Mark C.

You could empty the mixer and let the bottom dry out and get it out that way and rehydrate it again in small pieces.
welcome to tne forum

In the 70s silica and talc where what they where-no body knew that silica was 200 mesh or 325-the bags did no say much on them. When I asked most supoppliers only stocked 200 mesh (cheaper) All my silica was 200 mesh.. In the 80s I traded it all to a glass blower for his 325 mesh silica. Later in years the 325 became a thing in many other materials . When you bought talc in 1975 you asked for talc and you got a bag.  (Neph syn was always in 200 or 325 mesh and was the odd one in this choice)There where zero choices. Life was simpler then no shortages, basic commodities, Like coffee now you can have it with  1/2 low fat 1/2 or 2% or all fat or almond milk or austrialian nut juice-well you get the point wayyyy to many choices
In those days the talc was desert talc from Death valley (long ago closed up) or c talc. That has all changes now as well.  Texas talc was a major shift for decades-talc which is grey in color. I now use 3-4 talcs . I only use the 325  in most materils if there is a choice for better melts and yes in the 70s cone  6 was not a thing but 06 was a thing. Back then we had what we called old lady slip shops that sold cone 06 stuff and did mold work (this area had 3 of them) and I got a wholesale accout at one  for some materials and tools(all long gone for 35-40 years now) I knew of NO cone 6 users in the 70s and 80s-none only in the 90s did I become aware of that temp  range. Now I should add I'm in a very high electric rate area maybe the highest in the counrty (Maine I think is higher).
Its made ordering  materials overcomplicated  as well on my side as well.

wow Neil said it best ( it'll likely be glowing orange outside the kiln) I will add in no time fast. You need a damper in the chimney they work best about waist height. As he said natural draft burners need the stack (chimney) to be tall and even with your 4 feet more of steel its still way short. I have a stainless steel stack after 8 feet of brick on two kilns. look for that stuff at a salvage yards near beer or pulp mills or any large plant that uses stainless piping. 3/8 is good but still not good enough-Yes you can get some life from it but you still need a damper and way more height.  You can get a fast fire in maybe 8 hours -remember the furniture need to take the heat and cooling as well. I'm not talking lawn chairs I mean the kiln shelves and posts
now to answer the other questions-I would put a digital thermcouple in the door so its swings out of the way and is not in the burner direct path.
If you want to be fancy (i use oxy probes) a oxygen sensor will last longer in the chimney except in your case it may not as the flue flow is so tightly contained. The new to be geil I palces my probe in the flue as it will last many hundreds of  fires before burning out. My other two gas kilns have the sensors in the middle of the load in the doors. They get all of cone 11 so they do burn out in a few  hundred fires. I fire a lot every year over the past 50 years and have a few platinum elements replaced
If you are a beginner really just a good eye is all you need for reductiuon firing-a potter who knows thier stuff would be an asset on the 1st firing or two.
Most newbies put to much gas in thinking more is better-this is where the cheap digital pyrometer come in as it show the exact temps going up or stalling. You need one that goes at a bit more than the cone you are firing to.. 
You need to keep that kiln dry-no rain or snow on it-ever as soft brick and fiber are like sponges and once you dry them out (slow start the 1st fire to dry it out) you want it to stay dry.
What is the flue dimension 8x8?

wow Neil said it best ( it'll likely be glowing orange outside the kiln) I will add in no time fast. You need a damper in the chimney they work best about waist height. As he said natural draft burners need the stack (chimney) to be tall and even with your 4 feet more of steel its still way short. I have a stainless steel stack after 8 feet of brick on two kilns. look for that stuff at a salvage yards near beer or pulp mills or any large plant that uses stainless piping. 3/8 is good but still not good enough-Yes you can get some life from it but you still need a damper and way more height.  You can get a fast fire in maybe 8 hours -remember the furniture need to take the heat and cooling as well. I'm not talking lawn chairs I mean the kiln shelves and posts
now to answer the other questions-I would put a digital thermcouple in the door so its swings out of the way and is not in the burner direct path.
If you want to be fancy (i use oxy probes) a oxygen sensor will last longer in the chimney except in your case it may not as the flue flow is so tightly contained. The new to be geil I palces my probe in the flue as it will last many hundreds of  fires before burning out. My other two gas kilns have the sensors in the middle of the load in the doors. They get all of cone 11 so they do burn out in a few  hundred fires. I fire a lot every year over the past 50 years and have a few platinum elements replaced
If you are a beginner really just a good eye is all you need for reductiuon firing-a potter who knows thier stuff would be an asset on the 1st firing or two.
Most newbies put to much gas in thinking more is better-this is where the cheap digital pyrometer come in as it show the exact temps going up or stalling. You need one that goes at a bit more than the cone you are firing to.. 
You need to keep that kiln dry-no rain or snow on it-ever as soft brick and fiber are like sponges and once you dry them out (slow start the 1st fire to dry it out) you want it to stay dry.
What is the flue dimension 8x8?

