Due to the current shortages of parts, and the escalating costs, I decided to skimp a little and buy a bunch of thermocouples from AliExpress, because I needed quite a few for testing a couple of projects.
Unfortunately, they will all need to be carefully disposed of.
I got an inkling something was wrong when I picked them up. Within seconds, my hand felt itchy.
I took a microscope to the thermocouples, and saw this : (
There were loads of fibres! The blue thread thermocouple was from AliExpress. For comparison, the green thread thermocouple was from a normal distributor. The green one has its fibres impregnated with heat-resistant material, and has no fibre strands poking out.
I put the AliExpress one over a flame for 10 seconds or so, and some fibres were still visible, so I suspect they are glass, and not plastic. The photo below shows the after-flame result.
I washed hands, and in desperation applied a load of impact adhesive to my hand, let it dry, and then peeled it off. I don't have an itch any more. I'm not recommending this procedure since I am not a doctor, but I'd be interested to know what others would do in such a situation.
