Smokehouse Smoke Chief Cold Smoke Generator, Easily Connects to Any Grill or Outdoor Cooking Device to Quickly Produce delicious Smoked Foods

I have used the smoke geneator about 5 times now on my Vision ceramic grill. My brother was in town and he is the bbq king of the family. He has a couple eggs and various smokers and got his thumbs up, too.***You must have some mechanical aptitude to adapt this to your application. For my vision grill I had to nock out the top screen behind the lower choke plate. Also, I drilled a hole in the front lower choke plate to insert an extension for the smoke tube.***You must clean out the creosote and ashes after every use. If you are serious about smoking and enjoy it as a passion, than its a labor of love. If you are buying this, thiking its just going to plug in and stick on the side, pump smoke, put away, use next time - stick with chips or whatever you are using - this takes common sense and maintenence. But for me, the benefits far outweigh any maintenance or adapter fabrication issues.I am smoking salmon on my Vision grill at 105 and will slowly raise the temp to 140-150 for the last hour. Also, I modified my visiobn grill by shoving a charcoal starter heating element wired to a extensiom cord with a 600 watt dimnmer, (I have PID temp controller is on order.) What this does is allowes me to pump smoke and smoke foods longer and at much lower temp. Even without the modified heating element, I could never reliably get the vision grill below 165 and consistenf and then getting consitent smoke was very hard at the low temp.Out of the box, sitting the unit on the pation and testing for a full day... My brother decided to try to out some regualr chips in the unit. The unit shut off and we thought it was broken for a little bit. What happened is the wood chips catch fire and there is a thermal switch that shuts off the heating element when the smoke chamber exceeds rated temp.***Construction: We took the unit apart and it is a very simple, but well thought out design. There is a small fan blowing air into the bottom of the combustion chamber. There is another tube that leads out of the unit to a small threaded pipe, on the top of the combustion chanber. In the combustion chamber, pellets drop down onto a heating element, which heats the pellets to smoking point. The smoke is exhausted out the threaded pipe on the side. Midway in the combustion chamber is a small screen that separates the incoming air, from the small fan, below, and the heating element and smoke outlet pipe, above. Very simple, air coming in and pushing smoke out. Also noted is the plunger on top which has a rubber seal so that smoke only goes out one way.At the end of a 3 hour burn/full tube of pellets/~1cup, the untit needs to be cleaned. You will need to tip the unit upside down and tap out all of the ashes and make sure the screen holes are clear. You will need to clean out the creosote from the exhaust pipe. They provide a screw on a wooden handle that is easy enough and the creosote is thick and nasty, but it doesnt take but 5 minutes.Use: with a cleaned out unti, a flip of the switch and you get a nice thick, pumped smoke, almost instantly. During use you may, on occasion, have to push the plunger down to force the pellets down the tube, onto the heating element.I hope the unit lasts for a few years to come and many smokes. Points of failure will be, internal fan, thermal switch, heating probe or power supply. I wish I could get spare parts and keep on hand, because now that I'm using this I don't want to be withou it!'Dont be a hater on my hillbilly picture. I need to make a proper shelf on the vision smoker. If you are looking for a clean metro-sexual looking smoking apparatus, go buy a shiny box that is disk chip fed for $500.Oh, and I bought 20lb bags of different pellets at Cabellas for $13 a bag. That'll last me years! "Much more efficient and cost effective than wood chips!"

I bought this smoker specifically to cold smoke salmon. I'm sure I will use it for other things, because it works great.I have it sitting on the shelf connected to the side of my grill and had to set it on about an inch and a half of dunnage to get it to the right height for my grill, but that's OK.ProsThis smoker is EASY to set up and use.This thing puts out some serious cold smoke!It only works when the nozzle is clear. You'll have to check on it, or peak out the window, and if it's not billowing some serious smoke then the jet needs to be cleared. It only takes a second with the tool they provide, and you dont have to do it often (like once/twice an hour maybe). It's not a big deal, but it's NOT a "set it and forget it for 3 hours" type appliance. It needs to be baby sat if you want it working well. You may also need to press down on the tamp once or twice per fill.My salmon came out excellent the first time I used it. I put 2 cured filets in the grill for 6 hours total (2 fills). I took the temperature at the end and found it to be 95*F. Ambient temperature was about 70-75. Maybe a little cooler.At first I was worried I over smoked them (and I like stuff smokey!!) But after a night in the fridge I decided it was about right. You may prefer less.Cons.I really hate the power cord. It's got an inverter half way up it. I hate it, hate it, hate it.The output jet is a bit short for my needs, but atleast it is threaded if I can find a way to rig an extension.Overall I love it.. there are cheaper cold smokers but I am very happy with this one. So easy to use.I honestly don't know how much I will be using my big chief now..

