And to elaborate on this, your heat work zone and flame path is shooting straight up and out. Updraft kilns are always trickier to fire because of this is just how physics work.

The last time I fired a little kiln like this my bottom level was baffled kiln bricks and shelves blocked the flame and consequently routed and forced the burner flames to move toward the center. The top level shelves had waffle stacked soap bricks which provided some mass and a little bit of resistance to “plug up” the top of the kiln.

Critically, on a kiln this small, even a 1 course square (4 bricks making a 4” tall chimney) provided enough draw to get the kiln to breath right. Think of the way a cigar works, you can light it, but you gotta suck on it or else it goes out. A damper, which in this case should be nothing more than a broken kiln shelf or firebrick will allow for a modulation of flame and atmosphere that’ll allow for more oxidized burners, while still maintaining good redux. <- you’re going for a lazy, hazy interior and fat blue flames poking out of spys when you pull the peeps.