The answer is #3
#5. The kiln will stink more than usual as well
# 6 try it and learn .
School of hard knocks has the best lessons

The answer is #3
#5. The kiln will stink more than usual as well
# 6 try it and learn .
School of hard knocks has the best lessons

The answer is #3
#5. The kiln will stink more than usual as well
# 6 try it and learn .
School of hard knocks has the best lessons

The answer is #3
#5. The kiln will stink more than usual as well
# 6 try it and learn .
School of hard knocks has the best lessons

The 2 inch is best -more insulation is always better
If that rod is subject to lots of heat I would use stainless steel as it will not corrode  like steel does, if its a low heat (well insulated around it mild steel is fine. My guess is, it got hot and flue gasses made it corrode  to dust. now if you are going to fire kiln on a hobby basis then steel will last fine ,but if its a kiln that will be used all the time stainless is worth the cost. Thicker steel hold up longer than thinner steel
These use factors play a big part in how well things hold up.

I have zero plans for pot shop work for February. March is a big maybe?
I painted  the wood floor in throwing room just after xmas as the industrial paint wore though in the traffic areas in the last twenty years. That was a big job getting all the throwing area empty then extra mopping and drying and sanding, then two coats of really nasty heavy duty floor paint which is grey and I had 3/4 of a gallon left over from twenty years ago when I built the throwing  addition and painted the floor before the walls went up . I wore the super duty resperator where no smells get through to do this job and had doors open whenever it was not raining for weeks. .
That said I threw two kiln loads and fiired them in January for backstock to last through  Feb and March. for my outlets
Today I head south for 4 hours to  Santa Rosa to have a tarrsal tunnel sugery on my right foot in early am on Monday . (its like carpel tunnel only on the foot (ankle area is the compression area) This is about twice as hard recovery from carpel tunnel surgery I'm told . Both my feet are numb on balls ,one for a year so I'm trying this 1st foot to see if it works. If it does I'll do the other foot later. The cast stays on for 3 weeks and my foot cannot touch the ground for those 3 weeks. I have a knee scooter and crutches and will be laid up on pain killers for a spell. I hate drugs.My rehab starts in 6 weeks from tomorrow (mid March)so no pots being made. The nerve gets compressed just like in carpel tunnel so they cut the sheath to allow the nerve more room. PS ,I never have had carpel tunnel but know all about it from  my wrist surgeons and friends who had that surgery 
 I did throw a few salt cellars yesterday with some spare time on my hands.I'll need 80 of them by spring
I will order some tools  from Laguna so that a bit of clay stuff  when I'm off the pain meds. The tool order is mostly for others as Kemper tools may be gone soon as I noted in post last month.
I have some tax work lined up as well as a pile of books to read-none are about clay
I will have a huge wholesale order to do when I get my foot back but it will be late March at best. That order is every spring and it a Subaru with about 20 boxes of pots.No idea when that will get done this year at this time. Its my last day today with two good feet
Clay work is on hold for me for most of those two months
Getting old is not for the faint of Heart

I have zero plans for pot shop work for February. March is a big maybe?
I painted  the wood floor in throwing room just after xmas as the industrial paint wore though in the traffic areas in the last twenty years. That was a big job getting all the throwing area empty then extra mopping and drying and sanding, then two coats of really nasty heavy duty floor paint which is grey and I had 3/4 of a gallon left over from twenty years ago when I built the throwing  addition and painted the floor before the walls went up . I wore the super duty resperator where no smells get through to do this job and had doors open whenever it was not raining for weeks. .
That said I threw two kiln loads and fiired them in January for backstock to last through  Feb and March. for my outlets
Today I head south for 4 hours to  Santa Rosa to have a tarrsal tunnel sugery on my right foot in early am on Monday . (its like carpel tunnel only on the foot (ankle area is the compression area) This is about twice as hard recovery from carpel tunnel surgery I'm told . Both my feet are numb on balls ,one for a year so I'm trying this 1st foot to see if it works. If it does I'll do the other foot later. The cast stays on for 3 weeks and my foot cannot touch the ground for those 3 weeks. I have a knee scooter and crutches and will be laid up on pain killers for a spell. I hate drugs.My rehab starts in 6 weeks from tomorrow (mid March)so no pots being made. The nerve gets compressed just like in carpel tunnel so they cut the sheath to allow the nerve more room. PS ,I never have had carpel tunnel but know all about it from  my wrist surgeons and friends who had that surgery 
 I did throw a few salt cellars yesterday with some spare time on my hands.I'll need 80 of them by spring
I will order some tools  from Laguna so that a bit of clay stuff  when I'm off the pain meds. The tool order is mostly for others as Kemper tools may be gone soon as I noted in post last month.
I have some tax work lined up as well as a pile of books to read-none are about clay
I will have a huge wholesale order to do when I get my foot back but it will be late March at best. That order is every spring and it a Subaru with about 20 boxes of pots.No idea when that will get done this year at this time. Its my last day today with two good feet
Clay work is on hold for me for most of those two months
Getting old is not for the faint of Heart

