Well, I wonder what my life might have been like if I were sensible.
The fuses blew last night but I did not notice until 10 pm. Then I replaced fuses and restarted kiln on high - with a gasp of OH WELL! I hoped for the best... In the am, I found it too hot to open ...for quite a while. Finally peeked and stuff looked good - but VERy glossy - as in overfired but just fine anyway... Except I really don't like them that shiny but someone else will.
Glazed pots the remainder of pots while waiting for stuff to cool enough to unload. Unloaded and reloaded and started kiln...Almost...! No dice. upper elements did not connect. What to do -- Call my fav electrician who will be over in the morning. The cost will be another donation to Community Trust. (He does not realize I do that but he also volunteers there... )
This is going to be very tight scheduling for getting out of here on Saturday with pots cool enough to pack. Years ago, in a big hurry, I realized there was smoke coming out of the newspaper... We learn by these things, sort of.
I did realize that the fuses blew about 7 pm - about the time I used the toaster oven. SO, the clue is that with my pitiful 100 A entrance, there is no extra when the kiln is firing - I will avoid doing other than lights - no water - the pump!, no cooking except gas stove... I will consult with Mike tomorrow; he really is an experienced, retired electrician as well as an absolute sweetheart.
Took all the used fuses into Home Hardware and they checked them for me. Most were OK. I Still did not get a lesson in using the meter! But I bought a couple buckets and mixed a new glaze to test - black, I hope. I had a really good black but most of my recipes were lost in the Whidbey fiasco.
So I brought all the heavy duty books back to the library and looked for something frivolous, picking out 3 hopefuls to get me through. Now I am going to find some comfort food; I need it!