Firing a 1982 Manual Kiln with Kiln Sitter to a cone 6 Glaze fire

My kiln is a 1982 manual evenheat model no.5320 with a kiln sitter model k. I bought this beauty about a month ago, and I’ve been learning how to use it by trial and error. I did successfully bisque fire some pieces by following the manual to a T, but i’m finding that adjustments are necesary. For example, the manual says only 1 hour between turning on the switches (after the first two are initially turned on). But when I followed this, the kiln sitter shut off after a total firing time of just under 4 hours. I would prefer a more moderate firing time, so I extended the time to 1.5 hours between each switch for 05 Bisque firings. So the schedule goes as follows: Start kiln Turn on bottom two switches Wait 1.5 hours Turn on 3rd switch from bottom wait 1.5 hours Turn on 4th switch from bottom wait 1.5 hours Turn on 5th and final switch. This extends the firing time to 4.5 hours + the time it takes for the kiln to reach temp and shut off. Usually it takes 30 min or less This was my second go at a Cone 6 glaze firing, and my first attempt at actually glaze firing any pieces. My first attempt was so quick that i was glad I didn’t put anything in it. Although it being empty may have contributed to the witness cones not bending, I still wanted to extend the time. So I did 2 hours, 2.5 hours, and then another 2.5 hours and then the kiln shut off 1 hour after the last switch was turned on. Even though all the glazes looked beautiful, the witness cones were barely bent… I’m puzzled. This seems to be a reoccurring issue where my cone sitter cone appears properly bent to 90* and everything looks normal, but the witness cones are barely bent at all. That’s an issue I’m still working on. I may attempt a manual hold next time I glaze fire (by literally holding up the switch for an additional 10 minutes or however long). Might post another video if i can figure out why my witness cones aren’t bending properly.