I have zero plans for pot shop work for February. March is a big maybe?
I painted  the wood floor in throwing room just after xmas as the industrial paint wore though in the traffic areas in the last twenty years. That was a big job getting all the throwing area empty then extra mopping and drying and sanding, then two coats of really nasty heavy duty floor paint which is grey and I had 3/4 of a gallon left over from twenty years ago when I built the throwing  addition and painted the floor before the walls went up . I wore the super duty resperator where no smells get through to do this job and had doors open whenever it was not raining for weeks. .
That said I threw two kiln loads and fiired them in January for backstock to last through  Feb and March. for my outlets
Today I head south for 4 hours to  Santa Rosa to have a tarrsal tunnel sugery on my right foot in early am on Monday . (its like carpel tunnel only on the foot (ankle area is the compression area) This is about twice as hard recovery from carpel tunnel surgery I'm told . Both my feet are numb on balls ,one for a year so I'm trying this 1st foot to see if it works. If it does I'll do the other foot later. The cast stays on for 3 weeks and my foot cannot touch the ground for those 3 weeks. I have a knee scooter and crutches and will be laid up on pain killers for a spell. I hate drugs.My rehab starts in 6 weeks from tomorrow (mid March)so no pots being made. The nerve gets compressed just like in carpel tunnel so they cut the sheath to allow the nerve more room. PS ,I never have had carpel tunnel but know all about it from  my wrist surgeons and friends who had that surgery 
 I did throw a few salt cellars yesterday with some spare time on my hands.I'll need 80 of them by spring
I will order some tools  from Laguna so that a bit of clay stuff  when I'm off the pain meds. The tool order is mostly for others as Kemper tools may be gone soon as I noted in post last month.
I have some tax work lined up as well as a pile of books to read-none are about clay
I will have a huge wholesale order to do when I get my foot back but it will be late March at best. That order is every spring and it a Subaru with about 20 boxes of pots.No idea when that will get done this year at this time. Its my last day today with two good feet
Clay work is on hold for me for most of those two months
Getting old is not for the faint of Heart

Its been raining for weeks in the low 50s and it finally broke up with sunshine for two days and 70 degrees yahooo.  Great day for driving south and return drive north. Then by Tuesday its a atmospheric river with lots of rain predicted again. We had 4 inchs on the 13th in one 24 hr period. Rain forest for sure. We are up to 32 inches since October 1st.

I have zero plans for pot shop work for February. March is a big maybe?
I painted  the wood floor in throwing room just after xmas as the industrial paint wore though in the traffic areas in the last twenty years. That was a big job getting all the throwing area empty then extra mopping and drying and sanding, then two coats of really nasty heavy duty floor paint which is grey and I had 3/4 of a gallon left over from twenty years ago when I built the throwing  addition and painted the floor before the walls went up . I wore the super duty resperator where no smells get through to do this job and had doors open whenever it was not raining for weeks. .
That said I threw two kiln loads and fiired them in January for backstock to last through  Feb and March. for my outlets
Today I head south for 4 hours to  Santa Rosa to have a tarrsal tunnel sugery on my right foot in early am on Monday . (its like carpel tunnel only on the foot (ankle area is the compression area) This is about twice as hard recovery from carpel tunnel surgery I'm told . Both my feet are numb on balls ,one for a year so I'm trying this 1st foot to see if it works. If it does I'll do the other foot later. The cast stays on for 3 weeks and my foot cannot touch the ground for those 3 weeks. I have a knee scooter and crutches and will be laid up on pain killers for a spell. I hate drugs.My rehab starts in 6 weeks from tomorrow (mid March)so no pots being made. The nerve gets compressed just like in carpel tunnel so they cut the sheath to allow the nerve more room. PS ,I never have had carpel tunnel but know all about it from  my wrist surgeons and friends who had that surgery 
 I did throw a few salt cellars yesterday with some spare time on my hands.I'll need 80 of them by spring
I will order some tools  from Laguna so that a bit of clay stuff  when I'm off the pain meds. The tool order is mostly for others as Kemper tools may be gone soon as I noted in post last month.
I have some tax work lined up as well as a pile of books to read-none are about clay
I will have a huge wholesale order to do when I get my foot back but it will be late March at best. That order is every spring and it a Subaru with about 20 boxes of pots.No idea when that will get done this year at this time. Its my last day today with two good feet
Clay work is on hold for me for most of those two months
Getting old is not for the faint of Heart

