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Cold smoke generator buying guide

Updated: 23 October 2026

You already own a kettle or a gas barbecue, and amazon.co.uk has collapsed three tools into one search. A cold smoke generator can be a dust maze, a pellet tube, or a small pump with a hose. Decide the chamber, then the fuel, then whether you need a plug, and only after that the star line. Prices and the nine-row table stay on the [cold smoke generator comparison](/hub/grill-accessories/cold-smoke-generator). Peter F. checked amazon.co.uk listings and UK shop pages on 20 October 2026. This is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You already own a kettle or a gas barbecue, and amazon.co.uk has collapsed three tools into one search. A cold smoke generator can be a dust maze, a pellet tube, or a small pump with a hose.

Our top picks

QWORK QWORK 12 inch pellet tube

Best overall

QWORK QWORK 12 inch pellet tube
6.6/10about £8.99
View offer
ProQ ProQ Original maze

Rank 2

ProQ ProQ Original maze
7.8/10about £34.99
View offer
DOBADN DOBADN hose pump

Alternative

DOBADN DOBADN hose pump
6.2/10about £46.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Maze, tube, or pump
  2. 2.30–150 litres or above it
  3. 3.Dust, pellets, or chips
  4. 4.What this shelf is not

Maze, tube, or pump

Start with the job, because these tools do not share a burn. A maze sits in the chamber, has no lead, and smoulders fine wood dust. In this set that is the ProQ Original and the larger ProQ Artisan. The QWORK tube sits on the grate, at £8.99, with a stated burn of about four to five hours. A pump burns chips or pellets outside the food and pushes smoke through a hose. The DOBADN is the hose with UK review text. The UtaUla listing has no review line. The LIROPAU listing is 3.4 from four reviews. The starter set is the Original’s mechanism plus a book, not a third maze. Burn time and heat sit on electric cold smoke generator vs maze.

30–150 litres or above it

ProQ’s UK page sells the Original for 30–150 litres, up to 12 hours, at 150 × 180 × 40 mm, and the Artisan for 150–500 litres, up to 16 hours. On amazon.co.uk the Original (B005OHSKAQ) is £34.99 with 4.5 from 807 reviews, and the Artisan (B00L7QNREC) is £49.99 with 4.4 from 74. A typical Weber kettle is the Original’s band. A cabinet or large kamado from 150 litres upward is the Artisan’s. Do not copy a gram figure onto an ASIN that does not state grams. A cardboard box beside a live ember is a fire risk. If the size is a guess, measure the cooker, then see who should skip a thin file on best cold smoke generator UK.
QWORK QWORK 12 inch pellet tube

Testsieger

QWORK QWORK 12 inch pellet tube
6.6/10about £8.99
View offer

Dust, pellets, or chips

A maze wants fine, dry smoking dust, and a fresh bag after the sample. The Original includes an oak sample, and the Artisan includes oak dust as well. Workshop sawdust is often coarse, damp, or mixed with glue and paint, and that is what makes a maze go out. A pellet tube takes pellets. Dust in the QWORK, or pellets in a ProQ maze, swaps the fuel the listing describes. Pump listings talk about chips or pellets in a stated size range. A 304 stamp on a pump or on the QWORK does not grade the ProQ maze. Where this set does not state a grade, leave it unstated. The first light is on the how-to page linked below.

What this shelf is not

A Bradley adaptor, a fog machine, and a whole electric smoker turned up in the same search and are not in this set. None of those is a maze, a tube, or a hose you add to the barbecue you already own. If the listing is a complete cooker, the litre bands here do not apply. If it has no wood fuel, it will not give you wood smoke. Stars come after type, litres, and fuel. The Original’s 4.5 from 807 is a deep file. The UtaUla has no review line. Four reviews cannot tell you whether the tool fits the kettle you own.

Common questions

Should I buy the small ProQ or the large ProQ?
ProQ’s UK page puts the Original at 30–150 litres and up to 12 hours, and the Artisan at 150–500 litres and up to 16 hours. On amazon.co.uk those are £34.99 with 4.5 from 807, and £49.99 with 4.4 from 74. A kettle in the smaller band is the Original’s stated range. A cabinet or kamado from 150 litres upward is the Artisan’s stated range. The starter set adds a book to a maze and stays in the same size class.
Is a smoke tube the same thing as a cold smoke generator?
On this shelf the name covers both, and the jobs differ. The QWORK tube is £8.99, burns pellets, and states about four to five hours. A ProQ maze states up to 12 or 16 hours from wood dust and has no plug. Use the tube for a short smoke on a grill, and the maze for the longer unplugged burn ProQ describes.
Do I need a plug?
The ProQ mazes in this set have no mains lead. The QWORK tube has none either. The DOBADN and the other pump-style listings in this set need power. Check whether the listing actually includes a UK plug. With no socket, the maze matches the limit. With a safe outdoor lead, a hose pump is the other job. Confirm the listing includes a UK 230 V plug.
What dust do I buy after the sample bag?
Buy fine, dry smoking dust of the wood you want, the same class of fill the maze is sold with. The Original includes an oak sample, and ProQ’s range is built around that kind of dust. Leave workshop sawdust in the workshop. It is often coarse, damp, or contaminated. The ASIN does not print a gram weight, so a fine fill is the instruction.
Will a cold smoke generator fit the barbecue I already own?
Fit is the litre band plus a lid, and a path for smoke to leave. ProQ states 30–150 litres for the Original, whose maze is 150 × 180 × 40 mm, and 150–500 litres for the Artisan. A tube needs grate space. A pump needs a safe stand outside and a hose route, which the DOBADN states at 50 cm. Use a lidded metal cooker outdoors. A cardboard box is a fire risk beside a live ember.

Related pages

How to use a cold smoke generator

Cold smoke generator

Best cold smoke generator UK: who should skip a row

Cold smoke cheese temperature for cheddar and fish

Electric cold smoke generator vs maze: heat and burn

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures for these ASINs. Retrieved 21 October 2026.

  1. ProQ: cold smoke generator (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. ProQ: CSG expert guide (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. ProQ: cold-smoked cheese (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. ProQ: home-cured bacon (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Sous Chef: home smokers (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: freezing fish and fishery products (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK: Listeria (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. NHS: carbon monoxide poisoning (retrieved 21 October 2026)