Can You Use a Smoker Under an Awning?

No, and that includes electric smokers. Masterbuilt's electric smoker manuals say "Never operate unit under overhead construction such as roof coverings, carports, awnings, or overhangs," and ask for "a minimum distance of 10ft (3m) from overhead construction, walls, rails or other structures." Pit Boss, Camp Chef, Master Forge and Landmann all rule out overhead construction for their smokers too, and Weber keeps its charcoal smoker 5 ft from any combustible material. The only manual checked for this page that lets anything sit above a smoker is Traeger's pellet grill manual, and it wants 40 inches (1 m) of clear air. On a patio with an awning, retract the awning and set the smoker the manual's distance from the wall and the roll.

Two answers circulate on barbecue forums. One says a smoker is not a grill: it runs low and slow, makes smoke rather than flame, and an electric one has no fire at all, so an awning or covered patio is fine and keeps the rain off a long cook. The other says never, with no figure attached. The manuals settle it, and the surprise is which way: the electric smoker, the one people trust most under cover, carries the strictest rule in the set. The figures below come from ten owner's manuals for electric, charcoal, propane and pellet smokers, read in October 2026.

What the smoker manuals say

Each row is the smoker's own manual. Where a manual gives two figures in different sections, both are shown; the larger one is the one to rely on.

Three things stand out. Seven of the eight rows forbid an overhead cover outright or, in Weber's case, set a distance that fabric overhead would have to meet. Only the Traeger allows a cover, and it is a grill used for smoking rather than a cabinet smoker. And the side distances run from 12 in for pellet units to 10 ft for electric and propane cabinets, a wider spread than for grills, where Weber's US gas manual asks for 24 in; the grill figures are in can you grill under an awning.

Electric smokers: why the strictest rule is on the one without a flame

Masterbuilt's electric smokers have a heating element, not a burner, and people reasonably assume that makes them safe under cover. The manual's own warning box explains why it does not: "Burning wood chips gives off carbon monoxide, which has no odor and can cause death. DO NOT burn wood chips inside homes, vehicles, tents, garages or any enclosed areas." An electric smoker is still a wood fire in a box.

The same manuals list "patios" among the enclosed areas where the smoker is never to be used, in the same line as garages, buildings and tents. The MES 20B and 25B is sold as a "Patio-2-Portable" smoker, and its manual still says never inside enclosed areas such as patios, never under awnings, and 10 ft from walls. Masterbuilt also wants the unit on the ground: "Do not place unit on tables or counters," on a level noncombustible surface such as dirt, concrete, brick or rock, and not on a wooden surface. A wooden deck under an awning fails twice; deck awnings covers what does belong there.

"I need the awning to keep the rain off": what the manuals say instead

The usual reason for wanting a smoker under the awning is weather: a long cook and a shower halfway through it. The Masterbuilt electric manuals answer that directly, and not in the way people hope: "Do not expose electric smoker to rain or water at anytime." The manual does not offer the awning as the fix; it rules out both the rain and the awning. For an electric smoker, the manual's answer to a wet forecast is to not smoke that day.

The charcoal and propane manuals are less explicit about rain, but Weber, Camp Chef and Master Forge all warn against using the smoker in high wind, and a retractable awning should be rolled up in that wind anyway. Whether the awning itself can stay out in a shower is a separate question, answered in can retractable awnings stay out in rain.

Pellet smokers: the one allowance, and why it is narrow

Traeger is the only manual in the set that allows overhead combustibles: "When operating this grill under overhead combustibles, a MINIMUM of 40 inches (1 m) is required." Pit Boss, whose pellet units run on the same principle, says the opposite for its vertical smokers: "This wood pellet appliance must not be placed under overhead combustible ceiling or overhang." So two pellet makers disagree, and the rule that applies is the one in your own manual. A Pit Boss vertical smoker does not borrow Traeger's allowance.