I have zero plans for pot shop work for February. March is a big maybe?
I painted  the wood floor in throwing room just after xmas as the industrial paint wore though in the traffic areas in the last twenty years. That was a big job getting all the throwing area empty then extra mopping and drying and sanding, then two coats of really nasty heavy duty floor paint which is grey and I had 3/4 of a gallon left over from twenty years ago when I built the throwing  addition and painted the floor before the walls went up . I wore the super duty resperator where no smells get through to do this job and had doors open whenever it was not raining for weeks. .
That said I threw two kiln loads and fiired them in January for backstock to last through  Feb and March. for my outlets
Today I head south for 4 hours to  Santa Rosa to have a tarrsal tunnel sugery on my right foot in early am on Monday . (its like carpel tunnel only on the foot (ankle area is the compression area) This is about twice as hard recovery from carpel tunnel surgery I'm told . Both my feet are numb on balls ,one for a year so I'm trying this 1st foot to see if it works. If it does I'll do the other foot later. The cast stays on for 3 weeks and my foot cannot touch the ground for those 3 weeks. I have a knee scooter and crutches and will be laid up on pain killers for a spell. I hate drugs.My rehab starts in 6 weeks from tomorrow (mid March)so no pots being made. The nerve gets compressed just like in carpel tunnel so they cut the sheath to allow the nerve more room. PS ,I never have had carpel tunnel but know all about it from  my wrist surgeons and friends who had that surgery 
 I did throw a few salt cellars yesterday with some spare time on my hands.I'll need 80 of them by spring
I will order some tools  from Laguna so that a bit of clay stuff  when I'm off the pain meds. The tool order is mostly for others as Kemper tools may be gone soon as I noted in post last month.
I have some tax work lined up as well as a pile of books to read-none are about clay
I will have a huge wholesale order to do when I get my foot back but it will be late March at best. That order is every spring and it a Subaru with about 20 boxes of pots.No idea when that will get done this year at this time. Its my last day today with two good feet
Clay work is on hold for me for most of those two months
Getting old is not for the faint of Heart

The pot looks really thick where the blowout occurred. That to me means it was to damp for your firing cycle (to fast ). Moe  dry time and  less thick pot (more trimming)

For some reason may new users seem to stuggle with these units when they first use them
This is one in many other with same issue that does go away after some use-I think they figure out how to use tham over some time

My guess is the handle got bumped and hence the crack . If it was fine for years of use then cracked it got bumped . If it cracked right away(1st month) its a poor connection

My guess is the handle got bumped and hence the crack . If it was fine for years of use then cracked it got bumped . If it cracked right away(1st month) its a poor connection

Diving,.taking underwater photos,tuna fishing,building, electrical work, solar ,Topside photos, gardening ,Nature,Outback camping. Travel . Lifes short

I bought this from 3 different suppliers over a 800 mile area during my travels.  
There is now new all brown bags (not blue) of custar that are from Pacer. I bought some for one of my customers from Laguna 
On another note EPK is again back in operation and the material is now on most supopliers shelves

Diving,.taking underwater photos,tuna fishing,building, electrical work, solar ,Topside photos, gardening ,Nature,Outback camping. Travel . Lifes short

Diving,.taking underwater photos,tuna fishing,building, electrical work, solar ,Topside photos, gardening ,Nature,Outback camping. Travel . Lifes short

Diving,.taking underwater photos,tuna fishing,building, electrical work, solar ,Topside photos, gardening ,Nature,Outback camping. Travel . Lifes short

Diving,.taking underwater photos,tuna fishing,building, electrical work, solar ,Topside photos, gardening ,Nature,Outback camping. Travel . Lifes short