ProQ is a British brand that has built its name on accessible, well-made charcoal smokers, and the Excel 20 is its flagship bullet. This is a different machine from the kettles elsewhere on this list: it is built for one job, low-and-slow barbecue, and it does it better than anything else here. At around £339 it gives you a tall, insulated body, a stainless water bowl for moisture, three separate intake vents for precise airflow, and the genuinely clever stacker-ring system that lets it grow from two cooking grates to four. If smoked brisket, ribs and pulled pork are your goal, this is the BBQ that earns its place.
Tested June 2026 · last updated June 2026
What we measured
110 Cheld within 5 C for 11 hours 11 hrruntime on one fuel load (minion method) 7,850 cm2max area across 4 stacked grates 3individual intake vents for fine control
ProQ Excel 20 Elite: full specifications | Type | Bullet water smoker (stackable) |
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| Cooking diameter | 50 cm per grate |
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| Grates included | 2 (expandable to 4 with stacker rings) |
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| Max cooking area | Up to ~7,850 cm2 across 4 grates |
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| Water bowl | Stainless steel, for moist low-and-slow |
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| Body | Powder-coated steel with hinged access door |
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| Airflow control | 3 individual intake vents + top exhaust |
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| Lid thermometer | Built-in |
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| Measured hold | 110 C within 5 C over 11 hours |
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| Runtime | 8 to 12 hours per fuel load |
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| Weight | 15 kg |
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| Typical UK price | £339 |
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Who is the ProQ Excel 20 for?
The Excel 20 is the right BBQ if low-and-slow barbecue is genuinely what you want to do: smoked ribs, brisket, pork shoulder and whole birds, cooked gently over many hours until they are meltingly tender. It is built for the cook who has tried smoking on a kettle, enjoyed it, and now wants a machine that makes holding a low temperature effortless. The insulated bullet body, the water bowl and the three precise intake vents are all designed around that single goal, and the stacker rings mean it can scale from a small Sunday cook to a serious party batch. If you dream of pulling apart your own pork shoulder, this is the BBQ to buy.
It is less suited to anyone who wants a general-purpose grill. The Excel 20 is a smoker first: it can sear over the coals with the body removed, but it is fiddly and not its strength, so if you mostly want to grill burgers and steaks quickly, a kettle such as the Weber Master-Touch or the searing-focused Napoleon NK22CK-C is the better tool. Think of the ProQ as a specialist that does its one job superbly, not as a do-everything grill.
How the ProQ Excel 20 performs
Temperature control and the minion method
This is where the Excel 20 is in a class of its own. Set up with the minion method, where a small pile of lit coals slowly ignites a larger bed of unlit charcoal, our example reached a smoking temperature of around 110 C and then held it within about 5 degrees for eleven hours straight on that single load, the tightest and longest temperature hold of anything we tested. The three separate bottom intake vents let you fine-tune the airflow vent by vent, and the insulated body shrugs off changes in the weather that would unsettle a kettle. Once it settles, you barely touch it; you set your vents, walk away, and come back hours later to find it exactly where you left it.
Moisture, capacity and access
The stainless water bowl sits between the fire and the food, and it does two jobs: it steadies the temperature by acting as a heat sink, and it keeps the cooking chamber humid so that long cuts like brisket do not dry out. The real party trick, though, is the modular design. You start with two 50cm grates, and by adding stacker rings you can take it up to four grates and roughly 7,850 cm2 of total cooking area, enough for several racks of ribs and a brisket at once. The hinged access door in the body lets you top up charcoal or water mid-cook without lifting the whole smoker apart and losing your heat, which on an eleven-hour cook is invaluable.
Build and ease of use
At 15 kg the Excel 20 is solidly made from powder-coated steel, and although it is not insulated ceramic, the bullet shape and water bowl give it most of the temperature stability of a far dearer smoker. The built-in lid thermometer read within about 8 degrees of our probe. Lighting and setting up the minion method takes a little learning, perhaps two or three cooks to get your vent settings dialled in, but once you have, it is one of the most forgiving BBQs here to run. The tall stacked design does need a steady hand when full, since you are lifting hot, loaded sections.
The honest downsides
There are two, and both flow from it being a specialist. First, it is a smoker, not a grill: you can cook directly over the coals with the body off, but searing a steak is awkward and not what it is for, so it works best as a second BBQ alongside a kettle, or for someone whose main interest is smoking. Second, the tall stackable design, brilliant for capacity, needs care to handle when fully loaded and hot, as you are lifting heavy sections. Neither is a flaw so much as the nature of a dedicated low-and-slow machine, and at what it is built for, nothing here matches it.
The good
- Held 110 C within 5 C for eleven hours on one load
- Expands from two grates to four (up to ~7,850 cm2)
- Water bowl keeps brisket and pork moist
- Three intake vents give precise airflow control
- Hinged door lets you tend fuel without losing heat
The not-so-good
- A dedicated smoker, awkward for quick searing
- Tall stacked design needs care when full and hot
- Minion method takes a cook or two to learn
- Steel body, not insulated ceramic
Best for: the cook who wants to make proper smoked ribs, brisket and pulled pork with the easiest, longest temperature holds here. Not the pick if you mainly grill and sear (try the Weber Master-Touch or the Napoleon NK22CK-C).
