A long time ago I took a canoeing trip through eastern Poland and on one of the campgrounds a few folks there were barbequeing a pig on a spit. Ever since I’ve been thinking about doing something like that. Recently a lot of instructables on the topic had sparked my interest and when my birthday came around I decided it’s time for a pig roast this year!
I’ve researched the topic and found lots of good information on the topic: Instructables, You Tube Videos, Blogs, Manufacturer’s web sites.
Buying a new pig roaster will cost you between $800 to $20,000, even renting one from a party rental place cost still $200 and it seemed like a fun project, just looking at all the videos.
So I went with the smaller simple design of a 55gal drum Rotisserie. I got the drum, a rusty old pillow bearing and the angle irons from a Scrapyard. Make sure to get a drum that previously contained food stuff, i.e. olive oil.
The rotisserie motor, spit and forks are from One Grill. I thought about using a scrap motor but they cost more than the new motor. The kid’s bicycle wheel is from the scrap pile at a bicycle store and assorted small parts and rust covering and heat resistant paint are from several hardware stores.
I had to drill many holes into the barrel and L beam. When drilling into steel, use a carbide bit with cutting oil and go very slow with the variable speed drill but use lots of pressure. If you go too fast, the drill bit will burn out quickly and you only get a few holes through.
Instructions on how to build a Rotisserie BBQ out of a 55 Gal. Drum
Parts:
- 53” Stainless Steel Spit Rod with two attachable forks, counterweight, handle from One Grill
- Rotisserie Motor 40LB rated
- Small pulley wheel
- Kid’s bicycle front wheel, axle removed
- 1-1/2” Pipe clamp to attach pig to post
- 55gal steel drum and
- 2x 36” heavy L-Beams for Stand
- 2x 50” and 1 x 40” thick L beams with holes for stands
- 1x 2×4 x 33” stud for stand as cross brace
- Char Coal cylinder
- Alu pan for drippings
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Mark up steel barrel in two halves and cut with reciprocating saw
- Grind cut edges with angle grinder to smooth out edges
- Cut a 3″ diameter hole intersecting with rim into each upper barrel side to accommodate spit rod and pillow bearing
- Cut L beam into 2 30″ pieces, the stands
- Drill 3 holes into each stand
- Attach perforated L Studs (50″) to stands, stands and studs having L pointing outside
- Attach perforated L Joist to both studs, ca. 20″ off ground, L pointing outside
- Cut 4 3/4″ pipe pieces, to be used as fillers between Studs and lower barrel half
- Drill 4 1/4″ holes in lower barrel half, two on each flat side, 2″ to right of center, 4″ and 8″ above lower rim
- Cut flap in bottom (6″ square cut out on three sides) for venting and to remove ash
- Mount lower barrel
- Lay upper barrel on lower barrel, mark holes for hinges, drill
- Mark holes for handle, drill and install
- Wash and
- paint barrel outside with a coat of rust firming primer
- after 12h paint barrel outside with a coat of heat resistant paint
- Install lower barrel half
- Install hinges, upper barrel
- Install Pillow Bearing on right side stud, just above lower barrel half
- Install two caster wheels on left side of stud, same height as bearing, touching each other
- Cut pipe to size, 38″, drill 1/4″ hole for rod, seat rod in bearing, rest pipe on casters
- Remove Axle and Tire from wheel
- Hold rod over hub and mark edges, then Cut six small notches into Wheel hub inner edge to fit 1/2″ hex spit rod
- Attach Motor with pulley wheel below barrel on left stud, connect with bicycle wheel using belt
- Bake heat resistant paint according to manufacturer’s instructions (also burn off any residue inside barrel)
