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I have been having a strange issue with my Cone 6 Black Stoneware Clay from Standard (266). It gets these big cracking bubbles upon glaze firing. I bought this clay to marble with Porcelain (Standard 365) because it had a similar shrink rate. The marbled pieces came out SUPER bubbly, really horrible. I thought it was just poor clay preparation on my part because of the mixing of the two. However it has been happening with pots I make solely out of the Black Stoneware. I prepare this clay the same way I do all my other clay bodies and never really have this issue otherwise. Has anyone else had this problem with this clay? Any advice?

Hello I have been using a Hobbytech 40 kiln for a few years, I think early 90s age but it could be older. The label has burnt off. I run it off a 13amp supply. The kiln isn’t in the best of condition. I am planning on buying a larger, more suitable kiln in the coming weeks but until then, I have to make do and mend. Over the last few months, the wires are burning out and firing is becoming tricky. I have to replace the wires ever 4-5 firings. The usual wire to go if the one at the top element connection. Anybody got any idea what would be causing this? I have removed and repacked the insulation as I could see some heat could be escaping, but the problem continues to happen. As you can see from photo, wires on right hand side to the lid safety switch are also now damaged from heat. Are these straightforward to replace? I was considering having a kiln engineer come to look at this, but the quote for the service alone without parts was over £350 (I only paid £300 for the kiln several years ago, and I’ve got more than £300 worth of work out of it). Any help from a knowledgeable person would be appreciated. Thanks.