Found a magnet inside stove

[Rick]

Hi,
Today while cleaning out the ash from my stove I discovered a magnet thingee stuck to the shovel. It is a cylindrical magnet with a cap, about 2 inches long. I have no idea where it came from. It looks like it came from the firebox, but I can't see from where. Thanks again.

Rick

 

[DavidV]

oh yeah....they put those in the firebox to reverse the effect of the earth's gravitational pull on the smoke.....so it won't sping the wrong way.

NO IDEA.

 

[crow]

oh yeah....they put those in the firebox to reverse the effect of the earth's gravitational pull on the smoke.....so it won't sping the wrong way.

NO IDEA.

That's REALLY funny!

No, I mean , REALLY. ;-)



If not from the stove, maybe one of those mystery things that wood grows around, revealed at last?

Does your manual say anything about magnets in the parts list for your stove?
How curious.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Looks like a rivet to me. The magnet part is mysterious.

No idea, but I'd guess it came in either embedded in a chunk of wood, or was part of a bag of garbage that someone burned in the stove at one time.

Reminds me of the old automotobile wheel cylinder I found in my used boiler when I was getting the grates sorted out. Folks who had it must have burned a lot of trash, and the wheel cylinder somehow made it into the trash and then into the boiler.

 

[Sundeep Arole]

It must have been one heck of a magnet, as magnetism is easily destroyed by heat.

 

[Corey]

It must have been one heck of a magnet, as magnetism is easily destroyed by heat.

Well..yes and no. All magnetic materials have a "Curie Temperature" which is the temperature at which the magnetic properties disappear. So the magnetism IS easily destroyed once the Curie temp is reached. But, some materials have low Curie temps, others are quite high. If memory serves, some of the AlNiCo magnets Curie temps are 1500F+ while others such as NdFeB compositions are around 600F.

As to what it is, I have no idea, though (Edit - the more I look at it, the more it looks like it could possibly be the core or plunger of a solenoid valve. The magnetic shaft would have been surrounded by an electromagnet, and the angled top would have been the valve seal - were there any other bits of metal in the firebox?)

Corey

 

[paulgp602]

Hi,
Today while cleaning out the ash from my stove I discovered a magnet thingee stuck to the shovel. It is a cylindrical magnet with a cap, about 2 inches long. I have no idea where it came from. It looks like it came from the firebox, but I can't see from where. Thanks again.

Rick

Where can we get pens like those that don't melt in a fire?!?!

 

[Rick]

Ha-ha,
That was the pre-fire photo of the pen, sadly there is nothing left for the post-fire pic . I still can't figure out where this thing came from, but it's tough to look when the heat is searing your retinas. I've never burned any garbage in the stove, other than mail, so it would have to have been in some wood. It looks like it slides into a hole and the cap plugs it up. There is no parts list in the manual, I guess I'll call Hearthstone and see if they have any ideas. This new photo shows the magnet with the "cap" off, looking down into the cap. Thanks again.

Rick

 

[MAJ. Woody]

Possibly to pick up nails and screws???

 

[babalu87]

I hear Aliens use Electromagnetic impulse drives for propulsion and it is rumored one crashed in Connecticut some years back
Tree probably grew around some of the debris
I would bet it was in one of those rounds you burned recently