Should the kiln be used to dry greenware?

At Paragon we've always said that the ware should be bone-dry before placing it inside the kiln. If the ware is moist, the kiln uses electric power to turn that moisture to steam. It's an expensive way to dry ware. If you leave the lid well vented or leave a downdraft vent turned on during candling, you can get away with using the kiln to dry the ware. (During candling, the kiln temperature must not rise past 200 degrees F.) But you will probably increase the corrosion of steel parts in the kiln especially if moisture is still in the ware as the temperature goes up past candling. One of the signs that the ware was too wet is water dripping from the kiln's stainless steel case. Another sign is that the kiln takes a long time to fire. It struggles to burn off the moisture. Sometimes it is unavoidable to fire moist greenware. But if possible, the ware should be bone-dry.