You would use the flavor packs I mentioned earlier with such a grill. They give the smoke flavoring withour the gas. Here are directions:
FLAVOR PACKS
(can be used with gas or charcoal grills)

1 bag FIRESPICE mesquite chips
1 bucket cold water
1 cup whiskey
1 small bottle COLQUIN'S liquid smoke

1. Combine all liquid ingredients in bucket.
2. Add Mesquite chips.
3. Soak at least 2 hours (I prefer to soak overnight).
4. Wrap drained (but still wet) chips in heavy-duty aluminum foil rolls; leaving the ends open for the smoke to escape.
5. Place on top of prepared charcoal or lava briquets (on gas grill).
6. Meats will absorb the smoke flavoring; aluminum foil will prevent wood from catching on fire.

Let me know how this works out for you the next time you barbeque, H80. It is an old trick passed down from my maternal grandfather many years ago. I thought it strange the first time I heard it as a little boy; but my parents tried it and swore by it for life.

Unfortunately, Joe, there is no space to hold the charcoal/lava briquets on the new BBQ, compared with the old unit we have. My sister is still thinking of ways to do it.

From the bottom to the top:

1. flame unit
2. shield
3. lower rack for direct grilling
4. upper rack for longer cooking

On the old unit, the shield would be where the briquets/lava rocks would be situated at, between the flame unit and the lower grill rack. But the old unit is 16 years old, and one of the flame units is defective. So a new BBQ was necessary. The old unit will be taken apart and thrown away.

I kind of wish my family was bigger, but we can't grill for two people and two dogs. Oh well, as they say.

Ok...What you're saying is your grill doesn't have the lava bricks, right? Does your flame units have the covers/shields over them? If so, put the wrapped wood chips on the bottom of the grill between the flame units.

I actually get those mini rectangle aluminum pans (you get 2-4 in a pack, and they're about 6 inches long, 4 inches wide, 1 inch deep) and put my wood chips in those, cover with foil, poke holes in foil to allow steam to escape, then sit between the flame burners and let the grill heat up for 15 minutes before cooking on it. The grill makes enough heat that the bottom of the grill is as hot as the lava bricks get and you get a nice smoke going.

Yeah, my grill does not have the lava bricks. It does have the shield over the flame unit.

Perhaps I will try that on Saturday or Sunday (oh man, another ten days of baseball to follow, and I am going to be a tired old bear. )

Thanks, I highlighted, copied, and pasted onto Word, so I can print it out. Thanks for the advice, Joe and Ali.

You're more then welcome Highway...

By the way,forgot to mention...IF you have enough room between the flame shields and the rack, you can always place the woodchips on top of the shields and rack as well. For more direct heating and smoking. I'm not sure how many burners yours has though (mine has 4 so I use the two outter edge flame units occassionally). Just don't put any meat over the woodchip holders if doing it that way, unless you like a realy smoky meat.

Mine has two burners like this, Ali: -+-

The old unit had four. When I grilled hamburgers at Retreat last month, it was a bigger unit, with eight burners. The grill probably was more than twice the size of my new unit.

It was so smoky, that smoke got into my eyes, and I constantly had to use a wet towel to wipe my eyes with.

My sister is thinking of ideas, but I'll pass this on to her. We might grill tomorrow after I get home from working at the ballpark.

I also use the bigger foil pans filled with water; with the flavor packs on the heat source when I want to smoke larger cuts of meat like roasts or turkeys. Either way; you will not be disappointed!

Ali and Joe: My sister bought a bag of wood chips, soaked them in a pail, poured the water into a sieve, and put the wet wood chips onto a baking pan. Then she placed the foil pan on the rack. Then we ignited the bbq. The technique worked okay. Just a way of experimenting with it, I guess.

One thing I found out that she pressed the ignition button before she realized that the fuel valve was not turned on. That caused the BBQ to work in a low setting. Once I saw that the steaks were not cooked the way they were supposed to, I went back outside, turned the fuel valve again, and relighted the grill.

More flame came out, and it worked better that time.

Sounds great! Now you can experiment with smoking larer cuts of meat this way. Turkeys are excellent. Beef Briskets are also good. Larger cuts take longer to cook; but are well worth the wait.

Unfortunately, Joe, my sister is allergic to the gobblers. As for the rest, summer is coming, and we can experiment with the rest.