless times with a basic grease tray. Though it has a top that prevents a majority of water from filling the tray, it certainly is not foolproof. The large opening that allows the flow of grease from the fan spout to be collected in the tray also allows for precipitation to be collected. Incorrect installation of the tray or top of tray will cause even more gaps to collect precipitation which will ultimately lead to the tray overflowing F.O.G’s onto the rooftop.
Omni Containment Systems addresses this issue by having all of our grease containment systems with removable filter media based systems. The Omni Containment Fill-More line of replaceable filters absorb up to 10 times their weight in fat based grease and oils, and they are hydrophobic meaning that they absorb only F.O.G.’s, not precipitation. Proprietary additives in the Fill-More line neutralize the grease when contained and are made from a durable, flame and UV resistant, outer skin. Omni has a full line of filter media not only for Omni products but virtually any system that you find on a rooftop.
Checking for grease containment systems on a rooftop opens up a whole new revenue source for a service provider that goes beyond just the initial sale of a containment system. By offering to supply and service a filter media based system, a service provider has the opportunity to take advantage of a growing, but often neglected, segment in kitchen and exhaust cleaning. That is grease containment service. Often service providers will step around a profit center when cleaning a fan. By simply taking time to notice what method is being employed to catch F.O.G. discharge from a fan, they can either take the opportunity to sell a system or offer to provide filter replacements for currently neglected systems. The Roof Guardian’s 4-layer filter system will meet or exceed the absorbency of most on the roof systems that are often found neglected around a fan. The line of Fill-More Grease Pillows fit in most tray style systems. The Grease Gutter, Sidekick, and GreaseBox systems, and their hydrophobic qualities, are a huge improvement over a drip tray or an improvised containment receptacle such as a Pickle bucket or chaffing dish. They are a key component in NFPA 96 Compliance.
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