If you’re looking for a replacement grease trap or adding grease trap access doors to your restaurant, diner, or food service business – we are your number one stop. For over 15 years Seaboard Supply has been providing quality grease ducts and accessories, as well as service and installation all across the United States and Canada.
Grease ducts are designed to allow the passage of warm air throughout commercial kitchens and other establishments. However, some grease duct doors may become jammed due to various reasons preventing them from opening and closing freely. This sometimes results in the accumulation of grease and fats close to the vents. These fats can then be ignited by cooking utensils such as fryers, ovens and grills among others while they are left unattended. These fires are always hard to control resulting in serious damage to property and life.
Grease duct access doors are a necessity in commercial kitchens, but they can be a real challenge to keep clean. Grease is difficult to remove from the grease duct, and it can build up quickly on the door. Cleaning these doors is important because grease buildup can cause fires.
Grease Duct Access Door Requirements
The International Mechanical Code (IMC) requires that both the duct and access door be at least 18 inches wide and 24 inches high, with no obstructions within 18 inches of the opening. The IMC also requires that grease ducts must be located at least 3 feet above the floor level and have an adjacent surface area available for servicing or cleaning purposes.
Access doors should be installed at each end of the grease duct system, as well as at any cross-connections or branch lines to a second system. The IMC requires that all access doors must be installed within 6 inches of an opening into any room or space used for cooking purposes; this includes commercial kitchens, dining rooms and bars.
A grease duct access door is a small, usually rectangular door that can be installed in a grease duct to give you access to the ductwork. You may need access to the ductwork if you are cleaning it or checking for problems.
If you have a grease trap, then this will also require an access door. This is because you need to be able to clean out any waste that has accumulated inside the pipe, which will allow you to keep your grease trap working efficiently.
Access doors for grease ducts are required by code in many areas because they help prevent fires and other hazards. They must meet certain requirements before they can be installed on your equipment.
Grease Duct Access Door Requirements
The first thing that people often wonder is how big these access doors should be and where they should be placed. The answer is that they must meet the same size requirements as other doors in your facility — typically 32-inches wide by 80-inches tall (813 mm x 2032mm). However, some jurisdictions require larger sizes than this for safety reasons, so check with your local building inspector before installing one of these doors on your equipment.
There are two common locations for placing these doors: at either end of the ductwork or through its center
Grease duct access doors are required in the International Building Code (IBC) and the International Residential Code (IRC). The code requires the door to be located in a readily accessible location.
The installation of grease duct access doors is regulated by local fire codes. For example, the New York Fire Code requires that grease ducts have an approved access door at each floor level where they pass through a wall or floor. Fire officials often require that buildings have grease ducts with access doors installed at every floor level.
Grease duct access doors are typically made of steel or aluminum so they can resist heat and fire damage. Access doors are also used to inspect the condition of the grease trap and vacuum system, as well as repair it if necessary.
Grease duct access doors are required in most building codes where the duct passes through a fire-rated wall. The door provides a means of accessing the grease duct and cleaning it out.
The grease duct access door is usually required to be located within 10 feet of the point where the grease duct passes through an opening in a wall or ceiling. It should be located on an inside wall or ceiling, but if there is no room inside the wall or ceiling, it may be installed on an outside wall or ceiling with no more than 2 feet of clearance between the bottom of the door and grade level.
Where there is no room for an access door within 10 feet of an opening in a firewall, then two additional access doors must be provided at least 5 feet from one another so that each can be used to clean out its respective portion of the grease duct.
Grease duct access doors are required for all grease ducts, except for those that serve a cooking appliance that is located in a ventilated enclosure. Exhaust hood grease ducts must have a grease filter or other means to prevent the flow of grease into the cooking area.
If you have a grease duct that is exposed to the atmosphere at any point, it must be enclosed and sealed so that no grease can escape. The door should be located as close as possible to the connection with the hood exhaust system. The door should be large enough to allow easy cleaning of the duct, but not so large that it allows excess air infiltration into the duct system.
In general, grease duct access doors should be located where they will not interfere with traffic or food preparation. If there is an opening in an adjacent wall surface, such as between a kitchen and dining area, or behind a countertop island, this is an ideal location for an access door.
If there isn’t an opening next to your exhaust hood, you may need to cut into drywall or plasterboard for installation of your access door.