No heat. It’s a cold smoke. There’s hickory pellets in the tube at the front on the lower grate. Light one end and that’s the smoke generator. I’ll let it go about 2.5 - 3 hours. I’ll vacuum pack each block and let it sit in the fridge for a minimum of 2 weeks. This mellows the smoke flavor. Otherwise it would be way too strong. It smells like an ashtray right off the grill.