Home made Spit

[timbo123]

Hello Guys


Any one got a good idea on what I could make a spit out of? Don’t really want to make it from scratch – have considered a 90 liter gas drum (bit small) thinking about a 44 gul drum (might not handle the heat) needs to be big enough so I can chuck a sheep, goat or pig – Hmm the old man has a few emus probably taste alright.

Have figured out how to drive it ( old sowing machine motor controlled by dimmer switch) just not sure what to use for the spit bit

[echnidna]

Have a look at the Bendigo Market, theres usually some spits for sale there, made from drums. They look like they're powder coated.

[Grahame Collins]

I have one I made.
The tricky bit for you may be obtaining / maufacturing /cobbling up the motor and gearbox that does 1 revolution every minute and fifteen seconds. Mine was designed to shut the fire damper in on of those mall type aircon ducts.
It has a square drive on the end like a socket spanner drive. The shaft was 2.1metres of 20mm stainless shaft with collars and spears of stainless to suit. The weight of the beast is supported on roller races supported by posts on a stand.My system is adaptable to a wood fire -coals on a corrogated sheet 0r gas.
I have made my system to work with or without a shield.
The shield works better as it contains the heat thereby cooking quicker.

A 100 kilo pig took about 2.5 hours to cook on a fire. A rear quarter of a beast took about 3.5 hours with gas and the shield
An old windscreen wiper motor with a gear drive fitted to the appropriate geared down ratio might do the trick for you ,but shield it from the radiated heat as it too may cook easily.I have also seen a ring gear starter sytem from a holden six used with the electric w/wiper moror. I have cut down 200 litre drums but have had the best results from my sytem.
Too late to take pics but if interested I will drag all the bits out a take a piccy on the weekend\.
Grahame

[echnidna]

How about some pics Grahame?

[scooter]

I have a couple of electric seat bases out of a Fairlane or LTD stashed to use a motor for a spit or rottisorie (sp?) on the gas BBQ

Anyone who wants one of the motors (each base has 3 I think) is welcome to one for nix.


Cheers..................Sean

[masoth]

Well, for mine I dug a hole in the ground, lined it with old bricks and slapped on a bit of cement to stop the wind/air from causing too quick a burn.

Concreted in a couple of square pipes, 5 feet apart, to accept smaller square risers with holes drilled a various heights - a couple of old meat hooks and a steel rod complete the, er, design.

Motor drive? Nah!! The bloke sitting closest is in charge of manual rotations and while he's on his feet he fetches another round of beers while the rest of us move up the bench - this is the best timer I know.

The beauty of this is that a camp-oven can be placed a each end of the pit, and the coals can be moved to give near perfect heat distribution. Dripping fat flare is something to avoid and having coals to the side and ends of the pit results is great cooking.

soth

Ooops. Sorry, I didn't mean to run-off at the mouth.:o

[Wombat2]

For what it is worth a mate of mine a number of years back made spits and hired them out as a sideline cash maker. After trying differnt drive mechanisms he found the most reliable and robust was a worm drive.

David L

[bennylaird]

Here is a site with kits available mate.

http://www.supermarineaircraft.com/

I would love to build my own Spit as well but don't have the spare cash.

Cheers Benny

[Felder]

All you need is a lathe and a blow torch....


PS Benny - you're a goose...:rolleyes::D

[bennylaird]

Combine the two then, fly first eat later?:rolleyes:

Can you cook a goose on a Spit?:confused:

[Felder]

Course you can.

You just have to remember to pluck the clucker before he becomes tucker.;)

That was close....almost went orange there.:cool:

Do geese cluck?:confused:

[bennylaird]

Do geese cluck?:confused:

Sure do if you forget to lop their heads first when you insert the spit.:eek:

[timbo123]

A lathe - stuff that, nothing a grinder won't fix.
What I really want is advice on what to use as the drum (or what ever you call it) I want this spit to be portable and I will hook gas up to it (don't ask me how - but probable will involve a few burnt eyebrows)
So has any one got any idea as to what I should use i.e 44 gul drum?, old gas / compressor tank

[Gumby]

[COLOR=black] I want this spit to be portable and I will hook gas up to it
:eek: What a waste of a good spit - I use charcoal on mine and it's the ONLY way to go. If you are doing it with gas, just go and buy a BBQ with a hood.

I'll post a pic of my mine when i get home. It doulbles as a BBQ, will take about 6 chickens or lots of lovely lamb (Greek style). BEAUTIFUL !

