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Fluke 2176A thermocouple thermometer

Fluke 2176A thermocouple thermometer

Fluke 2176A thermocouple thermometer

(OP)
Hello.  I have a Fluke 2176A thermometer that is calibrated to type T thermocouples.  I have K thermocouples.  The unit is supposedly also good with K thermocouples, but I do not see how to let it know there are K thermocouples attached.  Does anyone know about this thermometer?  I thought I'd ask before tearing the thing apart to try to tell.  It seems if I put a thermocouple different than a T-type, I will get an inaccurate reading.  Right?

Thanks!

RE: Fluke 2176A thermocouple thermometer

The thermometer can be coupled both to type T and to type K thermocouples. I do not think you need to select the type of thermocouple, just use the same type of thermocouple for all channels available.
The discrepancies you've detected when turning from T-type to K-type are in the nature of the thermocouple itself. Thermocouples type K and T have a different range  of applicability. For type K (-210 °C to 1370 °C) while for type T (-210 °C to 400 °C). Their accuracy is different as well. The reference standard is IEC 584-2. If you have not access to this standard take a glance at the link below
http://www.microlink.co.uk/tctable.html
 

RE: Fluke 2176A thermocouple thermometer

Depends on what temperatures you try to measure.  At 150°C, a type K would read about about 12°C lower than a type T.  You can use a number of online calculators to experiment: http://www.hartscientific.com/funstuff/tc_its90_calc.htm

At 350°C, the reading error would be about 96°C

Closer to room temperature, the differences are less than the inherent uncertainties in the measurement itself.

TTFN

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RE: Fluke 2176A thermocouple thermometer

(OP)
OK, I did a bit of searching myself.  The 2176A is internally set on a circuit card and it is not easy to change thermocouple types, it appears.  It definitely DOES make a difference on the type of thermocouple used since each type will supply a different voltage and if the machine thinks it is a T thermocouple, the temperature reading will reflect that.

This is my plan:  use the K-type thermocouples with the T-type thermometer.  The reading will be a temperature resulting from a supplied voltage due to the temperature the thermocouple "sees".  Using the cool converter supplied by IRstuff or charts that can be found online, like here:

http://www.omega.com/temperature/Z/zsection.asp

(See thermocouple reference data section)I can convert the read temperature to a voltage on the T-chart.  I then go to the K-chart and use the voltage to find what the real temperature is.

Let me know if you guys think I'm crazy and I'm missing something!

Thanks!

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