New Thermocouple Welding Process


 
I was out in the back garage tonight, and flipped on the welder. It claims to go all the way down to 5 amps. Lotta overkill, but I might be able to make this work with stuff left over around here.
 
I've been looking for a proper high temp cement/adhesive and ended up ordering some Omegabond 600 from Omega. A bit pricey, but I plan on making TC's in bulk, so per unit should be minimal. I've been crimping the sleeve to the wire, but i'm a bit afraid it will create a point of weakness, thus the cement/adhesive/potting compound.

Here's the stuff
 
Might be a tad on the expensive side, but one of those kits should make a bloomin' lot of thermocouples.

Been workin' way too much to get out in the garage (5 degrees F here, and I'll bet you're colder,) and tinker. Still need to find a 2" piece of hacksaw blade to make a welding jig.
 
So, I received the OmegaBond 600, and it works exceptionally well. Also, I downloaded the MSDS sheet, and appears to be food safe. The biggest warnings were silica exposure, as it comes in a powder form, but no worries when mixed with water and cured.

The sleeve is only cemented at the base, leaving the actual tip unpotted at the tip. This allows for a faster response.

 
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Decided to test the finished product. Ran an oven test against Maverick and Thermoworks probes. The TC seems to be a bit more responsive. Finally, I did a boil test. I live at an altitude of 4500 feet, so water should boil at ~203.5 degrees. This was confirmed with my accurate Thermapen. The "out-of-the-box" results are...

TC: 204.7
Maverick: 205.3
Thermoworks: 201.4

The winner seems to be the Thermocouple, although the Maverick ET72/73 tracked very closely.

It never ceases to amaze me how a charcoal smoker controlled with a Heatermeter is more efficient than a home oven.

 
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Hrrrm. 1/8" x 12" stainless tubing, for $5.38 on fleaBay. Should be able to get 6 thermocouples easily, possibly even 12. Flatten the end, and TIG the opening closed.

I do not need another project. I do *NOT* need another project.
 
You need another project. You *NEED* another project. Sounds like you have the same disease I have. Hobby ADD (HADD).

I bought these

Yeah, you have to buy a lot of 100, but it comes out, with shipping, to about $0.75 a tube.
 
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<chuckle> My g/f is enough of an enabler, thankyewverymuch (that explains the 4 tap kegerator right behind me.....)

Although........hrrrrmmmm........... a 1/8" x 24" tube would make one heckuva thermowell for a mash tun. And that potting compound would make it nice and water/beer tight.

I'm not sure if I should stand you to a cold one, or kick you in the shins, should we ever meet. :D
 
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