Cover grates with plywood to stop mud from filling pit

[wendy's wash]

Yesterday I put a thin sheet of plywood over about 75% of the grate to help pits from filling so fast with mud.
While I was installing the last one, a customer came in and then drove off when he saw plywood.
Did not speak English. Did not understand when I said bay Ok. I now worry about this being a trend.
I did paint plywood black after that. Any ideas. Remove or not.

 

[MEP001]

I covered the busiest bay grate with steel because it was filling up in 3 months when the other bays took a year. It made a huge difference since I could pick up almost all the mud before it went into the pit. There's a 4" hole in the center that I can set a bucket on to cover while I rinse the bay down, and the dirt just sits on the flat steel and shovels up easily.

There is the occasional customer that sees it and thinks the pit is clogged, so I can see that someone might think it's shut down.

 

[lilb93]

I will post some photos of what we did since I am in Coal country. They were metal grates took them out, put in 3/8 flat steel plate cut hole on middle 2" X 12" put 1 1/2 angle iron around hole. Now all mud and dirt sits on top of steel plate water builds up and goes in the center over the angle iron mud and solids sit on plate. Every few days get a bucket and flat bottom shovel clean it off. Have it in for 9 months now. Looked last week under the plate and stuck steel rod down and have about 2" of solids on bottom. Will take 4 years or more till I have to clean them out now.

 

[Semi-retired]

I was just thinking about going from 3/8 plate with holes to grates so I can quit shoveling every day.

Info- I took sixty-eight five gallon pails plus my pits are full of mud from one four bay self service location from tuesday to friday when I was keeping track and that is one of six locations.

 

[Jeff_L]

There's always a trade-off. Not sure I would want to increase my cleanup duties by shoveling everyday instead of getting my pits cleaned out more frequently. To each his own, but I'll just let the mud go in the pit.

 

[MEP001]

I only did it because it was such a problem - the only company here that will pump pits would not come and do just one, and they charged $3,000 to come pump them all. We were having to do them all every four months because of one bay filling up, now it's once a year. Most days I can pick up the mud off the steel plate with a broom and dustpan after rinsing down the bay, and I shovel excessive mud anyway so I'm shoveling the bay with steel on the grate regardless. It's actually a lot easier to shovel the mud off the steel than off the concrete.

 

[chaz]

Wow. $3,000 to clean pits. I hope you've got lots of pits

 

[MEP001]

7 plus trap - actually it's $3,000 for everything, $2,000 just for the 6 SS bays.

 

[chaz]

Wow. I have 5 bays plus reclaim and oil/water separator. I pay well under 1000$ for all, and even less when I do just the 5 bays. Perhaps you've got expensive regulations or no competition in your area ?!