The media could not be loaded. UPDATE Feb. 2021: I've had this unit now for going on 4 years. Still use it, and even self-repaired the failed mini-computer-fan. But continues to crank out tons of smoke when properly maintained. Just got compact charcoal BBQ, and found a way to use it as a BBQ & smoker. I'll be posting that review soon and will edit my review to include the new found Smokehouse cold smoker application.ORIGINAL REVIEW: I purchased this unit in August 2017 using my Amazon Prime account, based on looking at all the other generators out there. I'm now writing this review in May 2018. Up to this point, I've used the smoker sparingly with my Fire Magic BBQ unit. It was mostly because of the constant monitoring required, and also because I do a number of cooking methods in my outdoor kitchen; not just BBQ'ing. But aside from all that, I was surprised to realize that I hadn't written a review earlier. Yet frankly I'm glad I waited, as this has been a bit of a learning experience. And I would say that with all my reservations and opinions regarding improvements, I still appreciate it as a quick and easy way to convert any BBQ or home-made smoking box into an effective smoker.My setup.....You can see from my photos that I run a small, compact, outdoor kitchen. And I use my Fire Magic natural gas BBQ for everything from grilling, rotisserie, cast skillet cooking, baking and even teppanyaki style cooking with a commerical-grade hottop-grill that fits inside of the BBQ; also purchased on Amazon. Smoking is accomplished by placing the Smokechief next to one of the rotisserie access holes on the BBQ. It works perfectly, as the hole is already perfectly aligned with the smoke tube from the SmokeChief. And about the pellets...? I bought my first 20 lb bag of Mesquite from Home Depot. And yes, there are certainly many wood-type pellets out there to try on your various proteins.About the finished product.....I bought the Smoke Chief because I didn't want to reinvent the wheel. And while I still feel it was the right move, I realized early on that Smoke Chief had probably done the best they could. But their product wasn't the best solution. Overall, and with a manufacturing and electro-mechanical background, I'd say this is a valient effort. But could be improved upon greatly. and I humbly say that, as I can tell that just to get to the current model, and from looking at the selection of components, I'll bet the inventor/s had a decent number of prototypes built and modified before they finally came up with what I found in my delivered unit. So 4-Stars for doing what it promises, but an unwritten 3-Stars for lacking the refinements. And these are refinements that would have kept me from re-engineering this unit to get where I am today. And to be fair with the manufacturer, I'll also add that there are engineering and production variables that have to coordinate with one's cost of manufacturing. Ideally, we want to hit what is perceived as that optimal engineered product-price point. So I'll figure they've trimmed the retail price as much as they can, and may have stopped with the design changes-improvements, needing to get what they had to market. I'll also wager that they've either gone as far as they feel necessary, or are contemplating, or may have, a near ready for retail, updated model. Or... like many, they're just tired, and for now, are doing something else with their time. (I've been there too.)How much watching and tending do you have to do...?The answer is, way more than you'd expect. There are four issues I have with the unit. Issue #1... the short threaded smoke-exit-tube puts the unit, in my opinion, is too close to the fire-unit/BBQ/heat. That's why I played around with an equal I.D. extension tube setup. (see my photos) With my extension tube, I was able to more remote locate the smoke away from the fire/heat. And this is important why...? Because of the heat and smoke which is generated by the smoker itself and the heat of one's BBQ. That heat can trip the smoker's thermal cutoff switch. The unit, if run for quite a while, and then without fresh pellets, does physically get very hot to the touch. In fact, I've burned myself trying to hold and rotate the unit to shake out the ash. And when I've shut down the unit for a quick maintenance cycle, I've found I couldn't just turn it back on and continue smoking. THE THERMAL SENSOR and the unit itself have to cool off before you can expect the little glow-plug to reheat. For safer handling, heat insulation techniques would be a good idea. And a cooling fan, obviously separate from the