Compensation wire introduction

The compensation wire is used to connect the cold junction of the thermocouple and the meter. It is divided into two types: plain wire level and compensation level. The plain wire level has higher precision but is relatively expensive. In order to reduce costs and provide a certain accuracy, you can also choose compensation level wires with similar properties.

Compensation wire insulation material and characteristics reference

(Please refer to the specifications of each model for details)

Kinds	Applicable temperature	Non-flammable	Wear resistance	Organic solvent	Acid resistance	Moisture resistance	Flexibility
Plastic (PVC)	-20°C~105°C	Difference	Good	Difference	Good	Good	Excellent
Teflon(FEP)	-200°C~200°C	Good	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Good
Teflon (PFA)	-267°C~260°C	Good	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Good
KAPTON	-267°C~316°C	Good	Excellent	Good	Good	Good	Good
Fiberglass (Japanese standard)	Room temperature~270°C	Excellent	Possible	Excellent	Excellent	Difference	Possible
Fiberglass (US regulations)	-73°C~482°C	Excellent	Possible	Excellent	Excellent	Difference	Possible
High temperature resistant ceramic fiber	-17°C~1200°C	Excellent	Difference	Excellent	Possible	Difference	Possible

Glass fiber compensation wire

Metal mesh compensation wire

PVC compensation wire

Teflon compensation wire

American wire gauge (AWG) size comparison table

Gage No.	Wire diameter (mm)	Cross-sectional area(mm²)	Gage No.	Wire diameter (mm)	Cross-sectional area(mm²)	Gage No.	Wire diameter (mm)	Cross-sectional area(mm²)	Gage No.	Wire diameter (mm)	Cross-sectional area(mm²)	Gage No.	Wire diameter (mm)	Cross-sectional area(mm²)
1	7.348	42.4	9	2.906	6.63	17	1.150	1.04	25	0.455	0.162	33	0.180	0.0254
2	6.544	33.6	10	2.588	5.26	18	1.024	0.823	26	0.405	0.129	34	0.160	0.0201
3	5.827	26.7	11	2.305	4.17	19	0.912	0.653	27	0.261	0.102	35	0.143	0.0160
4	5.189	21.2	12	2.053	3.31	20	0.812	0.518	28	0.321	0.0810	36	0.127	0.0127
5	4.621	16.8	13	1.828	2.62	21	0.723	0.410	29	0.286	0.0642	37	0.113	0.0100
6	4.115	13.3	14	1.628	2.08	22	0.644	0.326	30	0.255	0.0509	38	0.101	0.00797
7	3.665	10.5	15	1.450	1.65	23	0.573	0.258	31	0.227	0.0404	39	0.0897	0.00632
8	3.264	8.37	16	1.291	1.31	24	0.511	0.205	32	0.202	0.0320	40	0.0799	0.00501

Color specifications for compensation wires and connecting plugs

ANSI plug	ANSI/ ASTM E-230 prime line grade	ANSI/ASTM E-230 compensation grade	JIS C 1610-1989	IEC 584-3 line level	IEC 584-3 compensation level	IEC 584-3 plug
J						J
K						K
T						T
E						E
N			no specification			N
R	no specification					R
S	no specification					S
B	no specification					B