Is this normal????

It is in the plateau. Turn it up all the way. It will be at 195* soon. Hopefully you are not using an extension cord. How big is the butt? What temp setting has it been on all this time?

Good job!

i put the butt on around midnight. It weighes 7.68*. The butt had sat a room temp for several hours. I put it in and set the temp to 200. At 6 am it was 140 so I turned it up to 225* The temp of meat went up 25 degrees in a little over 4 hours. The temperature dropped 4 degrees and has been stuck at 161 for 8 hours!!!! Since I turned it up to 250* it has gone up 10 degrees so it is NOW at 171.
I know I was told to ignor the cooking times in the booklet I got with the smoker BUT it has been 21 hours!!! I am now coming to realize it is better to cook everything prior to having guests! I am soo glad this was a practice run!! I was hoping tohave it for dinner but was not really counting on it!!
The smell alone is drving me nuts!!! It this tastes anything like it smells it is going to be well worth the wait!
Is it true, the more I use my smoker the better cook time I will get? Also is it taking so long since it was not full??? I am trying to follow all of the advice I am getting and reading here. Maybe I am a little impatient!!!

Ya, That seems right on track. I just did an 8 lb er and started it at 200 then in the morning went to 225. It took 22 hrs. The next one that was exactly the same size I started at 225 for the duration and that one took 18. Both were great. I am starting mine now at 8 to 9 the evening before because each time it seems I get put in a rush.

The last 10 degrees will go faster but not by much.

Yep, I would put them in 24 hours before I wanted to eat from now on, and at 225*.

Yes, the smoker should get more efficient over time as it gets more seasoned and also with a full load.

Does this butt happen to be boneless? They usually take longer.

I have had several 8 pounder bone-in butts go 25 hours to 195-205*, and that is with turning up to 250* during plateau.

Your butt was definitely in the plateau for a while. You did good to crank it up. Don't get frustrated.

Lots of good BBQ is cooked at 250* or even higher in great big offset or similar pits without temp control or themometer and the cook never even knows what temp he/she is cooking at.

thanks for the advice/encouragement! It has been almost 24 hours and it is at 185. I am guessing it will hit 195 within 2 more hours!
Once it reaches 195*, I pull it off and wrap in aluminum foil and wrap in a towel and put in a cooler to rest. How long does it rest???? Can i leave it int eh smoker at 140 till tomorrow afternoon????

If you are not going to eat until tomorrow, I would let it rest uncovered on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes, then shred with forks, eat a sammich or 2, put it all into an airtight container in the fridge until tomorrow, then reheat in portions as you need it. Reheat 2-sammich portions in 1 minute intervals in microwave safe bowl at power lever 7, covered.

How bout dat?