Even for a Traeger, 40 in is hard to find under a patio awning. The awning mounting height guide works from at least 80 in (6 ft 8 in) of headroom under the front bar. Under a front bar at 80 in, the highest point of the grill, with the lid open and including the chimney, would have to be 40 in off the patio or lower. Nearer the wall the fabric is higher, but so is the smoke: it rises straight into the underside of the cover for the whole cook.

Charcoal and propane smokers: read the danger box, not just the setup page

Weber's Smokey Mountain Cooker manual has no overhead line at all, which is why it gets quoted as permission. It is not. Its rule is "Do not use this smoker within five feet of any combustible material," with no direction given, so it applies above the smoker as much as beside it. An awning would need its lowest fabric or valance 5 ft above the top of the lid, and the guide also asks for the smoker to be placed "away from buildings."

Camp Chef and Master Forge each print two figures for their propane cabinet smokers. The setup pages say 36 in to combustibles; the danger boxes at the front say never within 10 ft (3 m) of any structure, combustible material or other gas cylinder. The 10 ft line is the one to use near a house and an awning. Landmann's vertical charcoal smoker asks for "at least 24 inches" from any structure, and its metric conversion is misprinted as 6.1 cm (24 in is 61 cm), a reminder to work in the manual's inches. All three still say never under overhead construction, so the side distance is measured from the edge of the awning, not from beneath it.

What the smoke does to the awning fabric

Fire is the reason the manuals give, but the fabric pays in stains too. A smoker vents for hours, and the smoke and grease it carries rise into the underside of the fabric, the face that is hardest to reach with a brush.

Sunbrella's own awning care sheet (REV 06-2023) has no entry for smoke. Its nearest guidance is for oil-based spills: blot with an absorbent such as cornstarch, then "use Sunbrella Extract Oil Based Stain Remover or treat with a strong degreaser and rinse thoroughly." It also warns that "full removal is not always guaranteed if spills are not addressed promptly," and that after a bleach solution, re-treatment for water and stain resistance "will be necessary." A season of smoke film is a slow, unattended spill across the whole underside. The stain-by-stain method is in awning stain removal, and how acrylic, polyester and vinyl differ is in the awning fabric guide. A flame-retardant rating does not change any of this; the guide to awning fire ratings explains what NFPA 701 does and does not certify.

Where to put the smoker: a routine for a house with an awning

1. Retract the awning before you light the smoker or plug it in. Then the manual's distance is measured from the house wall, the rolled fabric and the brackets, which is much shorter than measuring from an extended front bar.
2. Use your manual's figure, and the larger one if it gives two. 10 ft for a Masterbuilt electric, a Camp Chef Smoke Vault or a Master Forge gas smoker; 5 ft for a Weber Smokey Mountain; 24 in for the Landmann; 12 in for a Pit Boss or Traeger pellet unit.
3. If the awning has to stay out, add the projection. Measure from the valance, which hangs in front of and below the front bar. The projection and pitch guide shows where the bar ends up for common sizes.
4. Keep the propane cylinder in its own clearance. Camp Chef and Master Forge both say never within 10 ft of another gas cylinder, so the spare stays away from the smoker. Where a cylinder may sit relative to the awning is an NFPA 58 question, covered in can you put a propane tank under an awning.
5. Put the smoker on concrete, brick or bare ground. Masterbuilt and Landmann both name noncombustible surfaces and rule out wood decks.

Under a metal or polycarbonate patio cover

Here the wording matters. Pit Boss and Traeger write "overhead combustible," so a solid aluminum roof with no wood framing above the smoker is not what their lines describe, though their 12 in still applies to posts and walls. Masterbuilt, Camp Chef, Master Forge and Landmann drop the qualifier and say "overhead construction," and Masterbuilt adds "roof coverings" and "carports." An aluminum cover does not get one of those smokers under it, and their structure distances (10 ft for Masterbuilt, Camp Chef and Master Forge) apply to the cover's posts and beams.

