Analysis by Valery Grin · · updated September 26, 2026
Weber 17636: spiral cold smoke generator base, 20 x 20 cm
A sawdust maze that smoulders without flame in a cold kamado: cheese, cured salmon or butter, left uncooked
From€40
Reference price on Amazon (June 2026) · subject to change
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- Weight
- 0.3 kg
Quick answer
Yes, if you want to cold-smoke cheese, cured salmon or butter and your kamado will serve as the chamber with the charcoal unlit. It is a 20 x 20 cm sawdust maze that smoulders without flame; Weber promises steady smoke for hours and it fits even a 33 cm MiniMax. Two snags: you source the sawdust outside the catalogue, and Weber never designed it for kamados.
A shallow tray with a spiral channel for sawdust: light one end and the ember works round the maze, giving smoke with barely any heat. Fits any kamado from 33 cm up, not the 27 cm Landmann Mini. Weber does not rate it for kamados.
The Weber 17636 is a cold smoke base: a shallow tray with a spiral channel that you fill with sawdust, light at one end and let smoulder without flame all the way round the maze. The listing gives two sets of measurements that do not agree: 20 x 20 x 3 cm in the title and 33.5 x 33.5 x 7.3 cm at 299 g in the details; we read the second as the packaging, and treat the 299 g quoted alongside it with the same caution. It states the USA as country of origin, promises "steady smoke for hours" for fish, cheese or meat, and the box holds the base and nothing else. Material: not a word.
Cold smoking is the opposite of what a kamado does day to day: here the charcoal stays unlit and the ceramic serves only as a chamber. The base sits on the grate or the deflector, the food goes on a rack above or to one side, dome closed and both vents cracked open so the ember can breathe. The only heat source is that glowing sawdust, so the interior rises little above the outdoor temperature, exactly what a cheese you do not want sweating asks for. That is why cold smoking is an autumn and winter job. Two conditions: the kamado must be stone cold, not fresh from a cook, because the ceramic holds heat for hours; and always outdoors, never in a garage or closed porch, because an ember in a closed box gives off carbon monoxide even with the charcoal unlit.
The fit has to be reasoned out, because the listing never mentions a kamado anywhere. 20 x 20 cm fits with plenty of room on the 46 cm grate of a Large or a Classic; on a 33 cm MiniMax or Joe Jr it goes in with the food on a second level; on a 61 cm XL or Big Joe there is space for everything. Only the 27 cm Landmann Mini falls short: the square's diagonal is 28 cm. At 3 cm tall it steals height from nobody. That said: Weber sells this base as an accessory for its own charcoal barbecues (Weber's own catalogue says so, not this listing), and putting it inside a ceramic chamber is use beyond what the manufacturer declares. The physics is identical, an ember smoking away in a closed box, but the manual is not thinking about your Egg.
The drawbacks, read from the listing and not from the patio, because we have not tested it. The first is the consumable: Weber says sawdust, and the catalogue has neither sawdust nor smoking dust. The channel is designed for fine powder; with coarse chips or chunks it will not get going the same way, and we make no promises that pellets will work. The [guide to smoking woods](/guias/maderas-para-ahumar-kamado) sorts out which wood goes with what. The second is the listing itself: a single bullet, in English ("Outstanding moments."), measurements that contradict each other and no figure for hours that would stand up. Fifty reviews with a 4.4 average and 23rd place in Smokers: it sells little and pleases those who buy it. The third is a matter of craft: damp or badly lit sawdust gives white smoke, and that smoke turns bitter; the [clean smoke guide](/guias/humo-amargo-creosota-humo-limpio-kamado) explains why. And if what you are after is salmon cooked with smoke, that is hot smoking and lives in the [guajillo smoked salmon recipe](/recetas/salmon-ahumado-guajillo); cold smoke calls for fish salted and cured beforehand.
Verdict in one sentence: the right maze for cold smoking inside the kamado you already own, knowing that Weber did not design it for one and that the sawdust is on you.
Fits any kamado from 33 cm up and does one thing: hours of heatless smoke from sawdust. Untested by us, thin listing, and Weber does not rate it for kamados. Physics, though, is on its side.
