How to Use a Smoke Tube on a Pellet Grill

To use a smoke tube on a pellet grill, fill the tube with dry, 100% hardwood pellets, light one end with a torch until a steady flame takes hold, let it burn for several minutes, blow the flame out so the pellets smolder, then lay the tube on the grate and close the lid. The tube keeps producing smoke on its own for a few hours, which is the point: a pellet grill makes less smoke as the set temperature climbs, and a smoldering tube adds wood smoke that does not depend on how hard the fire pot is working. With the grill switched off, the same tube becomes a cold smoker for cheese, nuts, salt and similar foods.

Safety note: a lit smoke tube is burning wood. The warning on the A-MAZE-N oval expanding tube page lists carbon monoxide among the substances the product can expose you to, and the CDC’s carbon monoxide guidance rules out running grills and other fuel-burning devices indoors, a garage or carport included. Use the tube only inside an outdoor grill or smoker. Smoke adds flavor, not doneness: check meat with a thermometer and compare the reading with the USDA FSIS safe minimum internal temperature chart.

What a Smoke Tube Adds to a Pellet Grill

A pellet grill already burns wood, so the obvious question is why anyone adds more. The answer is in how the fire pot behaves. Traeger’s page on its Super Smoke mode explains that lower cooking temperatures naturally create more smoke, and that the flavorful smoke is thin and blue rather than thick and visible. By the same logic, a grill holding 275°F or 350°F gives off less of that smoke than one idling at 225°F. Super Smoke only runs between 165°F and 225°F on the Traeger models that have it. For grills without the feature, the same page points owners to a smoke tube, a small cylinder of pellets placed inside the grill to add smoke flavor.

The tube works independently of the controller. A-MAZE-N, whose tubes are now sold on the Pit Boss website, describes its 12-inch tube as adding smoke at cooking temperatures whether the pellet grill is burning pellets or not, and says the design takes up very little space on the grates. The listing for its oval expanding tube adds that it produces very little heat and is meant for cold smoking or for supplementing smoke at 225°F and up. Z Grills, which makes pellet grills, describes a smoker tube as a perforated metal cylinder that holds pellets or chips while smoke spreads through the holes.

So the tube is not a heat source and it does not change the grill’s set temperature in any meaningful way. It is a separate smoke generator riding along on the grate. That makes it most useful in three situations: hotter cooks where the fire pot produces little smoke, grills without a dedicated smoke mode, and cold smoking with the burner off.

Burn Times Listed by the Makers

How long one fill lasts depends on the tube’s length and shape. These are the figures printed on the maker pages; none of them promises a time for every pellet or every grill.

If a cook will run longer than the listed time, plan on a refill rather than a bigger tube stuffed tighter. Damp pellets are the most common reason a tube goes out early, so fill from a sealed container.

How to Use a Smoke Tube on a Pellet Grill, Step by Step

1. Pick dry hardwood pellets. The A-MAZE-N 6-inch tube and the Pit Boss Max Smoke Kit both say to use 100% hardwood BBQ pellets only. Use pellets from a sealed container. Pit Boss’s pellet storage page warns that dampness hurts burn quality and cuts the smoke, and that wet pellets can refuse to light. There is no reason to soak pellets for a tube.
2. Start with a clean, empty tube. Z Grills lists a clean, dry tube as step one. Empty out old ash so it does not block the holes.
3. Fill it. Pour pellets in until the tube is full, or to the line your tube’s instructions give. A funnel helps; the Pit Boss Max Smoke Kit packs one with the tube.
4. Light one end. Hold a torch flame on the pellets at the open end. The Max Smoke Kit includes a refillable torch, though Pit Boss notes it ships without fuel. Pit Boss’s own method, written up for its smoke tube cocktail, is to light until a small flame is established and the pellets begin to smolder and produce smoke.
5. Let the flame burn, then blow it out. Z Grills lets the flame burn for 15 minutes so the pellets stay lit, then blows it out so the tube smolders instead of flaming. A shorter burn may be enough with very dry pellets, but if a tube keeps dying, a longer first burn is the first thing to change.
6. Set the tube on the grate. Z Grills places it on the grill grates. Lay it flat in a spot that does not crowd the food, ideally where drips from the meat will not land on it.
7. Close the lid. Z Grills lists a closed lid as one of the ways to keep a tube from going out, and a closed lid also keeps the smoke around the food.
8. Check it, and refill as needed. Look at the tube when you check the meat. When smoke stops rising, the fill is spent. Handle the tube with heat-resistant gloves or tongs; it is steel that has been sitting over a fire.

When to Light the Tube During a Cook

Smoke does most of its work early. A Kansas State University fact sheet on smoked meats notes that smoke is commonly applied in the initial phases of cooking, and that it sticks best to a surface that feels slightly tacky, while a wet surface can streak. Traeger’s Super Smoke page adds that starting with cold meat gives smoke more time to penetrate because the meat takes longer to cook. Put together, the tube should be lit and smoldering before the food goes on, not halfway through.

• Low and slow cooks (225°F range). The grill is already making a fair amount of smoke here. A tube adds more for owners who want a heavier smoke flavor on ribs or pork shoulder. Traeger’s Super Smoke guidance has these cuts start low for a few hours before the meat is wrapped, which is also a sensible window for a tube.
• Hotter cooks (275°F and up). This is where the tube earns its spot. Chicken, turkey and roasts cooked hotter get little smoke from the fire pot alone. Traeger suggests starting such meats low for wood-fired flavor and finishing over higher heat; a tube can stand in for that low start when time is short.
• Short cooks. Burgers, chops and fish cook too fast for a full tube to matter much. Skip the tube, or light a half fill before the food goes on.

