Max hold time for butts

That's gonna be variable based on the weight of the meat (thermal mass), the temp you started holding it at, the amount of air in the cooler, the amount of other thermal mass, the efficiency of your cooler, etc. The main rule of thumb is to not let it drop into the "danger zone" below 145 or 140 or whatever. Could be quite a while....6 or 8 hours. Could be a lot less too.

This is like the inverse to the question "at what temp is brisket done?".

2 butts in a cheap cooler wrapped in foil will be good for at least for hours. You can get a lot longer with a better cooler, adding towels, more butts, etc.. but that is a pretty safe rule.

so what do you plan to do with them after you pull them? Think I would want to pull at 8am then into a cooler then pull as late as possible but time constraints are really tough at times

Duey said:

I'm planning on taking 3 roasts off my PBC around midnight, wrapping in towels, closing them up in a good cooler, and pulling in the morning for a grad party that starts at noon. Pulling the roasts around 8 am was kinda my target.

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Without knowing any more about a lot of the variables that could affect safe holding time, I'm going to say that's too long. You're talking holding the whole butts for 8 hours, then holding the shredded meat for another 4 hours. Not only is that unsafe, but the shredded meat is likely to be dried out and flavorless after sitting for 4 hours.

If I were in your shoes, I would just cook the butts ahead of time, rest and shred them like you normally would, then immediately vacuum seal and freeze the meat. Re-heat using the method of your choice right before serving. Keep tightly covered during the re-heat to preserve as much moisture and flavor as possible.

12 hours unrefrigerated is not considered safe. Pork reheats pretty well, just reserve juices when unwrapping (or make a braise) to mix in to keep it moist.

It will last longer in the cooler if you put in hot water first and get the cooler hot Putting 3 butts in the cooler could make the cooler like an oven and the butts continue to cook I do think 8 hrs is a bit much for the rest

In theory a long time. This is the heat retention time for a Sint-Plast GB7 food transport container (military unit made for US & NATO). If the interior is pre-heated with very hot water, food placed inside at 205* will sill be over the "safe" 140* mark 36 hours later with a 70* ambient air temp outside the container. No I'm not advocating holding food that long, but temp wise it is possibly to hold over the 140* mark for a very long time in the right container.

These are awesome containers if you can find a good one at military surplus outlet. Heavy as crap though. And yes, a standard hotel pan does fit in there perfectly. Boiling water underneath for hot food service or ice for cold

I'm comfortable with 5 hrs. YMMV.

I have done holding in a cooler and in Sint-Plast containers many times. Usually for lunch events which means I start the day before and smoke all night.

Generally the meat hits final temp around 6-9am (depending on temp and stall length and volume smoked). So double wrap in HD foil and into the cooler it goes. I don't bother to pre-warm the cooler if it's going to only be a few hours. Close it up tight and don't open until ready to shred and serve. I have a variety of container sizes so I can do this will little dead air space to match the meat volume. If you only have a large cooler and there is a good bit of dead air, just wrap the foiled meat with towels to fill the dead air and add extra insulation. Add finishing sauce and a shake of extra rub at pulling when transferring into the service pans (which go over hot water in a chafing stand heated by alcohol/sterno burners to keep hot).

I think the longest I've kept meat like this was 6-7 hours in a standard cooler (not the Yeti or maximum ice type) and it was still steaming hot (too hot to pull by hand - still needed forks/claws, etc...) Way above 140* although I did not temp it. So a Sint-Plast or Yeti type cooler would hold much longer IMO.

When we do butts for the office, I've got a Coleman "Lil' Oscar" cooler that is perfect for three 10lb butts. Leaves almost no void (it's the tall style Lil' Oscar). It was my mom's in the 70's. For less than 3 butts, I'll toss a couple of towels on top to fill dead air space. If you are doing smaller cooks, this is the perfect size (if you can find one). Not commercial rated, but for family gatherings or the office, it's perfect.