Kiln Controller Settings FAQ

Accessing and editing settings is easy on your TAP Controller!

From the Home Screen of your controller, press Menu, then Settings to access and edit your settings. Alternatively, you can edit settings via the TAP Kiln Control Mobile app by selecting your controller and clicking Settings on the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.

Follow the video below to find the Settings options on your TAP II or TAP II Pro:

TAP Products give users the ability to automatically track life expectancy for relays, elements, and thermocouples via the TAP Kiln Control Mobile app.

Here’s how:

• From the app’s Summary Screen, select your kiln.
• Click Settings at the bottom of the screen.
• Scroll down, and you’ll find fields to enter this information.

Once you’ve entered this information, clicking Diagnostics at the bottom of the app will allow you to track your usage for each of these components.

Your controller will alert you automatically when it’s time to replace these components before they impact the performance of your kiln.

How to Find Component Life Expectancy

Need help finding this information? Typically, you can find these on the datasheet for each component or by contacting your kiln manufacturer.

Relays generally have a data field called out on the datasheet for Contact Rating Cycles or Mechanical Endurance.

Thermocouples and elements may not have a datasheet readily available, or you may not know what brand/model your kiln uses. In this case, it is best to reach out to your kiln manufacturer. 

Need help connecting your controller to TAP Kiln Control Mobile? Find detailed instructions for pairing your controller and troubleshooting common issues.

TAP’s Delay Start function is the amount of time from now that your controller will wait before starting your schedule.

You’ll enter it on your controller in HH.MM format (the number of Hours followed by the number of Minutes). So if you entered, 01.20, your controller would wait one hour and twenty minutes before starting your firing schedule.

When creating a schedule, your TAP Kiln Controller will ask you if you want to program a delayed start. Click “Yes” here, and you’ll be presented with a keypad where you enter your preferred delay start time.

Below are examples of possible Delay Start entries, as well as what they’d command your controller to do:

• 00.00 – Start the firing immediately 
• 00.01 – Start the firing 1 minute from now 
• 00.15 – Start the firing 15 minutes from now 
• 01.01 – Start the firing 1 hour and 1 minute from now 
• 12.00 – Start the firing 12 hours from now

We recommend adhering to the format above. But your TAP Kiln Controller will also translate any numbers entered into the Minutes Field into hours, i.e. the examples below:

• 00.90 – The controller will start the fire 1 hour and 30 minutes from now 
• 01.90 – The controller will start the firing 2 hours and 30 minutes from now (1 hour + 90 minutes) 

As an alternative to Delay Start, you can use Remote Start with a premium subscription of TAP Kiln Control Mobile to start your firing any time from your smartphone or tablet.

Advanced Settings contain manufacturer specific settings related to:

• Max Temp
• PID Tuning
• Thermocouple Type
• Temperature Zones
• Firing Modes

Adjusting any of these settings could drastically impact your safety and the functionality of your kiln or heat treat oven.

If you believe access to the advanced settings is necessary, please contact your kiln manufacturer.

In the Advanced Settings, you can find settings that allow you to adjust cycle times to take advantage of the faster switching capabilities of solid-state relays (SSRs).

However, access to these settings is restricted. Editing them can drastically impact your safety and the functionality of your kiln or heat treat oven. 

If you believe these settings need to be updated, contact your kiln manufacturer for assistance.