Maskedmaven

depending on where you are, $600 seems a high price for a small, used kiln.   can you get the owner to photograph the inside so you can see the elements inside their grooves?    if they are upright they may have only been used lightly, perhaps for only cone 06 earthenware.   if you can find out who used it, that might help, too.    perhaps someones' mother or aunt who made china dolls.  earthenware china.
what else comes with the kiln, shelves, posts, anything?

Just my opinion
I think what’s more interesting is you can likely buy a 6300 watt element set and turn this into a cone 8 kiln with the ring. My guess is they fit and wiring likely fine internally  but easy to upgrade for little if needed. And of course your service to the kiln needs to be 40 amps. With creativity and the fact it’s currently only rated cone 6 maybe a good negotiating point. Of course you would need to confirm all this. My other thought is the difference in losses between 3” brick and 2” is about 20% thermally. 3” brick Or 2-1/2” with 1” insulation has jumped up higher on my list of priorities For sure.
Your question: remove the blank ring and looks like it becomes a cone 8. By today’s standards I think I calculated it about 3.75 W / interior surface area  square inch. With today’s elements (Kanthal) and by today’s standards it  probably gets to cone 10 actually.
Taking this farther installing a Bartlett V6 CF, old style digital (not touch screen) with relays etc.... and some creativity in searching for best price probably cost 250.00 - 400.00 depending how resourceful you are. So if you can get this with furniture for a super price, it has lots of possibilities.

If you plan to fire to cone 6, you want a kiln that will at least get to cone 8, ideally cone 10. Otherwise you'll only get about 30 firings before you have to change the elements. I'd call Olympic, as they will be able to give you some info about this kiln and make recommendations about increasing the cone rating, possibly with just new elements, possibly with taking out the blank ring.

Here is an interesting find, as of 2008, with 2-1/2” brick, 18X18 - same wattage it’s rated cone 8. With a 4” blank making it 18X23 they increased the wattage to 6300 to achieve cone 8. Seems like the cone 6 designation on the equipment tag is likely pretty honest. I am guessing it was built this way new. Pretty amazing that an extra half inch of brick gets this rated to cone 10.in stock form.

Best bet is to look at the wiring diagram and do what it says. The 181 is unique because it's a 4 wire system. The two hots will connect to the sitter. The neutral will go out to the elements and the other section. The ground will go to the case and the other section.
Any of the other wires should be replaced if the covers are turning brown instead of white, or if they're crispy and crack when you bend them. You should be able to order a new wiring harness from Skutt. The feeder wires, those that go from the switches to the elements, are typically connected with crimp connectors, so you won't be able to change those until you change the elements.

Hey I just bought this same exact kiln!
Did you ever get it working?  
 
My has the same plug and I have no idea how to power it   probably need an electrician.

I’m so happy to have found this thread...I just picked a 181 kiln last night. I’m about to pick up the new outlet to install and set up the kiln.,..is love to hear how you have liked your 181 and any things you e learned along the way? Thanks!