Cheap Accurate Thermocouple

S

spyder10

Joined
Dec 19, 2005
Messages
672
I am looking for a budget priced Thermocouple

-<$20 or so
-1 degree accuracy or better
-maybe ability to be calibrated, traceable to NIST standards or certified would be worth more

There's tons of cheap ones on ebay under the name "TM-902C K Type" for less than $5 shipped but it's difficult to find any reviews on the cheap ones

Is it worth it to just buy a $30 or so Cole Parmer unit?

Thanks
 
What application is it for?

A thermocouple is just two dissimilar metal wires that are fused together (you can get pretty good performance by just twisting them together). K-type is the most common, but depending on the application, it may not be right. And of course it depends entirely on your meter.
 
It is for maintaining the temperature of a water bath at 140-160 deg. F.

I am thinking a beaded k-type thermocouple will work since the bath only needs to hold the temperature for 1-2 hours. But not sure if I need a thermowell or a teflon coated junction, seems a bit much for a water bath.

Normally I would use a calibrated mercury or spirit thermometer but I don't want to deal with glass in this application

Figured there are a lot of engineer/science people here so I might as well ask
 
For a water bath, a simple K-type will be fine... assuming that's what the meter is set up for. I'd give the cheapies a try. A K thermocouple is a simple thing... no high-tech there. Check it with ice water and boiling water (don't forget to allow for your altitude).
 
Hi,

Yeah a simple K type will work just fine. The PID controller you use is more important.

dalee
 
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