5 TIPS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING A ROTISSERIE MOTOR

THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE PURCHASING A SPIT ROTISSERIE MOTOR

It’s hard to believe that the original spit roast users took turns in rotating the rotisserie skewer by a crank handle! Thank goodness someone finally realised there was an easier way hance the discovering of the modern rotisserie motor.

Turning a spit roaster by hand for hours on end was a mighty hard job

Look for a motor with metal gears

Now I’ve heard there are still a few people out there selling rotisserie motors made out of old windscreen wipers and washing machine parts, however the vast majority of rotisserie motor available online (and most certainly in stores) are factory produced gear driven motors.

There are various types of rotisserie motors to choose from, all which serve a different purpose. To help you decipher between the different choices available I have listed below the top 5 things you should consider before investing in a rotisserie motor. 

Power :

1.5v – These are rotisserie motors which operate using 1 D cell battery. They are usually very light weight and can only turn a small amount of meat, usually a few kebabs or souvlakis. 1.5v rotisserie motors are relatively inexpensive, however will burn out more quickly.

3v - 2 D cell batteries are used to power a 3v rotisseriemotor. Similar to its 1.5v cousin, these rotisserie motors are only used to cook a dozen or so kebab skewers, or small rolls of meat up to about 5 kgs. 3vrotisserie motors are quite cheap, usually around the $30-$50 mark, however they really are only designed for cooking for a small group of people.

12v – Rotisserie motors which operate off 12v are great for campers or anyone who will be using a rotisserie where normal mains power isn’t available. 12v rotisserie motors are usually weaker than 240v rotisserie motors, so keep that in mind when considering what type of meat you will be cooking.

240v - The vast majority of spit roast users will be using their rotisserie motor at home or somewhere where 240v mains power is available. They vary in differing load capacity from 5kgs to 100+kgs. A 240v rotisserie motor is generally recommended for most rotisserie users.

Capacity:

Before going out and purchasing a rotisserie motor, you need to consider how many kilo’s of meat you would be likely to turn. There is no point buying a 20kg rotisserie motor if you are planning on cooking decent size pigs, conversely, if you are only intending on cooking a couple of kilo’s of meat using the rotisserie on your 4 burner BBQ, don’t waste your money on an 80kg capacity motor.

If you are going to cook a whole animal, the minimum capacity you should be purchasing is 20kgs.

 Speed:

5 revolutions per minute seems to be optimum.

I have used rotisserie motors which turn 15RPM and those which turn 2 RPM. The 15RPM rotisserie motors spin way too fast and the 2RPM rotisserie motors tend to burn out.

People often ask me whether I recommend a rotisserie motor which has a variable speed. Personally I wouldn’t bother with a variable speed rotisserie motor, when you’ll just have it running at 5RPM anyway. The risk with the variable speed rotisserie motors is when you slow the RPM down to 1 or 2 RPM and you have a decent sized piece of meat on there, too much stress is placed on the rotisserie motor and it will burn out. Each to their own though!

Output shaft

1.5v or 3v rotisserie motors tend to be suited for 4-6 burner BBQ’s or small 8mm square skewers. You can’t cook a large piece of meat on a small square skewer because it will bow in the middle, therefore if you want to cook a piece of meat more than about 5 kilo’s, you can’t use a 1.5v or 3v rotisserie motor.

The output shafts for 12v and 240v rotisserie motors will vary. Most will be round, however the occasional one will be square. I know I’m stating the obvious, however if you have a 22mm round skewer, don’t purchase a rotisserie motor with a 19mm output shaft. It’s ok if the output shaft is slightly larger than your rotisserie skewer, however anything more than a couple of millimetres, and I would recommend getting a sleeve made to reduce the amount of movement between your skewer and rotisserie motor.

Warranty

Make sure that whatever rotisserie motor you decide on, it comes with a 12 month (minimum) warranty. You may want to check with the supplier whether they undertake any warranty repair work 'in-house' or whether the work is outsourced. You'll find that should you experience any problems with your rotisserie motor, you'll get it back a lot quicker if the warranty work is completed 'in-house' rather than your rotisserie motor being passed from pillar to post! You'll also be more likely to get your rotisserie motor looked at even after the official warranty period has expired.