Thermocouples and your hot water heater
It looks fairly ho-hum, perhaps even a little like a piece of on-trend copper jewellery (I did say perhaps)!
It’s a thermocouple, and even though it doesn’t look like much, it has a very important job to do for your hot water system.
A Thermocouple is a sensor used to measure temperature. Thermocouples consist of two wire legs made from different metals. The wires legs are welded together at one end, creating a junction. This junction is where the temperature is measured. When the junction experiences a change in temperature, a voltage is created, which can then be interpreted to calculate the temperature.
There are many types of thermocouples, each with its own unique characteristics in terms of temperature range, durability, vibration resistance, chemical resistance, and application compatibility.
The thermocouple pictured here is for a hot water system, but they’re also used in central heaters, wall furnaces, space heaters, ovens, cook tops and toasters.
They commonly need to be replaced due to normal wear and tear. As part of a routine hot water heater service, we check the thermocouple to make sure it’s operating efficiently, which helps to make sure your hot water is delivered reliably to you at the right temperature.
We can assist with all types of hot water heaters – Rheem, Rinnai, Vulcan, Aquamax, Bosch & more.