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Does anyone have experience with the Gleco Sink Traps or the Buffalo Trap-Eze sediment containers? I'm starting a (very) small home studio, plan to dump my heavy sludge water outside, but want a sink trap when washing hands and some equipment. The Buffalo Trap-Eze container and fittings are less expensive, but seem similar to the gleco. Anyone with insight in comparing these 2 or have other insights?

Thanks,

-Adam

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Is this a separate studio or garage sink?  I have always used the five gallon bucket type of settling system.  The first thing you should have is a dish pan that is about the size of your sink.  I wash my tools and hands in it, the next day the clay has settle so I carefully take a cup and remove the clear water without disturbing the clay layer. Any water that splashes out runs down into my settling system, I do this for a week and then dump the clay outside that is in the dishpan.  If I am doing a load of glazing, I start out with a clean dish pan, use it the same way but I don't dump glaze outside.  I drain the excess water off of it and put the glaze muck in a jar and let it dry.  When I get a full jar I take it to the hazardous waste site.  The dish pan is your first step no matter what system you use.  Denice

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I use the Gleco trap on a utility sink in my home studio. Works great. I've also used the method descrbed by Denice and have to say it works very much just as well, I just needed "less labor" for personal reasons. 

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Whatever method I end up using, it will be via the dishtub setup recently described (for the larger sediment), then in my kitchen sink (where I was planning on installing the Gleco for the smaller sediment). I will just dump the larger junk outside when finished. Any experience with the Buffalo Trap-Eze?

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really silly question.  did i read that you want to put the trap on your KITCHEN sink???  maybe on the second of a dual bowl without a disposal unit that you will never allow kitchen grease or solids to reach??  

 

have had a gleco for years.  never heard of the other kind. 

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OldLady, I'm not quite sure I understand your question and reply. Yes, I'm wanting to install in my Kitchen sink- it's my only sink. I wish I had a utility one. I plan to do a tub for getting the clumps isolated (so they don't go in the sink). When you said "grease and solids don't go in the sink", you're talking about the Gleco melting and also trapping food?

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i am suggesting that the gleco will trap anything that water will carry down the drain, which includes grease, tiny bits of food, bone etc. which usually are found in kitchen sink drains.  my gleco never suffered from melting though i use very hot water often.

 

if you are going to really use the bucket or dishpan, (my preference would be a deep bucket), why use a gleco or any other trap at all?  where are you in the world?  is your sink connected to a public sewer or a septic system?  

 

if it is your house, not a rental, i would install a laundry tub, run water to it and connect it to the main drain.  the gleco would be useful there, under the laundry tub.

 

plumbing is not as hard to learn as you might think.  there are some excellent books in your local library or home center store that can teach you to do this.  it really can be simple.  a used sink can be very inexpensive.  the plumbing parts are also.

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I've heard nothing but good things about Gleco Traps.  When my classroom trap began leaking, for reasons I still don't know, I sent our Buildings and Grounds Head a link to the Gleco Trap.  He instead ordered the same trap we had...  It "works" but is a pain in the butt to clean, in a small awkward space.  It consists of an outer layer, with an inside piece that slides in from the top.  The inside piece has a strainer/ screen.  The only way to know the trap is full, is to either pull the inner piece out, or just wait until the drains are slow.  To clean, you have to undo the two hinge/ buckle locks that hold the inner piece to the outer, creating the seal.  I then have to lift straight up, which is difficult due to low clearance of the underside of the sinks, as well as the water supply lines.  The inner piece is usually hard to lift out, because I am fighting the weight of the water, the sludge, as well as the suction created.  Then I have to move the trap into a waiting large bowl so I don't drip the sludge everywhere under the sink and floor.  Also, there is usually some residual sludge that gets under the trap screen.  So I have to scoop that out by hand.

So in summary, my trap sucks...

 

The dental office my Wife works in, uses the traps because of the plaster work they do.  They've never had an issue with anything getting past the trap.

 

I will be purchasing one for my home studio, when I get the utility sink installed.

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Do you have a double sink?  You could set the trap up on one side of the sink and only use it for the clay tool washing  and clear water use.   Use the other side for washing dishes ect.  The plumbing is a little more complicated,  many of us here got by with no sink for many years.  My first work area was in the corner off a garage, no heat no sink.  Three years later we bought a larger house with a tiny building at the back of the yard.  Put in a sink but I didn't use it much I so use to working out of a bucket.  My current studio has a nice settling system set up but I am still real conservative with water.    Denice

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The dental office my Wife works in, uses the traps because of the plaster work they do.  They've never had an issue with anything getting past the trap.

 

 

Gleco traps were first developed for dental offices and plaster work.

 

 

That would explain a lot.  It's always interesting, when I find overlaps between my work experience and my Wife's, despite the general difference.  We've also had discussion about photo processing, due to the X-rays they take.  That's no longer the case though, as they've gone all digital with their X-rays.

 

We've even talked about ceramics a bit, as they have a machine that makes crowns, out of a ceramic material, that they also glaze.  And somehow all of that only takes an hour or two.

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I've got the Gleco system as well and like how easy it is to know when to clean it out. I really like that I can simply look at the catch jar and know if it's time to empty it or not. I have mine on a utility sink so it's also super easy to access.

 

The Art Center has a home made system using 5 gallon buckets which are a pain to clean. I've had that joy once already since I took over. Crawling under the counter to access them and then prying the lid off only to discover there isn't enough room to do anything except get a measuring cup and use my hands to scoop out the goop was not fun. Previous director hadn't emptied them in 2 years and they were both overflowing when I got there, gag you want to talk about GROSS, it was a double rubber glove job. I stuck labels on them once I was done and wrote the date I cleaned them out so I can check them each month and not develop issues with overflowing buckets or buckets filled to the very top with stuff the texture of burnt pudding. I just hope the double 5 gallon bucket system is catching everything.

 

T

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The concern with having the clay trap in your kitchen sink is that everything else will wash into it too - food scraps and soaps and everything. You will get a stinky, fermenting mess really fast. If you put a clay trap in your kitchen sink you would need to empty and rinse it every day... and then there is the issue of finding a suitable place to dump out this stinky clay-food combo every day.

In my first studio, there was not a sink I could use for clay. So in my back yard I put a laundry tub hooked up to a garden hose, with a 5 gallon bucket underneath to catch clay chunks. I had only cold water and it was only any good until the winter, when it became too cold to use any longer. But it was better than nothing!

Eventually I moved studios, and now have a large basin sink I can use for clay tools (and the warm water is so glorious!). I built my own clay trap from two nested buckets. It's quite straightforward and I feel confident that if I can do it, anyone can do it :)

If you only have a kitchen sink to work with, the dishpan method might be best. When I do pottery at a location without a trap, I set up several 5 gal buckets of water and we wash all clay-covered hands & tools in there, then dump it outside afterwards.

Good luck!
 

Gleco works for me.  It is relatively easy to install and cleaning out the trap is a breeze (albeit a 'stinky' breeze).

-Paul

I laughed out loud at this. So true!

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  • 1 month later...

You guys are way more hi-tech than I am.

Someone gave me 72 large plastic bowls a while back and I keep 2 of them about half full with water. One I do my brush cleaning and hand washing in. The second one is for a final rinse. When the water in the first one gets too muddy I let it sit, pour off the excess water, and dry it out. This dried sludge goes into my dry slop bucket to be added to my dried scraps and rehydrated down the road. The second bowl becomes the first and I grab another bowl for the clean water.

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