Editorial rating from spec sheet, measurements and kamado fit · not a hands-on test
Pros
- 20 x 20 cm: fits a 33 cm MiniMax and leaves half the grate free on a 46 cm Large
- Smoulders with the charcoal unlit: the chamber rises little above ambient temperature
- Weber promises steady smoke for hours from sawdust, for fish, cheese or meat
- One piece and nothing else in the box, per the listing: lives in a drawer, no assembly
Cons
- Needs sawdust or smoking dust (none in the catalogue); coarse chips smoulder poorly
- Weber does not rate it for kamados: using it in a ceramic chamber is off the manual
- Thin listing: one bullet in English, sizes that disagree (20 or 33.5 cm) and no material
Who it's for
For anyone who wants to cold-smoke cheese, butter or cured salmon using the unlit kamado as a chamber and does not mind buying the sawdust separately.
Not for
If you want smoke for a hot cook (ribs, brisket, baked fish) this is no use at all: that is a job for chunks on the coals. Nor if you expect a manual that talks about kamados.
Specifications
- Weight
- 0.3 kg
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Goes well with
CIRYCASE Dual-Probe Thermometer, 16.3 cm Probes and Timer
In a cold smoke the enemy is heat you cannot see. An ambient probe hung from the grate next to the cheese tells you whether the chamber is climbing above the outdoor temperature and it is time to open the dome; the second probe, on the far side of the grate, warns you if there is a warmer spot next to the base. It is the cheap way to keep watch over hours of smoke without lifting the lid every so often and losing the atmosphere that takes so long to build.
€20
Campingaz — Gas Torch for Lighting Charcoal
Weber's listing says nothing about lighting and includes no lighter. The sawdust must smoulder, not burn: warm the start of the spiral with a small flame, a tea light or a blowtorch on its lowest setting, until a firm ember forms and advances on its own, and blow out any open flame. The gas blowtorch you already use for charcoal will do at its lowest setting and angled in, without blasting the dust out of the channel; at full power it scatters and ignites it.
€44
Arcos Universal Salmon / Fish Slicing Knife 290 mm
Cold-smoked salmon is enjoyed in long, thin slices, and an ordinary kitchen knife will not produce them. The narrow, flexible blade of a 290 mm salmon knife follows the backbone and cuts on the bias without tearing the cured flesh. If you are buying the base for salmon, this entry-level Spanish knife is what turns the smoked fillet into a presentable plate.
€21
FAQ
Will it fit my kamado, and where does it go?
Every kamado in the catalogue bar the smallest: a 20 cm square has a 28 cm diagonal and will not sit flat on the 27 cm Landmann Mini. It goes on the 33 cm grate of a MiniMax or Joe Jr; a Large, Classic, XL or Big Joe has room for base and food side by side. It sits on the grate or the deflector, always with the charcoal unlit, the food on a rack above. One caveat: the listing gives 20 cm in the title but 33.5 cm in the details; we read the 33.5 as the box, but if that were the base it would not fit a 33 cm grate. Check your diameter.
What fuel does it take, and will the chips or pellets in the catalogue do?
The listing says sawdust, and a maze like this is designed for fine powder that smoulders without flame and burns itself out as it travels the channel. The shavings, chips and chunks in the catalogue are coarse wood meant for hot coals: cold, with no heat beneath them, they neither catch the same way nor advance round the spiral. We have not tested whether pellets work here and make no promises. You will need sawdust or smoking dust of untreated fruitwood, beech or alder, from smoking or fishing suppliers.
What temperature does the kamado sit at, and how long does the smoke last?
Weber only says "for hours", with no figure, and we have not measured it, so we will not give you a number. What we can tell you is that the only heat source is the glowing sawdust, so the chamber rises little above ambient temperature. For cheese or butter that means doing it with cool air outside, in autumn or winter and with the kamado in the shade (the ceramic insulates, and in a small chamber like a MiniMax the ember tells more), and hanging an ambient probe next to the food to check the interior is not climbing. In summer the cheese sweats before it takes on smoke.
How does it differ from the Naisfei cold smoke tube?
The Naisfei tube is a 15 cm stainless steel cylinder loaded with pellets, which the catalogue does stock, and it lies on the grate. The Weber base takes sawdust and sends it round a spiral, so the consumable is different and has to be sourced elsewhere. Which gives more smoke or how long each load lasts we have not compared, and neither listing publishes it. Choose by the fuel you can actually buy and by the room you have on the grate.