I was going to get some for sure ...but... I've done a tri-tip in 30 mph sustained winds and a brisket in an early morn. downpour.
Now I don't even worry.
Open vents work just fine.
Rec-teq's vent covers I've heard are kinda flimsy anyway.
I might rethink if the weather forecast showed an...
Here's what I do: On my Stampede--
light to moderate coat of Heffer Dust or your own SPG blend.
I put steaks in freezer for bout half an hour--cold meat is a smoke magnet.
Low temp on the 590 (180⁰) for bout an hour or till 115⁰ or so internal.
Crank up heat to "full" and flip steaks every 5...
I had a similar with my 590. I had just moved and my shop vac is still at the old house.
I tried to clean out the ash from the fire pot by hand and it worked ok. Three cooks later (last night) I turned on grill to low for some extra smoke. 10 min later: NO START. I had to crank temp way up to...