38999 Series II Type Thermocouples

Thermocouple Contact & Tooling Charts

d38999-series-III-contacts

Milnec Interconnect Systems manufacturers a full offering of MIL-DTL-38999 Series II type high reliability thermocouple crimp contacts in the most popular thermocouple materials. By ordering thermocouple contacts separately, engineers can quickly make custom connector solutions to run power, signal, and thermocouples in one cable! In charts below you can find all the information required to order replacement thermocouple contacts for all existing MIL-DTL-38999 Series II connectors. Next to each contact is appropriate tooling information for required crimper, positioner, insertion and extraction tweezers.

Put simply, a thermocouple is a pair of wires of dissimilar metal that is connected at both ends. When the two wire junctions are exposed to different temperatures, an electrical potential is created between them that is almost directly proportional to the temperature difference. A voltage measuring instrument added to the circuit can then read the temperature. Thermocouples are made from a variety of specific alloys and are best suited for different applications depending on the intended temperature range, sensitivity, resistance to corrosion, magnetism, and cost. Because crimp connectors have removable contacts, the standard contacts can be substituted easily with thermocouples.

Thermocouple Types

Certain combinations of alloys have become popular as industry standards for thermocouples. Milnec’s standard thermocouple types are listed below with the positive electrode first, followed by the negative electrode.

Type K (chromel/alumel)

The most common general purpose thermocouple with a sensitivity of approximately 41 µV/°C, chromel positive relative to alumel.

Type E (chromel/constantan)

This type has a high output (68 µV/°C), which makes it well suited to cryogenic use. In addition, it is non-magnetic.

Type J (iron/constantan)

This combination has a more restricted range than Type K (0° to +750°C), but has a higher sensitivity (55 µV/°C).

Thermocouple Types Chart

Thermocouple Type Temperature Range (Continuous)* Temperature Range (Short Term)* Thermocouple Materials Contact Size Termination
K +32° to +2,012°F
(0° to +1,100°C)
-292° to +2,372°F
(-180° to +1,300°C)
Chromel & Alumel #16, #20, #22D Crimp
E +32° to +1,472°F
(0° to +800°C)
-40° to +1,652°F
(-40° to +900°C)
Chromel & Constantan #16, #20, #22D Crimp
J +32° to +1,382°F
(0° to +750°C)
-292° to +1,472°F
(-180° to +800°C)
Iron & Constantan #16, #20, #22D Crimp

* Please note above thermocouple temperature ranges are for reference only. Standard connector insert materials can only withstand 392°F (200°C) of continuous operation.

Additional Resources

38999 Series II Contact Data Sheets

Thermocouple Contacts

Contact Size Contact Style Part Number Wire Size (AWG) Wire Range (Dia) Jacket Strip Length Crimping Tool Positioner Insertion Tool Extraction Tool
#22D Alumel Pin DSPA22 22, 24, 26, 28 .012–.025 (.32–.64) .157 (4.00) TK201 TP209 TN801 TX802
Socket DSSA22 TP206
#22D Chromel Pin DSPR22 TP209
Socket DSSR22 TP206
#22D Constantan Pin DSPK22 TP209
Socket DSSK22 TP206
#22D Iron Pin DSPE22 TP209
Socket DSSE22 TP209
#20 Alumel Pin DSPA20 20, 22, 24 .020–.032 (.51–.81) .197 (5.00) TK101 TP104
(Turret)
TN805 TX806
Socket DSSA20
#20 Chromel Pin DSPR20
Socket DSSR20
#20 Constantan Pin DSPK20
Socket DSSK20
#20 Iron Pin DSPE20
Socket DSSE20
#16 Alumel Pin DSPA16 16, 18, 20 .032–.050 (.81–1.29) .236 (6.00) TK101 TN807 TX808
Socket DSSA16
#16 Chromel Pin DSPR16
Socket DSSR16
#16 Constantan Pin DSPK16
Socket DSSK16
#16 Iron Pin DSPE16
Socket DSSE16

Dimensions are in inches (mm) unless otherwise noted.