Parts of a Smoker – Offset Smoker and Water Smoker

All 18 parts on the diagram

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Offset smoker 11

Firebox A small fire of charcoal or wood is lit here. Its heat and smoke pass into the cooking chamber.
Cooking chamber Heat and smoke from the firebox are drawn in at one end. They leave at the other. Some makers call it the smoker chamber.
Lid It is hinged along the top of the cooking chamber. It carries a handle.
Temperature gauge It shows the temperature inside the cooking chamber. It fits in a hole in the lid.
Cooking grates They rest inside the cooking chamber, under the lid. Some makers call them cooking grills.
Front shelf A shelf of slats fixed to the front of the cooking chamber.
Smokestack Stands at the far end of the cooking chamber from the firebox. Also called the chimney.
Smokestack damper Opened or closed to control the temperature and the smoke. It is swung over the top of the smokestack.
Firebox damper It lets air in to the fire. Opening it wider gives the fire more air; makers also call it the air vent.
Charcoal grate Charcoal or wood is piled on it in the firebox.
Wheels They are on the legs at one end. The other end is lifted to move the smoker.

Water smoker 7

Dome lid It lifts off by the handle on top.
Heat indicator It shows how hot the inside is. It fits in a hole in the smoker.
Smoker body The legs, the door and the brackets are all fixed to it. The brackets hold the pans and grills.
Door Lets the water and charcoal be checked without lifting the lid.
Legs A water smoker of this kind stands on three legs. They are fixed to its body.
Water pan It sits between the fire and the food. It helps hold a steady temperature, adds moisture and catches drippings. Also called the water bowl.
Charcoal pan The charcoal burns in it, at the bottom of the smoker.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. Offset smoker: Wikipedia, text only, Smoking (cooking), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_(cooking) (firebox, cooking chamber, cooking grates, exhaust at the far end); one maker's offset smoker product guide, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6237164 (firebox, smoker chamber, smokestack, smokestack damper, dampers on the firebox, charcoal grate, cooking grates, temperature gauge, front shelf, wheels); a second maker's owner's manual, https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-636150 (cooking chamber, firebox, air vent, smokestack, smokestack damper, charcoal grate, cooking grills, temperature gauge, shelf slats, wheels, lid). Water smoker: the same Wikipedia article (water pan, water bowl, cooking grates); the second maker's water smoker manual, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7252296 (dome lid, smoker body, water pan, charcoal pan, door, heat indicator, legs); a third maker's manual, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6234493 (dome lid, body, water bowl, charcoal pan, door, legs); a fourth maker's, https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-9c7a7142-b3ff-4f89-90ba-37521d6bc920 (heat indicator, water pan, charcoal pan, access door, body, legs). Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's smoker, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A barbecue smoker cooks food slowly with heat and smoke from a small fire. The first drawing is an offset smoker; the second is a vertical water smoker with one side cut open.

Read the full guide

How the smoke travels in an offset smoker

A small fire of charcoal or wood burns on the charcoal grate in the firebox. Its heat and smoke are drawn through an opening into the cooking chamber, pass the food on the cooking grates and leave by the smokestack at the far end. The dampers on the firebox and on top of the smokestack control the temperature and the smoke.

Inside a vertical water smoker

The charcoal pan sits at the bottom of the body. The water pan sits between the fire and the cooking grills above it. The door in the side lets you check the water and the charcoal without lifting the dome lid.

A vertical water smoker is also called a bullet smoker, because of its shape.
Makers call the long barrel the cooking chamber or the smoker chamber. Both are accepted when typed.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a smoker called?

On an offset smoker: the firebox, the cooking chamber and its lid, the cooking grates, the charcoal grate, the smokestack and two dampers. On a vertical water smoker: the dome lid, the body, the water pan, the charcoal pan and the door.

What is the firebox on a smoker?

The smaller chamber fixed low on one end of an offset smoker. The fire is built there, and its heat and smoke pass into the cooking chamber, so the food cooks by indirect heat.

What does the water pan do in a smoker?

It sits between the fire and the food. It helps keep the smoking temperature steady, adds humidity inside the smoker and catches drippings that could cause a flare-up.

What is the chimney on a smoker called?

The smokestack. Smoke leaves the cooking chamber through it, and the damper on top is opened or closed to control the temperature and the smoke.

Is a bee smoker the same thing?

No. A bee smoker is a small metal cylinder with a bellows, used in beekeeping to calm honey bees with smoke. This page is about the barbecue smoker.