The Pico SE030 Type K Exposed-Tip Thermocouple, Fiberglass Insulated, 2 m is designed for engineers, laboratories, research teams and general-purpose temperature-monitoring applications that require a responsive thermocouple with additional cable reach.
Pico Technology identifies the SE030 as an exposed-junction Type K thermocouple with fiberglass-insulated 0.3 mm twisted-pair conductor.
Key manufacturer specifications include:
- Order Code: SE030
- Thermocouple Type: Type K
- Junction Type: Exposed
- Tip Diameter: 1.5 mm
- Tip Temperature Range: −60 °C to +350 °C
- Conductor Diameter: 0.3 mm
- Conductor Configuration: Twisted pair
- Insulation: Fiberglass / glass fiber
- Cable Length: 2 m
- Plug Type: Molded flat-pin mini-plug
- Tolerance Standards: IEC 60584-2:1993 / BS EN 60584-1:2013
Exposed-Junction Temperature Measurement
The SE030 uses an exposed thermocouple junction, which places the sensing junction directly in contact with the measurement environment.
Compared with a sheathed probe, an exposed junction has less material surrounding the sensing point. This helps the thermocouple react quickly to changing temperatures.
Pico describes exposed-tip thermocouples as offering a very fast response and being particularly suitable for gas-temperature measurements.
Typical applications include:
- Air-temperature monitoring
- Gas-temperature measurement
- Laboratory experiments
- Thermal chamber testing
- Equipment monitoring
- Electronics thermal testing
- Product development
- Heating and cooling studies
- Research and development
- Multi-channel temperature logging
−60 °C to +350 °C Tip Temperature Range
Pico specifies the SE030 sensing tip for:
- Minimum temperature: −60 °C
- Maximum temperature: +350 °C
This is the correct manufacturer-published operating range for the physical SE030 thermocouple.
Although Type K thermocouple technology can support higher temperatures in other probe constructions, the SE030 itself should be specified only to +350 °C.
For measurements requiring substantially higher temperatures, Pico provides a separate high-temperature range including SE059, SE060, SE061 and SE062.
1.5 mm Exposed Tip
The SE030 has a:
The small exposed sensing junction provides direct contact with the surrounding environment and supports responsive temperature measurement.
This can be useful where:
- Air temperature changes quickly
- Gas temperature must be monitored
- Low sensing-junction thermal mass is desirable
- Compact measurement points are required
0.3 mm Twisted-Pair Conductor
Pico specifies the SE030 with a:
- 0.3 mm twisted-pair conductor
The two thermocouple alloy conductors form the Type K sensing circuit between the exposed junction and the thermocouple connector.
The twisted-pair construction is part of Pico's published specification for this standard fiberglass-insulated thermocouple family.
Fiberglass-Insulated Construction
The SE030 conductor uses:
- Fiberglass / glass-fiber insulation
This provides electrical insulation around the thermocouple conductors while maintaining the flexible wire-style construction of the sensor.
The product should be described as fiberglass insulated, not as having a metal sheath.
Pico does not publish a separate continuous insulation-temperature rating specifically for SE030 on the current product page, so an unsupported cable-temperature value should not be added.
2 m Cable Length
The SE030 provides:
- Cable length: 2 m
- Approximately 6 ft
The longer cable provides additional separation between the measurement point and thermocouple data logger compared with the 1 m SE001 version.
This can be useful for:
- Environmental chambers
- Equipment test setups
- Laboratory benches
- Product-development rigs
- Temperature measurement points located away from the logger
Molded Flat-Pin Mini-Plug
Pico specifies the SE030 connector as a:
- Molded flat-pin mini-plug
The plug allows connection to compatible thermocouple measurement instruments, including the Pico USB TC-08.
Type K Thermocouple Technology
The SE030 uses a Type K thermocouple, one of the most common thermocouple types used in engineering and industrial temperature measurement.
Type K thermocouples are widely used for:
- Laboratory measurements
- Engineering testing
- Environmental monitoring
- Equipment testing
- Product development
- Industrial temperature measurements
For SE030, the physical probe construction limits the tip temperature to −60 °C to +350 °C.
Industry Thermocouple Tolerances
Pico states that its thermocouples are manufactured to strict industry tolerances defined by:
- IEC 60584-2:1993
- BS EN 60584-1:2013
Pico's current SE030 product page does not publish a separate model-specific accuracy figure such as ±1.1 °C or ±0.4%.
For technical accuracy, the product page should therefore use the published thermocouple tolerance-standard information rather than adding unsupported accuracy values.
Fast Response for Air and Gas Measurements
Pico states that exposed-tip thermocouples provide very fast response and are ideal for gas-temperature measurements.
The SE030 can therefore be useful for:
- Heated-air monitoring
- Gas-temperature experiments
- Environmental testing
- Cooling-system evaluation
- Equipment airflow studies
- Laboratory thermal testing
Pico does not publish a numerical response time specifically for SE030, so a response time in seconds should not be added.
Limitation for Corrosive or Oxidizing Liquids
The thermocouple alloys are directly exposed at the sensing junction.
Pico states that exposed-tip thermocouples are not suitable for corrosive or oxidizing liquids.
For applications involving chemically aggressive liquids, use an appropriately protected or sheathed thermocouple instead.
Recommended for Pico USB TC-08
Pico Technology lists the SE030 as a recommended accessory for the USB TC-08 Thermocouple Data Logger.
The TC-08 provides:
- 8 thermocouple input channels
- Type K thermocouple support
- Built-in cold-junction compensation
- Multi-channel temperature logging
- PicoLog software
- Long-duration temperature recording
Multiple SE030 thermocouples can therefore be connected to available TC-08 channels for multi-point temperature monitoring.
Multi-Point Temperature Logging
Using several SE030 thermocouples with a multi-channel logger allows engineers to monitor temperature simultaneously at different positions.
Applications include:
- Heating profiles
- Cooling profiles
- Thermal gradients
- Environmental chamber mapping
- Equipment temperature distribution
- Product testing
- Research experiments
Standard 2 m Type K Thermocouple
The SE030 is part of Pico's standard fiberglass-insulated Type K exposed-tip family:
- SE001: 1 m
- SE030: 2 m
- SE031: 5 m
These models use the same general exposed-tip fiberglass construction but provide different cable lengths for different installation requirements.
Standard vs High-Temperature 2 m Model
The SE030 should not be confused with SE060, Pico's high-temperature 2 m Type K thermocouple.
The SE030 is intended for general-purpose temperature measurement up to +350 °C, while SE060 uses heavier high-temperature construction for substantially higher temperatures.
Typical Applications
The Pico SE030 is suitable for:
- Air-temperature measurement
- Gas-temperature measurement
- Laboratory temperature logging
- Environmental chamber testing
- Equipment monitoring
- Electronics thermal testing
- Product-development testing
- Heating and cooling studies
- Engineering experiments
- Research and development
- Multi-channel USB TC-08 temperature logging
