Holding temps

First step is figure where your CS will hold at around 140º.

Temp will go up in the meat for awhile,and drop a few degrees /hr after that .

Depending on the meat ,eight hrs is not out of the question.

I'd keep it packed together.

This is talking large pieces.

Small pieces,the quality will begin to suffer after a couple,or three hrs.

I don't use a cooler unless I need to transport the meat. Otherwise I'll just turn off the smoker, open the smoker door to vent some of the heat, then let it rest right in the smoker.

There's less to clean up and the bark isn't affected. If the internal meat temp gets near 140 and I need to hold it for a little longer, I just turn on the smoker to 140.