neilestrick

I have 2 of those that I picked up at a thrift store for $5 apiece. I also use a small coffee grinder for turning hardened glazed into powder, also around $5...

I use the cheapest stick/hand/immersion blender I can find. They tend to wear out faster than with kitchen use due to the abrasiveness of the glaze materials, but they work great.

Make sure the Kiln Sitter timer is not at zero.

Terra cotta has a fairly wide firing range. The addition of grog extends that by a couple of cones. It tends to get more brittle as you fire it hotter, and based on the absorption numbers they show, I would say the top temp that is truly functional would be more like cone 3 or 4, not 6. Typically terra cotta is fired to low fire temps, like cone 04-ish, but I do know people who work with it at cone 3. It gets darker as you fire hotter, and you won't find commercial glazes for cone 3. You'll have to decide what's going to work best for you among all those factors.

My studio washer drains into out big sink, which has a trap so no danger to my pipes. It's a 30 year old washer, still works great!

My studio washer drains into out big sink, which has a trap so no danger to my pipes. It's a 30 year old washer, still works great!

Let your stuff dry out completely, then submerge in water for an hour- buckets, whatever. The clay chunks will break down and easily come off. Then load into the washer.

Dark spots are probably just carbon, and they'll burn out. Too much wax can easily overpower a typical  kiln vent.

The crackle pattern gets larger as the glaze gets closer to fitting the clay. Adding equal parts silica and kaolin (by weight) will generally help with glaze fit, although with premixed glazes it's hard to know just how much to add since you don't know how much actual glaze material is in the container.

Adjusting bottled glazes is tricky, because in addition to not knowing what’s in the recipe to start with, they add gums and brushing agents that change how a glaze dries. Adding material can affect how well those things work, because you’re diluting them. Some commercial dry glazes will have them, some won’t. Usually if a manufacturer doesn’t recommend sieving or recommends minimal mixing, or specifies the amount of water to use, there’s some suspension agents or gum of some kind. 
This is not me trying to dissuade you, it’s only things to keep in mind as you test. All things are possible if you have the time and energy to figure it out. It will just be easier to adjust a dry base glaze from Plainsman (who provides the recipes of their base glazes) than a bottle of Mayco. 

Thanks for the advice on the copper reds.  Fired again yesterday and went with heavier reduction.  Still too hot to open early this morning, but a quick peek showed some nice red test tiles.  More reduction and thicker glaze seemed to help.
 

What type of thermocouple?
What firing schedules are you using?

It's small, not ideal for anything but mugs and small vases. It's underpowered for its size, too. I would put it at a cone 8 kiln rather than a cone 10 at only 21 amps, so element life won't be great. But you could always swap out with elements from Euclids elements to bump up the power a bit. Does it include a stand? Is the floor or lid cracked?  The kiln is sitting upside down, so all those broken brick will need to be replaced or the elements will flop out when you flip it over. I'd pass on it unless you want to do a bunch of work and spend an additional $400 on parts.

It's small, not ideal for anything but mugs and small vases. It's underpowered for its size, too. I would put it at a cone 8 kiln rather than a cone 10 at only 21 amps, so element life won't be great. But you could always swap out with elements from Euclids elements to bump up the power a bit. Does it include a stand? Is the floor or lid cracked?  The kiln is sitting upside down, so all those broken brick will need to be replaced or the elements will flop out when you flip it over. I'd pass on it unless you want to do a bunch of work and spend an additional $400 on parts.

Mark Cortright's article about tumble stacking a kiln is in Ceramics Monthly on Instagram!  Great article.  I read it a couple of years ago, but always helpful to have a reread!  Thanks for valuable advice @Mark C.
Roberta

Dark spots are probably just carbon, and they'll burn out. Too much wax can easily overpower a typical  kiln vent.

Well...try as I might, there was no way to remove the wheel head without doing major damage to the assembly. Since the wheel head is some sort of plastic (almost like Bakelite), I took a sander to the high spots and attached a Corian bat to it. Now the wheel head runs true.

@davidh4976 Sounds like you got it figured out.
For future reference, and for others that may read this:
1. When the breaker trips immediately when the elements turn on, then there's a short in the system somewhere. Usually it's in the kiln, like a relay has melted out or a wiring connection has fried and there's a bare wire making contact with the kiln body, or it wasn't wired properly when you repaired it. In rare instances the short could be in the outlet or the wires from the outlet to the breaker.
2. When the breaker trips after the kiln has been on for a few minutes (or longer), then  it's a breaker issue. Either the breaker is the wrong size, or it's old and worn out.

@davidh4976 Sounds like you got it figured out.
For future reference, and for others that may read this:
1. When the breaker trips immediately when the elements turn on, then there's a short in the system somewhere. Usually it's in the kiln, like a relay has melted out or a wiring connection has fried and there's a bare wire making contact with the kiln body, or it wasn't wired properly when you repaired it. In rare instances the short could be in the outlet or the wires from the outlet to the breaker.
2. When the breaker trips after the kiln has been on for a few minutes (or longer), then  it's a breaker issue. Either the breaker is the wrong size, or it's old and worn out.

Kiln Breaker Sizing, Code, Manufactures breaker recommendations - North America electrical practices
Just thought I would post here, these things seem to come up often. Anyway ran across an inspection I did several months ago. The issue was breaker sizing for multiple commercial water heaters, which are very similar to a kiln load in many respects. Anyway long story short, in NorthAmerica  breakers sizings are usually limited to 80% design load or for special continuous use resistance appliances a minimum of 125% of the continuous load but not more than 150%. This was created to keep the operation of the breaker in a typical panel reasonably cool and therefore extend the life and reliability of the breaker. My anNonimized  picture and infrared photo below depicts the unexpected continuous run time of one of a bank of water heaters (over three hours). Anyway, the breaker was sized slightly under 125% of the water heater load  but still at least 100%. The manufacture listed the maximum breaker size as 30 amps. The electrician used a 25 amp, stating it was enough.
Anyway, I think my infrared picture in operation at over 133 degrees f and the fact that it tripped validates the reason for the code and manufactures generally conservatively follow that code. Additionally this code has true time tested proven merit so ignoring it or misunderstanding it can reduce breaker lifespan and elevate the hazard of fire. It is scary to think an inspector would not take the time to learn their craft.
Codes are important, manufactures have insight into the engineering and operation of their equipment. Generally their minimum and maximum recommendations are well researched and compliant with code requirements.
Sizing breakers for kilns seems to be a tricky thing. Sizing them smaller than the manufacture suggests is probably not a good idea as can be plainly seen below. Hopefully this post will be useful for someone searching in the future wondering.
 
 

Downdraft kilns are generally easier to fire, fire more evenly, and are more efficient.

Downdraft kilns are generally easier to fire, fire more evenly, and are more efficient.

Are you sure it has the correct burner orifices for propane?
With venturi burners you should be able to set the air flaps and leave them, controlling the speed and reduction with just the damper and gas valve.

Are you sure it has the correct burner orifices for propane?
With venturi burners you should be able to set the air flaps and leave them, controlling the speed and reduction with just the damper and gas valve.

Could be solubles coming out since it has sat for so long.