recteq grills uncovered

[Greg Jones]

There are some here that believe leaving a recteq out in the weather without a cover is a crime punishable by who knows what. Especially if there are pellets left in the hopper. I have two recteq grills (340 and 700) that have been left outside, without being used, since March 5, 2023 (not a typo, over a year ago) without a cover. Now the grills are under a deck, but that doesn’t shield them from anything other than the sun when it comes to weather as the rain continues to pelt them. In full disclosure, the grill and the pellet hoppers have been sealed. After a post here today that one would be negligent by leaving their grill uncovered, I went out and started my RT-700. The picture tells it all-no problems, fully functional immediately, no issues with the pellets. So my advice is seal your lid and hopper and don’t worry about anything else. If it gets rained on, even for over a year, it won’t be a big deal. Carry on.

 

[Motodad1776]

On a fully stock RT I would say no, and most won't go the lengths that you and some others have done to make our grills more weatherproof and perhaps even better running. So many have posted having issues with their pellets getting soaked and turning into a nightmare in their auger, and the inside of their grills getting swamped and destroying their igniter, so it does matter IMHO what model grill you have and what "mods" have been done. I don't want rain/snow and blazing sun ravaging my grill and the display/controller, but you have made a "strong case" that a properly sealed and modified grill and the involved pellets can be very weather resilient.

 

[SmokeOCD]

As long as it's not a 1070.

 

[Greg Jones]

I’ll also mention that I still have a B-380, also sealed, uncovered, and not used in over a year. The only problem I ever had with an auger freeze in 5 years of pellet grilling was when I spilled a drip pan inside it as there is no where for the water to go but directly inside the fire pot. Now I have a Yoder with a sealed pellet hopper, and I did have an auger freeze that I’m still not happy about as I keep it covered.

 

[Greg Jones]

As long as it's not a 1070.

I fully understand and appreciate your situation!

 

[SmokeOCD]

Since we're talking about this. If the sun is shining on your grill and you look inside the corners/seams - do you see light? I'm wondering if that's what helps your grill be a little more water resistant.

If I could have a new one out of the box right now - fully welding or at least silver soldering all the seams would have produced a much different recteq experience for me. I already have the lava lock - that's not it.

 

[Gonefishin]

Sacrilege.

 

[TheRicker]

@Greg Jones …what do you mean by “fully sealed”? I just bought a tube of high-temp sealant because I’m seeing some sealant peeling off at the base of the hopper (when I fully clean the unit) and also around the fire pot in the main part of the barrel.

I need / want to fully understand what all needs to be caulked…and any other meaningful preventive maintenance I should perform.

 

[kstone113]

I think the issue with leaving uncovered depends on which grill. The Bullseyes or any grill with the vents appears to have issues with rain which I believe includes the 590 now.

That being said, my Bull has been uncovered for probably a year. I have a cover I've been meaning to have a zipper installed for the Bull and if I had that, I could cover more but the Bull has been fine leaving uncovered however I've left my Bullseye uncovered a few times and water got in. Now I always cover my Bullseye before going to bed.

 

[C. Keeper]

I thought this was a conspiracy theory thread....Ooops

 

[AlphaPapa]

I just noticed my yellow, uncovered, on a covered deck 590 today and was wishing I had put the cover on it a couple of weeks ago!

 

[houseman]

There are some here that believe leaving a recteq out in the weather without a cover is a crime punishable by who knows what. Especially if there are pellets left in the hopper. I have two recteq grills (340 and 700) that have been left outside, without being used, since March 5, 2023 (not a typo, over a year ago) without a cover. Now the grills are under a deck, but that doesn’t shield them from anything other than the sun when it comes to weather as the rain continues to pelt them. In full disclosure, the grill and the pellet hoppers have been sealed. After a post here today that one would be negligent by leaving their grill uncovered, I went out and started my RT-700. The picture tells it all-no problems, fully functional immediately, no issues with the pellets. So my advice is seal your lid and hopper and don’t worry about anything else. If it gets rained on, even for over a year, it won’t be a big deal. Carry on.

View attachment 21473

Why would you go a year without using the grill?

 

[El Jefe]

Out of curiosity what are you doing to “ seal” your hoppers?

 

[BNeal]

I think what the OP is referring to is LavaLock felt tape. I used it to seal the lid to reduce heat and smoke leaks.
https://www.amazon.com/Lavalock-Nom...prefix=heat+resistant+felt+tape,aps,94&sr=8-2

 

[Motodad1776]

Why would you go a year without using the grill?

Probably because he has more than a few cooking apparatuses.

 

[GrillDoc]

There are some here that believe leaving a recteq out in the weather without a cover is a crime punishable by who knows what. Especially if there are pellets left in the hopper. I have two recteq grills (340 and 700) that have been left outside, without being used, since March 5, 2023 (not a typo, over a year ago) without a cover. Now the grills are under a deck, but that doesn’t shield them from anything other than the sun when it comes to weather as the rain continues to pelt them. In full disclosure, the grill and the pellet hoppers have been sealed. After a post here today that one would be negligent by leaving their grill uncovered, I went out and started my RT-700. The picture tells it all-no problems, fully functional immediately, no issues with the pellets. So my advice is seal your lid and hopper and don’t worry about anything else. If it gets rained on, even for over a year, it won’t be a big deal. Carry on.

View attachment 21473

When you say “sealed,” Greg, what do you mean? A bead of silicone around the hamper for the pellets, of just closed. Thanks.

 

[Pacman]

@GrillDoc Greg presumably meant to use some Lavalock tape (or similar) on the lids of both the cooker and the pellet hopper. It really makes a difference in my opinion.

 

[Pacman]

Oh, and since I'm here already (actually the reason I came to this thread), guess what's now on a Recteq cover for the 700/1250/1100?

Wait for it...

A zipper! I just replaced my aging cover and was pleasantly surprised. I guess Recteq listens to some things.

 

[Greg Jones]

@Greg Jones …what do you mean by “fully sealed”? I just bought a tube of high-temp sealant because I’m seeing some sealant peeling off at the base of the hopper (when I fully clean the unit) and also around the fire pot in the main part of the barrel.

I need / want to fully understand what all needs to be caulked…and any other meaningful preventive maintenance I should perform.

Sorry for the delayed response-it’s been a busy time here. What I mean by fully sealed is using the LavaLock grill tape to seal around the lid (most common use) and in my case I seal the pellet hopper also.

Also, on another topic that we discussed and won’t make sense to this thread-I saw an old PBS video of Rodney Scott and Sean Brock before Rodney even had his Charleston restaurant, and he mentioned that one of his favorite woods to smoke with was Live Oak.

 

[darkmeat]

I am interested in the LavaLock. I have a 1070, which I love but it is definitely not rain proof. Rain gets in while cooking, and during a heavy rain while not cooking the electronics were completely fried. I have a cover now for when not cooking but while cooking I have resorted to aluminum foil and high temp magnets to cover (loosely) the gap in the lid and keep rain from dripping on my meat...
My questions for the OP, and others:
Does LavaLock keep the rain out effectively?
Does it affect the temperature hold of the grill? (My 1070 is dialed in very nicely and I would not want to muck that up)
My pellet box has had no issues with rain, for which i am grateful.