Its usually in the 24-48 hour range for me. There are visual signs to look for - krausen/foam head has fallen, the wort has a creamier, more opaque appearance than when initially pitched, and the cascading bubbles rising to the top have ceased. When all of those things have occured, I tightly seal the foil on top and off she goes for cold crashing.
It depends. Some people like to pitch ales at high krausen (18-24 hours) and some like to ferment out, decant and pitch ( 24-36 hours depending on the strain ).
But either way, the stirplate runs for the whole time.
If it is an ale starter, and on the lower end (i.e. 1 liter or so, I’ll pitch it right in ). Anything bigger or if it’s for a lager, I cold crash and decant, then pitch.
If you have a few days, cold crash, decant, and pitch it. You may want to let it warm up a bit if you are pitching at ale temps as well.