Where Can You Find Thermocouples? A Quick Checklist for You
We’ve written about thermocouples before on this blog, and today we are going to provide you with a checklist of where to find them. But before we do, let’s get a quick overview of what they are . . .
Shown: platinum thermocouple wire scrap, a very profitable type of scrap Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners can recycle for your company.
Thermocouples, like batteries, are devices that are made up of two or more metals that generate voltage. When they are subjected to temperature changes (or radiation changes in some cases), changes occur in the amount of voltage that they generate. In fact, when one end of a long wire thermocouple is heated, that voltage increase can be measured at the other end.
So the result is that thermocouples can be used to remotely measure changes in temperature. If you’re supervising a production line, for example, thermocouples can help you monitor temperature changes from the safety of a control room that is located at some distance from the line itself. Thermocouples can also be used to ensure the safety of manufacturing operations. If the temperature in a piece of equipment rises above safe levels, for example, a device equipped with a thermocouple can automatically shut it down.
What Precious Metals Do Thermocouples Contain?
Depending on the application, they can contain a number of different precious and non-precious metals. They can be made of: pure platinum, platinum/rhodium alloys, Palladium/Platinum/Gold alloy, nickel alloys, tungsten alloys; and even a combination of 2 pure noble metals like Gold and Platinum or Platinum and Palladium.
Where Are Thermocouples Found?
- Airplane gauges and controls
- Air conditioning systems
- Chemical manufacturing plants
- Equipment used in the manufacturing of steel and other metals
- Furnaces
- Gas turbines
- Ignition systems used in manufacturing
- Industrial safety systems
- Industrial sensors of many kinds
- Industrial valves and actuators
- Kerosene lamps and space heaters
- Kilns
- Medical testing and monitoring equipment
- Munitions
- Ovens
- Power plants, including nuclear power plants where thermocouples can be used to measure radiation
- Robotic and other welding equipment
- Safety cutoff values and switches
- Steam systems
- Thermometers
- Water heaters
Ready, Aim, Recycle
If you check those locations and find that you have a quantity of thermocouple wires and/or devices, we can help you quickly understand their worth and recycle them for top dollar. Call us at 800-426-2344 to learn more.
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