Meet Cogsworth - BBQ restore

[sircapslock]

Hi everyone,
Brand new here. My wife and I recently bought a house and with it came this behemoth bbq grill (she calls him Cogsworth). I am a complete novice to bbq so I'm not really sure where to start. I can say for sure that I'm going to at least have to replace the burners, but I'm not really sure where to look. I was told by a friend that this is a completely custom build, as such I don't really know how to find parts for it. He is powered by natural gas.

So I have a few questions. 1) What exactly do you call this? Is it a "pit" bbq or does this type of grill go by a different name?

He's got two electrical components: one moves the burner/knobs up and down. The other looks like it powers a rotisserie. The rotisserie motor doesn't seem to work any more, though it does turn on and start spinning that little plastic fan (I'm guessing that's for cooling the motor while it spins). That's question 2) is the motor you see here familiar? Would I be able to find a replacement for it specific to a rotisserie like this? Or would it be a matter of purchasing a new motor and retrofitting it for this purpose?

Here is a photo of the burners from below. They're about 22 inches long and about 7 inches wide. I now understand them to be "U" burners. I found some similarly sized U burners that were replacements for Viking OEM parts. Not sure if those would work here.

Here is a photo of where the burners go out to meet the knobs through the pipe that is fed natural gas from the house.

So question 3) I know I at least am going to have to replace the burners and the knobs. Where am I able to find those replacement parts?

Sorry for the long post, I know my beginner level is showing :)

Thanks so much!

[OldUsedParts]

My first thoughts are "don't send good money after bad", however, there may be members here that think otherwise.
If you're not stuck on Natural Gas then there are some nice reasonably priced Propane, Pellet and Charcoal Units that can produce some great "Q"

[sircapslock]

Yep I gotcha. This is definitely falling in the fun project type of bucket to get it going again. Main reason I'm pushing for natural gas is that here in Florida there's always the possibility of hurricanes and I want a fuel source that's still going to work when the lights go out and wouldn't require having to store up propane tanks

[OldUsedParts]

10-4 on the Hurricane Cooking

I guess the Smoke Flavor isn't a priority to you like it is to a lot of us, eh ?

[1MoreFord]

The motor looks like a "C" frame motor. You might have to buy it and the little gearbox it's attached to as a unit. I'd start with W.W. Grainger as the source. You might have one nearby so they could take a look at it and match it for you. https://www.grainger.com/ (After re-reading your post you might give CLA and MusicCity a look for roto units instead of the Grainger route.)

I buy my gas grill parts from CLAGrills.com Their website works best from a brand and model number standpoint but they are very knowledgeable. With some photos and dimensions they might be able to help you.

Also take a look at Music City Metals. They make parts for most gas grills. AFAIK they don't sell direct but if you find a part number that looks right for your grill the online vendors who do sell direct should be able to get that part. http://www.musiccitymetals.net/catalog/ ... trfed.html

Best of luck.

[k.a.m.]

Any pics with the flavor bars removed? I would like to see the entire burner tube.

[Rambo]

Any pics with the flavor bars removed? I would like to see the entire burner tube.

Sircapslock; converse with KAM

[sircapslock]

Any pics with the flavor bars removed

Let me try to take it apart and I'll send some pics. Right now it's kinda this "cage" structure that holds the burners/knobs in one unit.

The motor looks like a "C" frame motor.

Thanks! Going to definitely check this out! I was surprised to find that the motor is usually for HVAC applications, but a motor is a motor so if it works then by all means!

I guess the Smoke Flavor isn't a priority to you like it is to a lot of us, eh ?

Love the Smoke Flavor! I just know I won't get much of it for this project lol

[sircapslock]

Ok so after quite a bit of tooling and prying, here's what I got:

Here are better pics of the burners. I haven't yet been able to take apart that cage that's holding them so I'm afraid these are the best pics I can provide right now. Might give it another go later today.

Hope that helps better identify the burners!

Do I buy that assembly with the 4 knobs somewhere? Or is that gonna have to be fashioned out of a brand new steel pipe?

Thanks again!

[k.a.m.]

The SS table on the left. Was it part of this set up?

[sircapslock]

I'm not sure what you mean by "part" exactly. That table doesn't really connect to the bbq in any way if that's what you mean. Though I'm imagining that whoever built the bbq probably also built the table since they're very similar workmanship. Sorry if I'm misunderstanding your question!

[k.a.m.]

I'm not sure what you mean by "part" exactly. That table doesn't really connect to the bbq in any way if that's what you mean. Though I'm imagining that whoever built the bbq probably also built the table since they're very similar workmanship. Sorry if I'm misunderstanding your question!

Was the table there with the cooker is what I was leaning towards.
The wheels are almost identical the table top is a rolled commercial top. These observations led me to believe the grill is a commercial unit that was most likely built as a portable unit fired by propane for catering events. I reached out to a friend in Florida that caters and he thought it was a Verity commercial unit. I contacted them with your pics and they said no it was not theirs. I still believe its use was intended for commercial catering. My friend was all gitty about it and said it is doable to fix it.

[sircapslock]

Oh man that's exciting! If your friend is anywhere near Miami I'd be happy to let them take a look!

Here is a full pic of the table. It was indeed right next to the cooker. I also note that bracket on the side that looks like it might've held a propane tank at one point. Makes me wonder if the previous owners had a caterer in the family that was getting rid of this unit. So, having a house equipped with natural gas, they converted it so they could use it themselves. I guess they're also the ones that built an outdoor sink area right next to the table as well

When you mentioned the possibility of a commercial unit, I remembered there is some branding on the front that I can barely make out. Seems to be something along the lines of "...sy Roast"

[k.a.m.]

Are those the grates on the table? Are there any part numbers on them?
He lives in Saint Petersburg

[sircapslock]

Can't find any part number on the grates unfortunately. Here's a pic of one of them:

I did find this eBay post of an almost identical unit (though it's a 5-burner vs my 4-burner). No brand associated with it though. The seller claims it is "custom built"

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BBQ-GRILL-COMM ... 3652171973