Do I need a controller to run my Smokeslinger?

No. A Mini or Full Size Smokeslinger runs itself for hours unattended on a long-burn fire, set up in whatever mode you like, with or without a fan. This plate is for folks who already own a controller and want to use it, not something the pit needs.

Which controllers work with it?

Just about any fan/PID controller. The plate comes with a 1 inch male pipe thread fitting, which is the common controller standard, and it adapts to other pipe thread sizes with standard hardware-store parts if yours is different. Your fan and controller stay your own gear.

It's designed for the Mini and Full Size Smokeslinger direct-heat cookers. It also bolts up on the Liberty94 if you want to run it there, though the Liberty94 is an offset and still needs tending like any offset does. It's not made for the EmberForge.

How close can the fan be to the fire?

Keep at least 3 inches between the plate and the fan, using a 3 inch or longer pipe nipple. Never run it shorter than that. Too close and the heat can melt the fan blades.

Zero tools. It slides onto the spring-loaded firebox-door air inlet, you rotate it to cover the inlet hole, and the center hole lines up with the fire so the fan feeds air straight in. Works with any mode or method you run.

Do I need to do anything special when I open the lid?

Yes, one thing. Closing the lid on ANY smoker pushes a puff of hot air backward through the fan, and that can melt the fan blades. Before you close the lid, crack the air-inlet door for a minute so the air moves out through the door instead of back through your fan.

Can I use it in smokers besides the Smokeslinger?

Yep. It's a free-standing basket with its own legs, no rails and no mounting hardware, so it isn't locked to one pit. It's built and sized for the Full Size Smokeslinger, Mini Smokeslinger, and Liberty94, but because it just sets down on the floor it drops into most any cooker with room for it. Plenty of folks run it in other pits. If you've got the space for it, it'll work.

Will it work in an offset smoker?

It will. The Forever basket sits right down on the firebox or cook-chamber floor of an offset and holds your coal bed together, charcoal or wood. There's nothing to bolt on and nothing to modify. Set it where you want the fire and go.

Will it fit larger or smaller offset smokers?

Both. The basket measures 12 inches wide by 18 inches long by 9 inches tall with 3 inch legs, so it tucks into smaller fireboxes and works just as well set into a big rig. On a larger pit you've got room to position it wherever you want the heat, and on a smaller one it keeps a tidy, contained fire. As long as your firebox has room for a 12 by 18 footprint, you're good.

Which Smokeslinger pits does it fit?

All of them, the Full Size Smokeslinger, the Mini Smokeslinger, and the Liberty94. One basket covers the whole line. Inside a Full Size or Mini drawer it goes in place of the insert, and on the Liberty94 it sets right into the firebox.

Can I run the basket and the insert at the same time?

No, inside the drawer it's one or the other. You've got three ways to set it up. You can run the drawer with the insert, the drawer with the Forever basket, or the basket standing on its own on the pit floor. Pick whichever the cook calls for.

What's the advantage of a self-standing basket?

You can move the fire itself, not just the airflow. Because it stands on its own legs you can slide it to one end for an offset run, shift it for a two-zone cook, or reposition it as the cook changes, all with a poker and mid-cook if you want. On the Mini that's a real difference, because the standard drawer sits fixed dead center. This is how you put the fire right where you want it.

Does it work for offset, reverse flow, and two-zone cooks?

Yes. Move the basket where the heat needs to be and set your plates and dampers to match, whether that's offset, reverse flow, or a two-zone setup. The movable fire is what makes all three easy to dial in.

Can I use it for wood, or just charcoal?

Both, and it's a strong wood basket. More open steel means more combustion air reaching the fire, so it runs a hotter, more active wood fire than the drawer and insert do. Load it with charcoal, splits, or a mix.

What's it made of, and where's it built?

1/4 inch laser-cut mild carbon steel, built in Kaufman, TX, the same steel and the same shop as the pits.

Fan Controller Adapter Plate

Name: Fan Controller Adapter Plate
Brand: Smokeslinger™
SKU: FADAPT-PLATE
Price: 29.95 USD
Availability: InStock

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$29.95

Your Smokeslinger doesn't need a controller. But if you already run a fan or PID controller and you like it, this is how you put it to work on your pit.

The Fan Controller Adapter Plate is a formed 16-gauge carbon steel plate that connects your own fan/PID controller to the firebox-door air inlet. Smokeslinger makes the plate. The fan and controller stay your gear.

Fits: Mini and Full Size Smokeslinger (direct-heat). Bolts up on the Liberty94 too.
Fitting: 1" male pipe thread (NPT), adaptable 1" to 1.5" with standard hardware-store parts.
Installs with zero tools.

Run Your Own Controller

✅ Fits Mini and Full Size Smokeslinger
✅ Uses your own fan/PID controller
✅ Installs with zero tools
✅ 16-gauge formed carbon steel

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You don't need a fan. This is for folks who already run one.

Set up in whatever mode you like, a Mini or Full Size Smokeslinger will run itself for hours unattended on a long-burn fire, with or without a controller. So let's be straight up front: this plate is not what makes your pit set-and-forget. The pit already does that on its own.

What the plate is for is simple. A lot of folks come to a Smokeslinger already owning a fan/PID controller they like, plenty of them from the pellet world, and they want to run that same gear on their new pit. The Fan Controller Adapter Plate is how you do it. Smokeslinger builds the plate. Your fan and your controller stay your own.

How It Works

What it is

A D-shaped, 16-gauge formed carbon steel plate. A notch grabs the damper hardware, a center hole carries a 1" pipe-thread fitting for your fan. Simple on purpose.

How it mounts

Zero tools. It slides onto the spring-loaded firebox-door air inlet, then rotates to cover the inlet hole. The center hole lines up with the fire so your fan pulses air straight in.

Your fan, your controller

Standard 1" male pipe thread, adaptable 1" to other pipe thread sizes with hardware-store parts. Works with essentially any fan/PID controller you already own.