Honey house gutter

[Ian]

The topic of a wash out floor gutter has come up from time to time here,

Id like to get some feed back on the type of floor gutter you guys have in your honey house.
Do you like what you have? Would you change anything? How does it discharge and clean out? And discharge into what or where?

Thanks

[soupcan]

I would not want to build a new honey house or do a remodel here in the states with an open floor gutter as you call it.
I believe some states call this an open sewer & not a sealed drain system!

[jim lyon]

I have seen the open gutter systems even in newer honeyhouses but they strike me as a problem to keep clean, it would take a lot of water flushing to keep them from stinking I would think. If you choose such a set up the preferred method is to use an inverted and removable "street el" that plugs into your drain pipe. This allows the majority of the liquid to drain away, then scoop out the wax and debris and remove the elbow upon final cleanup. I would probably go with a large floor drain trap that you can get with a removable strainer built in them. The good ones are stainless and are kind of pricey.

[Ian]

Jim, how many floor drains do you have in you facility ?

[Ian]

I would not want to build a new honey house or do a remodel here in the states with an open floor gutter as you call it.
I believe some states call this an open sewer & not a sealed drain system!

I dont understand what you mean, it is not conected to the sewer, its covered with an some sort of a grated floor covering

[soupcan]

We built a new honey plant 4 years ago & the building provider, cement foreman, & plumber all advised "we will build it the way you want it but" they all advised against an open grate floor drain system.
All floor drains must be connected to the septic system, wash down water can not just be drained to the out side of the building ( open discharge ) it must go thru the sewer system. Yes the open gutter floor drain would go thru a trap to seal it from the main line & I had the same idea Jim had & that was to have the floor system fill & then pull a plug for a flushing effect.
The plumbers that did the septic system have been in business over 50 years & so I thought it best to follow there advice.

[jim lyon]

Jim, how many floor drains do you have in you facility ?

We have 5 in about 3,000 sq. feet. I dont think it takes many if they are well placed.

[Ian]

according to our CFIA regulations we can not have the floor drain system hitched to the sewer.
How do you have your floor drains plumbed in? Into the sewer or into a separate holding tank?

I was planning on a controlled surface discharge, or a separate holding tank discharge system either way I go.

[Ian]

alot of guys I know have their floor drains or gutters drain into the grass beside the honey house

[Ian]

I have seen the open gutter systems even in newer honeyhouses but they strike me as a problem to keep clean, it would take a lot of water flushing to keep them from stinking I would think.

ya, Im starting to think that way also. Good point. another clean out job for the day doesnt really strike my fancy

[jim lyon]

alot of guys I know have their floor drains or gutters drain into the grass beside the honey house

I would think that would be a local issue.

[Ian]

I have a drain system in my honey house right now, and it has kinda gotten me turned off of it. The wax plugs the pipes all the time, but then again, my drain pipes are way too small. Jim, I would expect you have a 2 or 3 inch drain pipe?

[Ian]

I would think that would be a local issue.

yes, very much so

[BMAC]

I have a drain system in my honey house right now, and it has kinda gotten me turned off of it. The wax plugs the pipes all the time, but then again, my drain pipes are way too small. Jim, I would expect you have a 2 or 3 inch drain pipe?

I dont have any drains in my current honey house but thought about it for the new honey house I will be soon working on. I thought 3 inch would be minimum with maybe up to 5 inch diameter.

[soupcan]

Drain system goes into the 3 inch main line & that inturn goes into a 1000 gallon septic tank.
This then drains into 100 foot of clam shell laterals when the tank is full.
It was a lot of money spent but it's done right the 1st time to local, state & federal codes & no need to worry about it years down the road!

[Ian]

how do you handle the wax in the 1000 gallon tank? Typically septic tanks are designed for settling debris, wax does float. How do you manage the drain line baffels ?

[beemandan]

according to our CFIA regulations we can not have the floor drain system hitched to the sewer.

alot of guys I know have their floor drains or gutters drain into the grass beside the honey house

Funny how different things are from one place to another. Here…any sort of open discharge is illegal. Of course, anything coming out of a honeyhouse would be safe…but the health department here makes no distinction between the debris washed from a honey house floor and the product of a flushed toilet.

[Ian]

The reason for not having cleaning lines attached to sewer lines is in case of back up. They do not want sewer backing into the processing facility.

Im still working in the grey area as far as the wash water discharge is concerned. Like I have said many discharge into the grass outside the facility, and are fully registered with CFIA but according to the plumbing permit, if I follow that route, wash water has to be contained and discharged in a controlled fashion.

[soupcan]

Septic tank has a 12" man hole cover and the last time I checked I did not see a problem.
My son ads Ridex every year so maybe that is the key as far as the septic tank but we do scrape the floor 1st & then wash it so not a lot of wax goes into the drain. My son gets upset with me when I wash drip pallets in the sinks and allow all the wax to run into the system.
As far as a system backing up into the building the laterals being in proper working order will handle many a gallon of water & then this is why the septic tank has a man hole cover on it for pumping & visual inspections.

[Birds&Bees]

Install a back-up prevention valve, 3 inch drains, should be no problem, if you don't put in the back up valve, just tell Sam you did, how is he going to know?