Are Pit Kilns just really screwy? Or bugged atm?

[Numbskull]

Wolf bait here, [god that tag is real]
Very early into a first playthrough, just me and one friend.
HE has managed to fire clay, and the whole time we are both awestruck at its inconsistency.
Should we be covering it? That worked, then suddenly stopped working.
When it rained once, they seemed to "go out" but not display it, even with the block overhead we still put a full roof on the structure.
Should we cover them directly above the block? Do they need to be constructed adjacent or spaced?
Its only bowls and watering cans, it has been days now.
Ive farmed crops and cooked meals out of them, i cannot even consume them because they will ROT before these things work.

[Prissy Young]

yes cover it so that the rain can not hit them, I tend to build a T where the arms are over my clay. I used to build whole rooms out of mudbrick for this.

[Never Jhonsen]

The way you have it covered in the photo is perfect, I'm not sure why it won't complete for you. The only thing I can think of, is that they bugged out from the rain, and they're unlit despite showing lit.

Point your cursor at one, and see if on the info bar, it says "LIT" or "UNLIT". There is a possibility that they are unlit, but the game is stuck on the lit animation. The default keybind to toggle the info hud is CTRL+B

If you weren't in the early game, I would suggest trying to put it out with a bucket of water and trying again.

[Numbskull]

They display as lit, I also removed the dirt from around them as if that mattered.
I dug them up and started them again about 20 minutes ago, all the burn materials popped back out intact.
This is on a totally default world, for the record.
ALTHOUGH, 40 minutes ago, before i even made the post, my friend [who is hosting the game] also attempted to fire clay bowls.
TO WHICH IT WORKED! So at least my food isnt gonna rot. But i think that may be the source of the bug, if any devs are reading.

[MagpieOAO]

Just came to post on this topic (and fish).

No roof, roof too high, leaving the area, save-quitting and then resuming the game all seem to potentially end/reset/bug progress. Absolutely sure, but sleeping might not speed it up, or it was bugged so it wasn't affected.

The Kiln will show "lit" but not the graphic that it is on fire. You can then re-light it and it will still say lit, and then show on fire.

[Maelstrom]

I have consistently seen since 1.15 (when pit kilns were introducted) that lighting multiple pit kilns may leave one that seems to extinguish when all the others complete despite being lit at the same time.