neilestrick

It's rate to just above cone 6, which means it'll only get to cone 6 maybe 50 times max before the elements need to be changed.  Probably a lot less than that given the quality of the elements they are likely using. So to get any sort of real life from the elements you'll probably want to limit this to cone 2 at the most. Really we consider cone 6 kilns to be best suited for low fire work. I would definitely check to see if you can even get replacement elements for it.
It appears to be on angle iron legs, but they're not very tall. Most kilns have 8" legs, so this kiln is on the short side and it should definitely need to be placed on something fireproof. If it were mine, I wold put it higher up on some bricks to give more air flow under it, with a fireproof floor below.

Pack the middle the tightest.
Have you tried just using the cone 08 preprogrammed firing schedule?

Pack the middle the tightest.
Have you tried just using the cone 08 preprogrammed firing schedule?

Test the element resistance, it's the best way to know for sure. But with 15 minutes longer and 75 firings they're probably still good. Resistance per section for 240V1P should be about 14.45 ohms.

@Carols Ceramics Where is Lemon Grove? Also, it would help to post a list of what you have.

Thanks @Babs! My bread game drastically improved during Covid lockdown. My 2 teenage boys and I were home every day for 3 months, and we went through 3 loaves a week. I figured out a lot with all that practice.

Thanks @Babs! My bread game drastically improved during Covid lockdown. My 2 teenage boys and I were home every day for 3 months, and we went through 3 loaves a week. I figured out a lot with all that practice.

Hi @Biglou13 A flameware body would be your best bet for this. 500F is pretty hot for a clay dish, especially since you'll be dropping wet, room temp dough onto a hot, flat surface. It's a lot to ask of any clay body besides flameware. The other option is to just buy a cheap cast iron dutch oven on Amazon. It works great, and you don't have to worry about it cracking. My dutch oven is preheating in my oven as I type this! 
My loaf from last week. 25% whole wheat, 80% hydration:

Thanks @Babs! My bread game drastically improved during Covid lockdown. My 2 teenage boys and I were home every day for 3 months, and we went through 3 loaves a week. I figured out a lot with all that practice.

@Biglou13I started seriously making sourdough bread 6 weeks ago. Sooooo much fun.  I took a class and learned what I had been doing wrong!  I use cast iron skillets, aka dutch oven.  I would recommend that as well.  

Several of my students use the Xiem tool bag. It get's pretty filthy and doesn't clean very easily since it's canvas, but they seem to like it. I think that open bags are best, because it allows for easy access when your hands are dirty, and it allows the tools to dry after washing them and putting them away. The worst thing you can do is close up your wet tools and sponge in a plastic tool box because they'll just grow mold and mildew.

Hi @Biglou13 A flameware body would be your best bet for this. 500F is pretty hot for a clay dish, especially since you'll be dropping wet, room temp dough onto a hot, flat surface. It's a lot to ask of any clay body besides flameware. The other option is to just buy a cheap cast iron dutch oven on Amazon. It works great, and you don't have to worry about it cracking. My dutch oven is preheating in my oven as I type this! 
My loaf from last week. 25% whole wheat, 80% hydration:

Did it come with a manual? Programming is generally done by setting a series of steps where you set the rate of climb (degrees per hour) and target temp for each step. Are you needing to know how to program your specific controller, or are you looking for a firing schedule? Do you know how many steps your controller allows?

Several of my students use the Xiem tool bag. It get's pretty filthy and doesn't clean very easily since it's canvas, but they seem to like it. I think that open bags are best, because it allows for easy access when your hands are dirty, and it allows the tools to dry after washing them and putting them away. The worst thing you can do is close up your wet tools and sponge in a plastic tool box because they'll just grow mold and mildew.

Well done!
Don't be in a hurry. If you burn larger pieces of wood, you won't have to stoke as often and it won't clog up the ash pit. Ideally you should be able to fire without having to scoop out the ash pit much at all, if ever. This type of kiln it not at all efficient, so let it go slowly, take your time, enjoy the process. Remember that you're also heating up all those bricks and shelves, which is a lot of mass. 

Juried gallery exhibitions may get you one or two sales beyond the piece you have in the show, but mostly it's just a resume builder that may help you get into other galleries or build your social media account a little. Art fairs will definitely build sales, because you can show so much more work to so many more people.

If the weight dropped and turned off the kiln, then it reached the proper cone at that point regardless of how long the firing took. When you restarted it, it fired beyond that cone and melted the cone. Depending on how badly the cone melted to the arms, you may be able to clean up the cone support arms with a Dremel, but if not you'll need to replace them.

The grooves are probably not the issue, and also probably not doing much to prevent warping.
Waster slabs can be very thin, and can even be broken/in pieces, but should fully support the piece on it. It's just something that will shrink with the tile and keep the tile from catching on the kiln shelf. Put some kiln wash or alumina wax on the slab so it doesn't fuse to the clay. Waster slab does not need to be bisque fired.
No guarantee it won't crack in the second low-fire firing, but it's worth a shot if you don't need the durability of cone 5.
It's also possible that your tile is cracking from cooling too quickly, and therefore unevenly, through quartz inversion. You could try a controlled cooling from 1100F down to 850F.

2% cobalt oxide is a lot. Even 2% cobalt carbonate is a lot for most glazes. I would definitely test lower amounts of cobalt and see if you can get away with less.
Most chrome-tin pinks (reds) use about 0.2% chrome, which is very little. I just tested a light pink that only uses 1/10 of that! Vey difficult to weight out for testing!

Doumbek and Udu drums both make great sounds.  Fountains can make for very soothing sounds. However I'm not at all a fan of ceramic wind chimes. The sound of ceramic pieces hitting each other is a very harsh sound. Plus as a potter that sound is disturbing, as we generally try our best to keep our pieces from banging into each other.

The grooves are probably not the issue, and also probably not doing much to prevent warping.
Waster slabs can be very thin, and can even be broken/in pieces, but should fully support the piece on it. It's just something that will shrink with the tile and keep the tile from catching on the kiln shelf. Put some kiln wash or alumina wax on the slab so it doesn't fuse to the clay. Waster slab does not need to be bisque fired.
No guarantee it won't crack in the second low-fire firing, but it's worth a shot if you don't need the durability of cone 5.
It's also possible that your tile is cracking from cooling too quickly, and therefore unevenly, through quartz inversion. You could try a controlled cooling from 1100F down to 850F.

2% cobalt oxide is a lot. Even 2% cobalt carbonate is a lot for most glazes. I would definitely test lower amounts of cobalt and see if you can get away with less.
Most chrome-tin pinks (reds) use about 0.2% chrome, which is very little. I just tested a light pink that only uses 1/10 of that! Vey difficult to weight out for testing!

Juried gallery exhibitions may get you one or two sales beyond the piece you have in the show, but mostly it's just a resume builder that may help you get into other galleries or build your social media account a little. Art fairs will definitely build sales, because you can show so much more work to so many more people.

Juried gallery exhibitions may get you one or two sales beyond the piece you have in the show, but mostly it's just a resume builder that may help you get into other galleries or build your social media account a little. Art fairs will definitely build sales, because you can show so much more work to so many more people.

Juried gallery exhibitions may get you one or two sales beyond the piece you have in the show, but mostly it's just a resume builder that may help you get into other galleries or build your social media account a little. Art fairs will definitely build sales, because you can show so much more work to so many more people.