Separating sand from fluids produced by a well

A settling system for intercepting solid particles within a stream of fluids flowing from a well head line and to a flow line, comprising:

• a container comprising:
• an inlet having a cross sectional area less than a cross sectional area of the container such that a velocity of fluid flowing from the inlet decreases, and wherein decreasing the velocity of fluid flowing the inlet allows solid particles in the fluid to settle to a lower region of the container;
• an outlet;
• and
• a plurality of access ports located on a top surface of the container, the ports adapted to permit mechanical removal of at least a portion of the settled particles from the lower region of the container without substantial human entry into the ports;
• wherein the container allows substantially unidirectional and unobstructed fluid flow between the inlet and the outlet and has a length such that during use less than about 25% of the solid particles in the fluid pass through the outlet;
• and
• a bypass line coupled to the container such that fluid may be inhibited from flowing into the container.