Admittedly, I am a relative newbie when it comes to smoking cheese. But I have read a LOT in this and other forums over the past 2 weeks in preparation for my first cheese smoke. So, I think I have a pretty good handle on the process.
I'll let Tony respond as well, but here are my suggested answers:
1. What temperature setting do you use to heat the wood?
Gregg: I would set it to 250. This just ensures that the element is on for the entire 15 minute period. Technically, you could probably set it at some temp below and accomplish the same thing as it takes some time for the element to get to 250 and will most likely not get close to 250 in the 15 minutes that you will have it on. The purpose of this step is to hit the wood hard for a short amount of time to get it smoldering, then kill the heat and let the wood continue to smolder for 45 minutes before you hit the wood with more heat again.
2. Do you use the cold plate and ice in drip pan above?
Gregg (edited): You would place the Cold Smoke Plate in the lowest position right above the smoke box, then place the pan of ice on top of the cold smoke plate. I have seen several users use frozen 1 or 2 liter soda bottles or 2QT/1GAL milk jugs instead of exposed ice. The nice thing about this, is that it does not introduce moisture into the smoker which will accumulate on the cheese as condensation, which is not good.
3. Do you monitor the temp of the SI, and if so, what would be the maximum temp?
Gregg: Absolutely, you must monitor the internal temperature! Anything over 85-90 degrees will start to melt your cheese and you will have a mess. The preferred smoking temp is between 50-60 degrees, and many prefer to not go over 75. If you ever get to close to 90, I would quickly open the door and either pull the cheese to let it cool down or at a minimum let the smoke box cool down to an acceptable temp before closing it up again.