My house was built in 1949 with a grease pit sunk into the floor of the basement. The inlet side of the grease pit comes from the kitchen sink and dishwasher, a basement floor drain and the basement slop sink and washing machine and runs under the basement floor. The outlet side also runs under the basement floor and feeds into the main sewer line which then runs to the septic tank and field in the back yard. I've just repaired a broken clay tile where the line meets the septic tank. It had been broken for some time, and was discovered only after several backups of sewage into the grease pit and up the floor drain. Unpleasant, you know what I mean? I've come to realize the hint of sewer gas aroma over the years in the basement has been coming from the grease pit and floor drain, since they are basically open to the sewer line. My question is this: can I just eliminate the grease pit by simply connecting the inlet opening to the outlet opening and cover the floor drain? And if so how do I seal the pipe to the inlet and outlet openings in the pit? Concrete? Thanks much

I presume you have a heavy cover and a foam or rubber seal between the heavy cover and grease pit. Grease is not septic friendly and normally raw waste does not re-enter the grease trap unless there is a problem as you have discovered. If you don't have a vapor seal barrier, you can make one with silicone.
I'd keep what you have and take care of it as you should.
Best Wishes

show us a pic of what you have and we might be able to come up with something

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There is a heavy steel cover, but no vapor barrier. I put a piece of plastic sheet between the cover and lip of the pit, but I see your point about sealing the pit really well to keep fumes out. I also have come to understand ( boy, I've learned more about septic systems and sewers than I ever wanted to) the purpose of a grease trap in a septic system, so I may try to seal the pit better before I try to get rid of it altogether. I'll take a picture or two and post tomorrow so you can see the setup. Thanks for your help

Since you are on a septic system it would be a better idea to properly seal the cover to the body rather then remove it completely. See post above...

PlumbCat TM 2003


Plumbermandan

A grease trap is not a treatment center. The grease goes in and stays there if it is working properly. Then you have to remove the cover, periodically, and scoop the grease out and dispose of it somewhere, (hopefully not down a toilet). Usually one of the worst tasks in the plumbing business.

First of all this does not sound right, was there an addition put on in this area over the years? The way the old houses were plumbed was to install a catch basin on the outside of house with the kitchen drain going to the grease catch basin then piped to the building sewer.

What I would do is keep the basement floor drain no matter what and connect it to the building drain braking-up concrete as needed to make this vital connection. Next, connect the inlet to the outlet of the pit, I would also consider installing a floor clean-out at this point especially if you got clay tile for any part of the building sewer or building drain.

Fill in the pit with clean fill and cement over.

You might also consider hiring a licensed plumber if you do not completely understand what I explained.

3-6-08, 8:05am

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sounds smelly.i would use foam tape to seal the lid to the pit and try to install small vent line from the lid to the exterior .i am a little worried about the floor drain though,dose it have it's own trap?should see water seal at bottom of riser.the vent may be necessary if you seal the lid ,not sure of vents that are and are not in your lower fixtures.good luck i'll be watching for your pic's.

Thanks all for the responses. I've gotta run right now, so I'll have to post pics Friday. It sure is a help to hear some opinions, it's all new to me. Thanks

Pictures will do nothing to change the responses. I am surprised you have clay tile under the floor, since that implies a system going back to the 30's. My cure for grease pit problems was a steel bar forcefully applied to the outlet trap fitting, and then there were never any more problems with it.

Your not talking about removing the outlet trap fitting on a commercial entente that requires a grease trap so they send there problems to there neighbors, are you:


3-7-08, 7:11am

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No they have a different type of outlet fitting. These were 36" bricked up basins outside the houses in Chicago. When they were inside they were cast iron with a steel divider. Removing the 4" "bypass" cover in it also cured the problem. The problem being that with a garbage disposer EVERYTHING stayed in the grease trap until it filled up and shut down the drain.

Oh I rember the old kitchen grease basins well from working in the Chicago area back in the 70's.

Here in Wisconsin they do have 36"*48" interceptors for oil, sand, and grease that are designed the same way and I would not want anyone to think O.K. to remove any fittings.

3-7-08, 12:59pm

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The clay tiles are outside the house, not inside. I am assuming they are iron pipe below the basement floor. I did put a foam weatherstrip gasket around the lid to the grease pit. This is my first try at photobucket linking, so I'll edit if this doesn't show all six pics.

[s270.photobucket.com]



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That is an entirely different scenario. Do not confuse residential grease traps with commercial ones, or grease/oil separators, or sand separators. Especially since sand and silt does not float on the surface or remain in suspension. Residential grease traps are a local issue, and there are millions of homes without them that have no problems, while those who have them do have problems with them unless they are disabled.



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so i guess hj thinks you should do away with this constant maintenance problem.if you decide to, i think this would be a great location for back water valve.if you just leave it don't forget to clean it up a couple times a year.good luck.

To me they rank right up there with whole house traps as far as a nuisance item, and as far as I am concerned the homeowner is better off without either of them.

Alright, I googled "backwater valve". I like it. Connect the inlet side to the outlet side with PVC with a backwater valve in the middle. How would I seal the PVC to those crusty looking openings in the sides of the pit?

why do you want to go from one problem to another?

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Yea! A straight pipe would be good!

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You don't. You have to take the pit out and connect the pipes together. If the grease trap has never overflowed, why would you want to install a high maintenance thing like a back water valve?

OK, I see it's more complicated than I want it to be, in that the grease trap has to come out, but it can be eliminated. Why it was ever put inside the house I don't understand. Thank you all for your help.

Much depends on your time and financial resorces. You can clear and clean the sump of debris, seal the sump with a plastic/foam cover from a company called JACKEL. This way, you have a pit which is sealed from vapors and gases while you have the protection that the sump pit was created.

In the meantime you can begin the process of determining if and when you wish to upgrade your wasteline, undergrade. Yes, it will require that the surrounding concrete will have to be removed and the pipes exposed and inspected before joining them and repouring a new level of concrete.

Its best to know all of your options, before you begin the process.
Best Wishes