Polycarbonate panels are plastic and should be treated as combustible, as should wood rafters and fascia. The difference between these covers is set out in metal and polycarbonate awnings, and if a sheltered cooking area is the goal, awning vs patio cover explains why a roofed structure, planned around a specific appliance and its manual, is the better project.

Apartments, condos and the fire code

At a single-family house or duplex the fire code sets no distance, and the manual is the rule. In an apartment or condo building it steps in. Section 308.1.4 of the International Fire Code (2015 text, as published by the City of Troy, Michigan) says "charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices shall not be operated on combustible balconies or within 10 feet (3048 mm) of combustible construction," with exceptions for one- and two-family dwellings, sprinklered buildings, and LP-gas devices on a nominal 1 pound cylinder. A charcoal smoker is a charcoal burner, and a propane cabinet smoker on a 20 lb cylinder gets no help from the small-cylinder exception. Camp Chef adds its own line: not on or under an apartment or condominium balcony or deck. How the same section treats grills, including electric ones, is laid out in can you grill under an awning.

Where this answer stops applying

• Other models. These are ten manuals, not every smoker sold, and they range from 12 in to 10 ft. If yours names a larger figure or a stricter rule, use it. Clearances sit in the danger box at the front and the safety pages that follow.
• Offset and stick burners. No offset or wood-fired stick burner manual was checked for this page, so no figure here applies to them.
• Restaurants and caterers. Every manual in the table is for household use. Commercial smoking under a canopy is a fire marshal question; see restaurant awnings.
• Other appliances on the same patio. Turkey fryers and pizza ovens have their own manual figures, collected in can you use a turkey fryer under an awning and can you use a pizza oven under an awning.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use an electric smoker under a covered patio?

Not a Masterbuilt. Its electric smoker manuals say never under roof coverings, carports, awnings or overhangs, list patios among the enclosed areas not to use it in, and ask for 10 ft from overhead construction and walls. The wood chips it burns give off carbon monoxide, which is why the heating element does not change the rule.

How far should a smoker be from an awning?

Out from under it, plus the manual's distance from the wall and the roll (awning retracted) or from the front bar and valance (awning extended): 10 ft for Masterbuilt electric, Camp Chef Smoke Vault and Master Forge gas smokers, 5 ft for a Weber Smokey Mountain, 24 in for Landmann's vertical charcoal smoker, 12 in for Pit Boss and Traeger pellet units.

Can a pellet smoker go under an awning?

It depends on the maker, and here is the split: Traeger's manual allows overhead combustibles with at least 40 in (1 m) of clearance, while Pit Boss says its vertical pellet smokers must not be placed under an overhead combustible ceiling or overhang. Follow your own manual, and expect smoke staining under the fabric either way.

Sources and further reading

• Masterbuilt: MES 10B electric bullet smoker manual, models MB20077218 to MB26077318
• Masterbuilt: MES 20B and 25B Patio-2-Portable electric smoker manual, models MB20073716 and MB20073816
• Weber: Smokey Mountain Cooker smoker owner's guide, 18.5 in and 22.5 in
• Landmann: Easy Access Two Drawer vertical charcoal smoker instructions, 3425CLA and 3495CLA
• Camp Chef: Smoke Vault 18 instruction manual, model SMV18S-4
• Master Forge (Lowe's): 2-Door Gas Smoker manual, model MFX784BDP
• Pit Boss (Dansons): Copperhead wood pellet vertical smoker 3-Series manual, PBV3P1
• Pit Boss (Dansons): wood pellet vertical smoker manual, PBV5P1
• Pit Boss (Dansons): wood pellet smoker 7-Series manual, PBV7P1
• Traeger: Timberline owner's manual
• Sunbrella (Glen Raven): Shade fabrics care and cleaning, REV 06-2023
• City of Troy, Michigan: International Fire Code 2015, Section 308 Open Flame Cooking Devices