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Thermocouple temperature range 2

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Lc85

Electrical
Apr 14, 2011
107
Our client wishes to use a Type E Thermocouple(0-800'C) to measure fan bearing temperature (0-150'C. Am I right in thinking that this would work but would not be the best thermocouple choice?

Thanks
 
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J would be better because it has higher sensitivity and is more common too. Can't see fan bearings exceeding hundreds of degrees either. Better would be RTD or even thermistors unless key info is missing.

Keith Cress
kcress -
 
Platinum RTD 100 is the common sensor used for bearing temperautre measurement on rotating machines generally. Thermocouples are less common for this application.

Type 'K' is arguably the most common type over this side of the water, but J and T are not exactly uncommon.
 
Type E has the highest sensitivity of typical commercial thermocouples, at ~68 microvolts/K (compared to type J at ~50 microV/K). Agree that types J and K are more common and probably more readily available. Type E is non-magnetic, but not sure if that matters on the OP's application. There are lots of pros/cons to weigh for any temperature measurement - cost, life expectancy, accuracy, ease of measurement are just a few.
 
Ack! I looked at the limit of error column thinking it was the sensitivity.. Thanks for the correction btrue.

Lc85, Your client is indeed grabbing for the sensitivity. But as we're saying RTDs are typically used for this.

Keith Cress
kcress -
 
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