For flavor, Traeger lists hickory and mesquite as the stronger smoke woods and cherry and apple as more subtle. The tube does not have to match the hopper: a mild blend in the hopper and hickory in the tube is one way to push the flavor without changing the whole bag.

Cold Smoking With the Grill Turned Off

A smoke tube is also the simplest way to cold smoke on a pellet grill, because the grill itself stays off. Pit Boss’s cold smoke recipes define cold smoking as keeping the temperature at or below 80°F so food picks up smoke without heating up, and recommend a smoke tube on the grill with the grill powered off: fill the tube, light it, place it on the grill. They suggest spreading food in a shallow dish so more surface meets the smoke.

The Pit Boss recipes give a feel for timing:

• Smoked sea salt: a baking pan or folded foil tray, about 20 to 40 minutes, stirred every 10 to 15 minutes, with more time if you want it stronger.
• Smoke-infused olive oil: a large shallow pan, about 20 to 40 minutes; mix in reserved plain oil if the smoke comes through too strong.
• Seasoned mixed nuts: one layer on a baking sheet, stirred every 10 to 15 minutes until the binder has dried.

Cheese is the other common cold smoke item; both the A-MAZE-N tube page and the Pit Boss tube page list it. Two practical limits apply. First, the 80°F ceiling depends on the weather: a dark grill sitting in afternoon sun can pass it with no fire at all, so cold smoke on a cool day or in the evening. Second, cold smoking does not cook anything. The Pit Boss definition says as much: the food picks up smoke without heating up. This guide does not cover cold smoking raw meat or fish: smoke alone does not make raw food safe to eat. Stick to foods that are ready to eat, and cook anything raw afterward to the temperature on the FSIS chart.

Troubleshooting a Smoke Tube

• It goes out after a few minutes. Give the first flame longer before blowing it out (Z Grills uses 15 minutes), make sure the pellets are dry, and keep the lid closed. Moving the tube away from a spot where fat drips onto it also helps.
• It will not light. Damp pellets are the usual cause, according to Pit Boss’s storage guidance. Start over with pellets from a sealed bucket.
• It burns out faster than the listed time. A tube that flames instead of smoldering burns through pellets quickly. Blow it out fully, and check that it is not sitting directly over the hottest part of the grate.
• The smoke looks thick and white. Traeger describes the smoke that flavors food as thin and blue. If the tube is billowing, it may still be flaming inside or holding damp pellets.
• Sawdust instead of pellets. A-MAZE-N says its dust cannot be used in the expanding tube. Use pellets unless your tube’s instructions say otherwise.

Smoke Tube or Smoker Box?

On a gas grill, a smoker box is the more familiar accessory: a closed box that sits over a burner and gets its heat from the grill. A smoke tube is different because it keeps itself lit once started, so it works in a pellet grill or an unheated grill as well. Pit Boss lists its expanding tube for pellet grills, gas grills and gas smokers. On a pellet grill the tube is usually the better fit, since there is no open burner to set a box over. The box approach on gas, including wood soaking and placement, is a separate method.

Cleaning and Storing the Tube

Let the tube cool completely before you empty it. NFPA’s grilling safety tip sheet asks grillers to wait until coals are completely cool and then put them in a metal container; spent pellet ash from a tube deserves the same care. Tap the ash out, brush the holes clear, and rinse the tube if needed; Z Grills notes that the holes let you scrub it from all sides. A-MAZE-N lists its tubes as stainless steel that is easy to clean. Dry the tube fully before storing it with the grill tools, since leftover moisture is the enemy of the next fill.

FAQ

Do you need a smoke tube on a pellet grill?

No. A pellet grill smokes on its own, especially at low temperatures. A tube is useful when you cook hotter, when your grill has no extra-smoke mode, or when you want to cold smoke with the grill off. Traeger suggests one for grills without Super Smoke.

How long does a smoke tube last?

It depends on length. A-MAZE-N lists up to 2 hours for its expanding tube at 7 inches and 4 hours at 12 inches; Pit Boss lists about 3 hours for its expanding tube; Z Grills says 2 to 6 hours in most cases. Refill when smoke stops rising.

How do you use a smoker tube with the pellet grill off?

Fill and light the tube as usual, set it on the grates of the cold grill, put the food in a shallow pan nearby and close the lid. Pit Boss keeps cold smoking at or below 80°F and runs salt and olive oil for about 20 to 40 minutes.

Should you soak pellets before putting them in a smoke tube?

No. Pit Boss warns that damp pellets can fail to ignite, so use dry pellets straight from a sealed container.

Where should the smoke tube go in a pellet grill?

On the grate, lying flat, where it does not crowd the food and where grease will not drip on it. The makers’ instructions simply place it on the grill grates; the A-MAZE-N and Pit Boss pages note that it takes up very little grate space.

The Bottom Line

How to use a smoke tube on a pellet grill comes down to a short routine: dry hardwood pellets, a full tube, a flame held long enough to catch, a smolder instead of a fire, and a closed lid. Light it before the food goes on, because smoke does its best work early, and lean on it most for hotter cooks where the pellet grill makes little smoke by itself. Keep the tube outdoors, let the ash cool before you dump it, and judge doneness with a thermometer, not by how much smoke the food has seen.

About the author