So it?s official ? the #1 can?t handle 4 racks on 4 grates. I have done 2 and three racks (cut in half) no problem before. I always do our standard mustard/rub/rest in fridge 5-5.5 hrs no peek and they come out amazing!  This was a fail! 

The internal temp never got beyond 205 after 5.5 hours. They are cooked, and def falling off the bone (not my ideal pref), but they def didn?t produce any bark. I suspect because the moisture inside was too much for the smoke and lack of heat to contend with, and perhaps the bottom rack was too close to the smoke box preventing appropriate circulation?  Your thoughts appreciated. Do I need a rib rack?  And yes, I know I need a #2 or #3 by now, but alas I do not have one yet. For now, help me solve this problem. I am cooking a ton of ribs (and vac sealing and freezing) in advance of a party in 2 weeks. I have 2 racks done from last weekend but these 4 imo are not presentation worthy.

LarryD, that's good too! Whatever works for our use. Seems like Thermoworks makes good products.

I should add for anyone who runs across this post that the Auber app can be nice if you're ready to spend some time figuring it out. You can do things like slowly ramp up temp for bacon smoke, start out at low temp for more smoke from a smoke tray and then have it raise the temp automatically after a couple hours, have the smoker temp lower to "warming temp" after reaching a certain internal temp, watch the progress and have notifications on your phone even if you're not on site, etc. The graph to track how long the smoke goes, and how the internal temp moves along can be a bonus for the next smoke, too.
It takes some slogging through, and the manual is not great, but there can be some benefits.

First Smoke on the 3D has been completed and the resulting Pork Butt appearance, Bark, and Taste were fantastic.   Based on the first run I made a few notes / recommendations for the next time and have a couple questions for the group.
 - Two Butt's may be better than one:    My adult children ate a lot and one took some left-overs.   Seems that the delta in quantity of work for 2-Butt's vs 1 is minimal and I will have a few more left-overs.
-  The first smoke was done after Brining, and the only issue is that a 8.84# Butt took over 17 hours at 225F to reach 195F which was a little more than I expected.   Next time I will try un-brined and see what happens.
-  Less fluid needed in moisture pan:   I had no idea how much would evaporate so I filled the pan 3/4 full of Apple Juice and there was a lot left over.   Next time I am planning on ~ 3 Cups and later will experiment with Water vs Juice.
-  The Smoke finished Saturday evening for Sunday brunch.   I pulled the meat after the 2 hour rest and then re-heated the next day.   The moisture level was fine but next time I will try keeping it double wrapped, then re-heat while wrapped and pull when it is time to serve.   ( Note I smoked it a day early as I was unsure on smoking time and didn't want to wait for the meat or undercut the time wrapped in foil before pulling.   Glad I did as the time was longer than expected)

Questions:
1:  How much fluid do you add to the bread pan for moisture?
2:  Have you noticed a difference in the stall duration between a brined and un-brined Butt?    I was thinking that the extra moisture in a brined Butt may extend the stall time?
3:  With unpredictable smoke durations, what have you found as the best method to store and re-heat if you plan to serve the next day.

Thank you

Took the plunge and have a 3D on order with expected delivery tomorrow.   After seasoning it on Thursday, the plan is to christen it with a Pork Butt this weekend.

Wish me luck!

Richard

I like your thinking Larry!