"According to their site, the mechanical spitjack goes for around 12 minutes between windings and a bell sounds when it is nearing time for a rewinding. Needless to say, however, it's not something you should expect to set and then go to another room for a nap." I've been investigating the spit options for some time, as my new kitchen will, when finally finished, have a waist-high, cook-in fireplace in front of which I plan to spit-roast as often as possible. Spitjack does not carry the heavy-duty FUF, which timer supposedly runs for 25 minutes before it must be wound - a slight improvement on the 9 minutes. It will also hold 18 kilos, good for me, as I hope to be able to do a pork leg. I visited the FUF of my dreams at Bartolini in Florence this summer, and just recently ordered it and the copper drip pan directly from the web site. I should be up and running by Thanksgiving. Note that William Rubel (author of the excellent "Magic of Fire") has a website with much discussion of this topic, much of it between he and I on the ideal design for a fireplace that is built for cookin', and the issue of whether spit-roasting should take place OVER or IN FRONT OF the fire. There is almost as much discourse and disagreement on this topic as there are recipes for cassoulet... For anyone as interested as I am: www.williamrubel.com