How to Create a Safe and Efficient Work Environment with Listed Grease Ducts

One simple decision is enough to make a work environment safer and more efficient. For a long time, engineers opted for grease ducts with field welded joints. However, that’s recently changed. Now they prefer a listed factory-built grease duct with mechanically connected joints. Although that means paying more upfront for the duct, it’s a worthwhile investment as the installed cost is lower and the issues with field welded joints, such as leakage, are avoided.

Material Quality

Compared to field welded ducts, those manufactured in a factory boast much higher quality materials due to the controlled environment. If the duct being installed is a fire rated double wall, zero clearance system, these ducts offer more protection by reducing clearance-to-combustibles as well as eliminating the need for a second trade to installed the exterior protective covering or wrap.

When looking at listed grease ducts it should be noted that many also have a stainless-steel interior. Not only is it easier to clean, but it also remains clean for a longer period. The stainless-steel interior helps to simplify maintenance, as well.

Installation Efficiency

The modular design of a listed grease duct with factory installed access doors requires no field welding. That makes it much easier to install in segments. The no-weld design eliminates the need to squeeze into tight spaces to weld the section joints.

UL Listed

A contractor fabricated grease duct with or without an access door built in the field doesn’t need ETL or UL listings. Therefore, it doesn’t go through the same rigorous testing as a listed system and there is no factory follow-up done to ensure the quality of one section is equal to the next. Ultimately, listed ducts made under a factory follow-up procedure meet extremely high standards and must pass all applicable code inspections.

From a safety perspective, a product that’s ETL or UL listed gives customers greater peace of mind. At the same time, they have assurance it will perform optimally and seamlessly. Just a few examples of tests performed on a listed grease duct with access doors include:

• Durability of the construction materials.
• Integrity of the complete mechanical assembly.
• Internal grease fire test to ensure joints and access doors are leak free.

For those listed grease duct systems that also possess a fire rating, additional tests performed to qualify the structural and thermal performance of the system are:

• 4 hour internal fire test at 500F followed by a 30 minute internal test at 2,000F.
• 2 hour engulfment fire test to 1850F.

Innovative Shape

A listed grease duct with access doors, as well as those without doors, can come in rectangular or cylindrical cross sections. The benefit of installing a rectangular grease duct is by installing a wider and shallower duct, it is more likely to fit in todays congested ceiling spaces, without impacting other services, and should have little to no impact on the air flow.

Quality and Affordable Products

At DuraSystems, we offer the highest quality and most cost-effective ducts available. Installing the appropriate product will bolster safety, decrease downtime, and in the long run, save you money. To learn more about our product lineup or to order a grease duct system, contact us today.