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I'm assuming pork spare ribs?  I still prefer to go 225 and use 3-2-1 (really a lot less than 1 typically, maybe .5 max).  
But for beef ribs and brisket, I'm smoking at 285-300 now.  Goes quicker, and no discernible loss in quality.

yes and I concur.   That would be my own standard procedure (225 and 3-2-1), and like you I've been going a lot less than 1.

i had my first massive run-in with the ecoque this past weekend... it wasn't, per say, the ecoque's fault... but... 

brisket- a 14# packer, trimmed and purty... wood fire to temperature, flopped that bad bear in the cooker... I FOUGHT with that thing to maintain a temperature below 350*... for 18 hours that thing smoked... the internal temperature never exceeded 170*, which was me thinking it was just in the mother of all stalls.... but it wasn't.... the cooker was never over 190*... at 18 hours i pulled the thing with an internal temperature of 170*, and it was well blackened with the smoke... 

the temperature gauge for the cooker is a digital one- and it was just shy of 200* off, reading the cookers temp @ 350~370, when it was actually in the neighborhood of 190*... I found this out at the end when i opened the door and shot it with a IR temp gun on a non-reflective surface in there..... I was not a happy camper... 

punch line:  the brisket isn't bad at all- it's not what i would usually call 'brisket', as it was more akin to 'roast' in the end, with fat flopping about (never rendered/reduced).... so... i made a bunch of sammy's and went on about my business, and ordered a better quality temperature gauge... now I have them in triplicate... that ain't ever happening to me again, y'all. 

Yeah, when I got my Kamado Joe, the dome thermometer was damn near perfect. Now it reads ~50F low. 

That reminds me, though... Need to replace my Maverick ET-732 probes before I smoke something again. Off to Amazon I go!

And for BBQ thermometers, get yourself something like this.  You can get cheaper, and a lot more expensive, but the key is the remote wireless dual probe.  One goes in the cooker at grate level, one goes in the thickest part of the meat.


https://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Range-Wireless-Smoker-Thermometer/dp/B00FOCR4UI

true enough, all beef is pretty crazy these days.

I replace my probes every few years.  I always wrap the metal cable in foil so that only the probe tips take the heat, but even then, they definitely don't last forever.

But one thing's for sure, it's FAR more accurate than using any thermometer mounted to the cooker itself.  Even the best of those, can go bad quickly, and aren't at the same level as the grate/meat anyway.

I did a chuck roast (2.75 lbs) last week w/o braising liquid.  (Ok, there was 1/4 cup of butter)  It was damn good.

season, sear and brown the roast both sides in a dutch oven.  (set aside on a plate)
a squirt of oil in the dutch oven, and add the mirepoix  (diced onions, celery, carrots, I know the cajun mirepoix has bell peppers), about a 2:1:1 ratio.    Scrape up the brown bits as the aromatics do their thing.

Toss in a 1/4 cup of butter and your herbs (I used thyme and garlic gloves in a cheese cloth bag).  until the veggies are tender, put the roast back on top, cover with a lid and in the oven (275 degrees) for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.    I added small potatoes (ping pong ball size) with about an hour to go. 

Instapot is a pressure cooker, right?