smoke-distribution fan, might be employed. But certainly a physical outer cool-to-the-touch shell of some sort would be nice. Issue #3 is, as many have shared, the build-up of CREOSOTE, that black-tar build-up, that will clog the short exit tube on the unit. Without any extension tube in place, I have to clear that tube about every 15 minutes if I want optimal smoke transfers from the chamber to the BBQ. A note about using an extension tube. The small distribution fan inside the unit has enough umph to push copious amounts of smoke from the chamber to your BBQ. But adding an extension also adds backpressure which effects the smoke-flow. So when I'm using the extension tube, I have to regularly, everly 10 minutes or so, clear the entire extention and OEM tube-length with the Smokechief auger. Even if you're not using an extension, augering the tubes for creosote is very important. You'll begin to realize just how important when you clear the pipes, and all of a sudden see the unit go from little smoke back to white billowing amounts. Another comment about modifying the OEM smoke-exit tube.... I'm making a metal pipe attachment for my rotisserie hole that will start where the little tube ends, thus creating minimal if no backpressure. I may have to also add a little indirect booster fan to help move the smoke through the larger tube. (?) Item #4 is ironic... The unit does issue copius amounts of smoke... but that's somewhat of an issue, as it's better described as uncontrolled copious amounts... Someone else, last year, mentioned this issue, and the possible inclusion of a timer. That might be an issue, as once you turn off the unit, the thermal sensor may have to cool off to its' reset point. So controllable smoke; I'd like that, and may have to work on it. But unless I am missing something, this unit is an all or nothing kinda' setup.What about technique...?Take it from someone who hadn't ever run smokers. I didn't understand ;cold smoke from low and slow BBQ/smoking. In my opinion, this is more a cold smoke unit. Traeger type units use heat and smoke that's "homogenized" or mixed, to cook. This unit, in my opinion, may generate the smoke, but isn't custom engineered to mix with the heat. It's not a team player in that sense. So for my gas BBQ kitchen setup, I've finally found the sweet spot for results. I par-cook/sear my meats, and then put them on my upper rack and run the smoker. And I do this with just my back-wall rotisserie burner running on low. The smoke sinks into the food, and the low heat continues the browning and cooking, but at a very safe rate. I just last night reheated chicken thighs that were BBQ'd two days earlier. I did a rub and grill, but hadn't smoked them. So for recooking/smoking dry meats like chicken, I sometimes use a hand-spray plastic bottle to keep my meats moist; a mix of 20%-80% liquid smoke and water mixture.Summary Opinion.....After going on one year of use, I do believe that there's a place for Smokechief's smoke generator. If you have a BBQ unit, and are not planning or don't have room to add a Traeger style or better smoker, using this smoke generator is a decent way to add that "smoke flavor that you want. It will never be equal to a commericial BBQ smoker. And you won't ever get to the level of Salt Lick BBQ in Austin. But it's certainly a much more efficient method of adding smoke to your fire. I say yes, get one, if you want an intro' into smoking... BBQ style, that is.

Produced smoke right off the hop!

Worked as advertised. Looking forward to cold smoking more items.

I got it today and already tested. Very solid assembly. A lot of smoke. No technical problems.Cons: The package says that it should contain some BBQ pellets. It doesn’t!Why there is no measuring cap?The price is too far high even so the device is good.The heating element should have adjustable power so that the amount of smoke can be reduced if needed. I am planning to modify it myself.The smoke exit pipe should be located at the top of the burning chamber but it has some construction problems to do so. If it is located at the bottom, the smoke has higher temperature, which might be a problem for some small smoking enclosures to have cold smoking. In this case, simply find a long enough pipe that connects the smoke exit with the smoking chamber. Would be nice if it were a part of the package.

We have used this quite a few times since purchasing it last year. It started off great but now not working because of the oily resin. No instructions on how to clean or maintain it. Very disappointing

Works awesome lots of smoke great for cold smoking