Vertical Rotisserie Build

[4ever3]

Welding this, flapper wheel that...

Is dinner ready? I'm hungry!

 

[al_pastor]

To turn the spit, you might consider a gear setup on the top similar to the whirley-pop popcorn popper. You can mount the motor away from the heat and won't need to worry about anything but bushings and bearings near the heat.

This is a pretty slick idea.

 

[dadsr4]

To turn the spit, you might consider a gear setup on the top similar to the whirley-pop popcorn popper. You can mount the motor away from the heat and won't need to worry about anything but bushings and bearings near the heat.

Here are some more ideas on how to do it cheaply.
http://www.instructables.com/answers/Does-anyone-know-how-to-make-a-homemade-mechanism-/
H

 

[Moose]

Here's a quick vid of the Al Pastor spit at a local taco truck near us:

I'm wondering if it might be more efficient to duplicate a similar kind of propane powered heat bar like this setup if charcoal proves too difficult...

 

[Titch]

Looks like a neat unit in the works,

 

[robert-r]

I redid the charcoal baskets. They are twice as deep - approx 4.5". Had 100 briquettes versus 38 from previous. Test burn has much improved temps. About 20 minutes after lighting, the bottom probe was reading 235* & the top was at 329*. Had almost immediate TBS. For the next several hours the difference between the probes ranged between 80 - 100*. I put a few small splits in & got pretty flames! At any rate.... one could cook at the new temperatures.

Ash buildup is now a major concern.

I have a suspicion that the top basket is not necessary. Will do a burn using only the bottom one & see what gives.

BobBrisket made a suggestion on a way to get rid of the ash & am strongly considering it.

I'll update.

 

[al_pastor]

Looking good!

 

[robert-r]

I loaded the bottom basket with RO lump & fired it up:

Temps were in the 250 - 280* range within 15 minutes. However the coals were almost gone 45 minutes later.
Feeding the cooker lump would be problematic unless I redo the back of it and make one large slot.

Not much ash:

I think I'll try some K Lump briquettes - they might burn longer. Not sure where I could get RO Lump briquettes around here.

Found a few small rocks, small pieces of concrete & stucco in the ash during clean-up.

 

[Roguejim]

Few foods warrant building a special, dedicated cooker. All pastor is one such food. Will you also use the cooker for Greek?

 

[robert-r]

Probably. I think they cook with these in Lebanon, too. So that's another avenue to explore.