[bennylaird]

lots of lovely lamb (Greek style). BEAUTIFUL !

Your sick :eek:

Even the Kiwi's dont do that.:D

(or do they?):confused:

[timbo123]

[quote=Gumby]:eek: What a waste of a good spit - I use charcoal on mine and it's the ONLY way to go. If you are doing it with gas, just go and buy a BBQ with a hood.

Mate -- not going to fit a pig on a barbie. Already got that set up

[Jack E]

I have never made one myself but I did use a home made one about 4 times a week for 4 months whilst in Cape York.

It was made from a 44 gallon drum.

It used a Land Rover wiper motor hooked up to a DC variable power supply which let us regulate the speed to whatever we wanted.

It ran on gas, simply a pipe down each side with holes drilled in it.

Not sure how efficient it was, we weren't paying for the gas.

It worked a treat and many good meals were cooked in it.

The beauty of Cape York was that when we had finished cooking and removed the meat, we just left the lid open and the meat ants did the clean up. Simply hose the spit out the next day, wash the rod and hooks, and it was ready to go again.

Cheers, Jack.

[scooter]

Your sick :eek:

Even the Kiwi's dont do that.:D

(or do they?):confused:

Good woirk Benny :D :D

[masoth]

timbo, I'm not sure about emu meat, but I can vouch for ostrich - marvelous taste. The emu is naturally feral so perhaps the taste is a touch rank!!

[Wood Butcher]

Nope, not rank, just very rich flavour. You'll know what I mean when you try it!

[himzol]

I'll post a pic of my mine when i get home.

So Mr. Gumby where are the pics ??

How can I steal ideas if people don't post pics.?:D :D

Himzo.

[Gumby]

Sorry, I thought they wouldn't do since you wanted a full pig size. The y guy who made this also does big ones.

This is great for the home spit. It's 900 x 500 and 200 deep. I put bricks in it to keep the charcoal to one area because most of the time I'm just doing one chicken or some lamb. (Its great for lamb chops).

The grill on top just lifts off. It's there if you want to use it as a normal charcoal BBQ without the spit. The base is just like t TV trolley type setup. It jusat rolls away into a corner. You can have both spits going at once or just one of the. The motor adjusts up and down, the same as the rods at each end of the spit rods. One is for the chickens, the other set up for meat. Stick some gum twigs on the charcoal and you have a grerat smokey flavor. It';s delish !

[himzol]

Thank Gumby,
Looks a beauty.


Stick some gum twigs on the charcoal and you have a grerat smokey flavor.

Yep have to agree with you there.

[masoth]

OK!!! So, if I was going to make a rotisserie in a bin (not a true spit) I'd use an empty beer keg. Don't cut exactly in half - use the smaller piece as a hood to direct heat flow back down to both reduce the need for turning, and to cook more evenly. Leave a gap between the two lateral pieces to allow constant baste application - install a couple of 'drip-trays' under whatever beast you choose to cook to collect the excess fats and bastiing liquor - after "spitting" the beast wrap it in chicken-wire so it doesn't fall to bits when cooked (if you are a well done sort of meat eater.

soth

[hlmnhnsn]

[quote=Gumby]:eek: What a waste of a good spit - I use charcoal on mine and it's the ONLY way to go. If you are doing it with gas, just go and buy a BBQ with a hood.

Mate -- not going to fit a pig on a barbie. Already got that set up


Guys check out Kmart right now, they are selling good size spits for $399 special for fathers day . The sales started yeaterday for a week only, im happy with mine as i bought it cooked a 20 kg lamb on it today ...fantastic . I have been looking to buy one for a long time and asked around but the price i was given was just out of my budget so when i saw the Kmart catalog last week for this weeks sales, i was the 1st one in and in 2 mins i was out the door with one and then straight to the butcher shop . No more hassles to easy to put it up and with a great motor on it . I cooked for about 4hrs on it .....great stuff .

Have a look you might like it too ...

Helman

[jackoats]

Hey Gumby,
Excellent job on the spit you made!!
I shoot Goat, Pig, Roo... can your spit handle most game?

[Big Shed]

Hey Gumby,
Excellent job on the spit you made!!
I shoot Goat, Pig, Roo... can your spit handle most game?

Hi Jackoats, welcome to the forum.

The post you are responding to is more than 2 years old and you may not get a reply.

You can see the posting date in the top left corner.

Have fun:2tsup:

[chris_stam]

If anyone is interested I have written a set of plans on how to build your own spit. Website below..

http://members.iinet.net.au/~kookie/spit_index.html