>>>I don't seal the grill. My rationale: everyone is making chimney mods to bring it down to grate level. So then... what exactly is the difference between a bit of the smoke leaking out the sides at grate level or not? If cold wind were blowing in those side gaps I could see it being a problem, but that mostly does not occur; mostly it is smoke coming out. Which is fine by me.
IMO the single most valuable mod is to get the chimney down to grate level.<<<
BINGO - once i brought the chimney down to grate level, the vastly-improved draw eliminated the "leaking" smoke, making the gaskets/seals/etc completely unnecessary. having said that., i did address this:
>>>What about the holes in the cover that allow for a rotisserie? DO you block those off some how?<<<
very easily, and at very little cost. at first, i used dryer-vent tape, but this looked a little cheesy, so instead i bought two small screws (machine screws, i think, the kind with a flat tip and a slotted screwdriver head), two locking nuts to fit the screws and four flat washers (the kind with very small holes in the middle - just big enough for the screws to go in). then i covered the rotisserie holes with a washer on each side of the hole secured by the screw - repeat for the other side and that's it. if they are the zinc-plated hardware, be sure to burn the coating off, and once they are on teh smoker, give them a spray of PAM-type cooking spray now and then to keep them "seasoned;" that's it.