Anyone actually wear out a rotisserie motor?


 
Grant Cunningham

Grant Cunningham

TVWBB Pro
At this moment I have a chicken on the rotisserie inside my Genesis 3000. I couldn't get the bird balanced on the spit very well, so there's definitely a slightly heavy side — which means the motor has to work a little harder. (Full disclosure: my rotisserie isn't a Weber — it's an Amazon special: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CL2LVCW/?tag=tvwb-20 )

Since I'm beginning to really love rotisserie cooking, and plan to do a whole lot more of it, I got to wondering: how many people have managed to wear out or break a rotisserie? Am I tempting fate?

What happens when I go to a turkey instead of a chicken — more weight, faster wear on the motor? Should I invest in a Weber part, or are there even more heavy-duty options out there?
 
Grant, I have never worn one out but In my research the highest rated one weight wise is made by OneGrill. (Other than a commercial grade one) I have four different ones including a OneGrill, Weber, WalMart special and a battery one. My OneGrill is the one I recommend the most and their customer service is good according to others here on this forum. I have never had to contact them. I spin a turkey on it several times a year with no issues. It just has a higher wattage motor rated at 50 lbs if well balanced where most others are rated at 20 lbs. Only 30 lbs if unbalanced. The link is below.

 
Find a roto with the counterbalance. The older Genesis rotos came with them. I use one quite a bit and the couter balance is great. You can find them on CL and FB MP fairly often. I have 4 or 5 of them. None were more than $25.

If you do have a lop sided item on the roto, not only does it have to work hard on the way up, but when the heavy end rounds top dead center and free falls, it bangs the gears in the motor. That is probably even harder on the motor as the gears are typically made out of plastic.
 
I have the Cajun Bandit Rotisserie Kit for a couple of years that included the One Grill Rotisserie Motors, Counterbalance and Stainless Steel Rotisserie Ring for my Weber Performer Deluxe with no problems to date. IME Cajun Bandit and One Grill Customer Service was terrific:) Their Electric Motor is rated maximum weight of 50lb and their Battery Operated 25lb.
 

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Any roto without a counter balance is going to be a problem unless you are very judicious about making sure your meat is well centered on the spit.
 
DanHoo said:
My onlyfire has a counter balance on it.

You could try a set of vice grips clamped on the end to offset the imbalance.

this is my model.

Click to expand...
I like your vice grip idea as the counter balance needs to go on the spit before the chicken by the handle. If you don't need it then it could throw it out of balance. I like the clip on idea of the vice grip. How do other folks use the counter balance? Do you always put it on, or try the chicken, if it needs it take it off, and then put the balance then the chicken back?
 
Did you guys mod your cook boxes to except those barrings? Usually you need a notch in the rod as those openings are too narrow for a standard barring.
 
I think you mean "Bearing" and not barring. Anyway, there are no real bearings on the roto rods, just groves in the spit rod that sit in the cook box U shaped notches.
 
My 2000 silver B worked without modification.

My 2002 cookbox had to be clearanced with a dremel.

Here is a closeup. The round peice inside keeps the spit from sliding away from the motor.

20211004_154343.jpg
 
Yep, that is what I had to do on my 9891 roto as it did not have a notch cut in the spit at the right spot. It is a 3/8" SS collar with a set screw in it to keep it in position. I have seen them at several places. I think I paid about $3 for this one.

tvwbb.com

Rotisserie question for the 1000

As some of you might know, I'm not a gas grill guy, but my son is, he loves the Genesis 1000 I restored for him 4 years ago. I had forgotten about the Weber roti I had rigged for my Santa Maria, used it one time. Bought it used, like new, pretty sure it's a model 9891. Overall length is 36"...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
Correct. I thought the round thing with the screw was a bearing, but looks like yours is a stop. On other grills they use bearings or bushing on square rods to fit the cutout.
611VtMpz7GL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
I like the visegrip concept, far more easily adjusted! The screw-in “tailpiece” can be kind of frustrating. I do my best to get the thing as close to “in balance” before I get it out to the grill. Sometimes I win, sometimes…not so much.
 
Chickens are tough to center manually. Seems it always requires pushing it through the spine.
 
Grant Cunningham said:
At this moment I have a chicken on the rotisserie inside my Genesis 3000. I couldn't get the bird balanced on the spit very well, so there's definitely a slightly heavy side — which means the motor has to work a little harder. (Full disclosure: my rotisserie isn't a Weber — it's an Amazon special: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CL2LVCW/?tag=tvwb-20 )

Since I'm beginning to really love rotisserie cooking, and plan to do a whole lot more of it, I got to wondering: how many people have managed to wear out or break a rotisserie? Am I tempting fate?

What happens when I go to a turkey instead of a chicken — more weight, faster wear on the motor? Should I invest in a Weber part, or are there even more heavy-duty options out there?
Click to expand...
I had one wear out, but it was my fault. I'd left it out on the grill for a couple of days and we had sand storm. The next time I turned it on there was a grinding noise. A couple of cooks later it died. Sand had gotten into it and trashed the pot metal gears. I keep the motors inside now.
 
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