Type-S thermocouple

[Norm Stuart]

Is www.Keramik-Kraft.de in Germany the least expensive place to purchase a Type-S thermocouple?

The €95.80 price, roughly $107, is well less than half the price asked by kiln makers and other US vendors I know of.

180 mm long Type-S thermocouple

3 years after installing our Type-S thermocouple it gave use an error message.  I'm hoping cleaning it may fix the problem as it looks intact, but we may need a new one.

[Norm Stuart]

I just needed to clean the dirt and debris off the thermocouple, which must have shorted-out the connection. A problem caused by our studio being outdoors in the open.

So we don't need a replacement Type-S after 3 years of use and 500 to 600 firings.

But I'm still curious where others buy their Type-S thermocouples.

[Joseph Fireborn]

That was a nice find aye? No idea on the TCs. Haven't had to replace one yet. Hopefully I get that kind of result. 

[Marina Reijsmeijer (Kleierij)]

I use type K thermocouples and find the cheaper ones in the USA and very expensive ones at KeramikKraft. 

Best buy for type K was China (< $10). Only tested it in pit fire and bisque firing so far.  Type S, no clue.

[Norm Stuart]

Thanks. The accuracy of Type-K is less but acceptable initially. The problem is their inaccuracy increases as they age and the metal crystallizes differently - something thermocouple engineers apparently call "drift".  They end up quite inaccurate prior to the time they fail.

The platinum-rhodium metals in a Type-S are not subject to the cause of drift and last much, much longer. With the number of firings we do, a Type-K lasted 11 to 14 months for us. The Type-S only needed a clean-off of the exterior connections last week after 3 years of use. Due to the fact that we're outdoors and the Type-S use a lower voltage so they're more sensitive to garden debris slightly shorting the connections.