magnet stop water meter

MAGNETS AND YOUR WATER METER

When it comes to finding ways to save money, you can surprise yourself with just how many working methods out there exist. However, when it comes to saving money, you might want to try and look at various ways that magnets can help you to save some money in your day-to-day life. However, in this post, we want to talk about a controversial money-saving method that many people choose to use.

Have you ever heard of a neodymium magnet? These powerful, weighted magnets have a great many uses. They are commonly seen as being used in the medical industry, but they have many uses that you might not know about. One of the most controversial uses of a neodymium magnet is to use it with a water or electric meter. Some claim that when used correctly, a neodymium magnet can help to adjust your water or electric meter artificially. Obviously, that would lead to reduced bills – but it is also an act which is illegal.

Many still choose to take this risk despite the obvious illegality. At the same time, many are not even sure if this works. Let’s take a look at the illegality of using a neodymium magnet for this purpose. First thing is first, though – is it even legal to own such a magnet?

magnet stop water meter

IS IT ILLEGAL TO BUY OR SELL NEODYMIUM MAGNETS?

The first thing to note is that there is no legal problem with buying, selling, or owning a neodymium magnet. You can buy a magnet like this online from many websites, and these can be used for many different purposes. There are many legitimate reasons why owning a neodymium magnet would be possible.

However, while the advertising, selling, and ownership of neodymium magnet is not illegal, how they are used can be. It is 100% illegal to use your neodymium magnet to artificially adjust your electric meter or your water meter. This is just a fact.

The fact that many websites advertise a neodymium magnet as ideal for a water or electric meter will be shut down should be enough to help you see this. It is typical to find websites based in Eastern Europe, particularly Russia and Ukraine, that sell neodymium magnets with the purpose of using them for an illegal reason. Many of the websites which provide tips on using a magnet for these purposes hail from these regions.

It is not illegal to own, buy, or sell a neodymium magnet – it is illegal to use a neodymium magnet for a purpose that it was not intended for.

What are neodymium magnets used for?

There are many useful purposes for using a neodymium magnet, as these are the most commonly used rare-earth magnets in the world. it is made from a combination of neodymium, iron, and boron. It was first developed in the 1980s by General MOotors and Sumitomo Special Metals. Since then, they have become regarded as the strongest type of permanent magnet that you can buy in-store.

They are typically used in various different devices, and are commonly found in items like cordless hardware, hard disk drives, and magnetic fastening devices. You might even find a neodymium magnet in items like electric motors, electrical generators, wind turbines, magnetic bearings, and in various mobile devices. They are even commonly used in locks in doors.

For that reason, then, the use of neodymium magnets has become increasingly common across the wider manufacturing industry.

WHAT MAKES A NEODYMIUM MAGNET DIFFERENT?

Typical magnets, ferrite magnets, are made using iron. However, other magnets can be made of materials like nickel or even cobalt. However, a neodymium magnet is made using one-third of a rare-earth material that is known as neodymium. Around 65% of the rest of a neodymium magnet is made using iron, and the remaining 2% is made using a material known as boron.

Many times, though, a coating is also included as the make-up of a neodymium magnet is prone to corrosion without protection. As such, many neodymium magnets are covered using blends or nickel, zinc, or a blend of copper and nickel. In more luxurious cases, they might use gold.

An electromagnetic solution is used to magnetise the combination which turns the blend of materials into a neodymium magnet.

WHERE ARE NEODYMIUM MAGNETS MADE?

Typically, the neodymium magnet manufacturing industry is growing globally and is not concentrated to one particular nation. However, China is arguably the main supplier of neodymium magnets across the world. This comes thanks to a huge natural abundance of rare-earth metals such as neodymium magnet. However, China is also home to many of the largest production factories for the development of neodymium magnets. As such, China has cornered a huge part of the market, with the scale of their trades being extremely impressive overall.

At the moment, many people outside of China will buy neodymium magnets online. Many online stores provide buyers with full details of what they are buying, and provide them with access to buying neodymium magnets – albeit typically at a higher price than you would buy them at market cost.

ARE NEODYMIUM MAGNETS POWERFUL?

Yes, very. The usage of rare-earth neodymium ensures that this form of magnet is rated as the most powerful in the world. However, like many other magnets out there, there are various classes of neodymium magnet which is dependent on the level of temperature resistance included within.

One of the drawbacks of a neodymium magnet is that it can begin to lose its power in the wrong temperature setting. A temperature of around 80C can be enough to make the magnetic function begin to reduce, if not stop outright. An N52 neodymium magnet is the most powerful class, and can reach up to 80C whilst still functioning.

However, after 100C, just about any neodymium magnet is going to lose its strength and higher temperatures again can render them useless. In some neodymium magnets, the properties that it provides can still be present up until a maximum of 199C. Samarium-cobalt magnets, by contrast, can reach a heat of around 299C before they begin to stop working.

If you just want to stop the water meter, no need to buy a big neodymium magnet, like Dia 250*50mm. Because of such a big size magnet, the pull force will be over 1 ton. That will be expensive. In regular, 50*50mm N35 magnet,can stop lots of water meter.

ARE NEODYMIUM MAGNETS EXPENSIVE?

Thanks to the rarity of materials as well as the price of manufacturing, the cost of a neodymium magnet is among the highest in the world. It is determined by the price of neodymium itself, which at the time of writing can be anything from $81 per kilogram to as much as $99 per kg.

However, despite the high cost of a neodymium magnet, the previously mentioned samarium-cobalt magnet can cost as much as 3x the same price.

big magnet from China

USING A NEODYMIUM MAGNET

As we mentioned before, neodymium magnets have many uses in the commercial industry. However, many people try to buy and use these magnets for an illegal purpose. It can be possible to halt certain meters, for example, but again this is entirely illegal. The primary issue is also that many properties today do not use the kind of water meters that could be stopped by using a neodymium magnet.

Indeed, the vast majority of apartments and properties use what are known as dry water meters. Some 90% of water meters installed in apartments and properties are therefore not suitable to be tampered with. This, though, is a good thing.

Electrical meters can also be tampered with, but any which use a liquid crystal display (LCD) will be immune to such tampering. Digital electronic counters are becoming more and more popular, meaning that they are no longer applicable to the same techniques which were previously used owners of devices like a neodymium magnet.

The vast majority of gas meters are also designed to avoid this problem – it would require an immensely powerful neodymium magnet, out of the price range of most people, to stop a gas meter from operating.

Companies have gotten wise to the illegal uses of neodymium magnets and have found ways to stop their interference from taking place. This has led to a major downturn in the number of platforms which sell neodymium magnets to typical consumers.

However, for many people, the use of a neodymium magnet will be something that is hard to find in their day-to-day lives. While they are extremely powerful, the most common applications for a neodymium magnet are found in hardware. For example, an e-Cigarette product today might use a neodymium magnet to help it fire. It might even be used in a computers hard disk drive, as mentioned before.

Therefore, the use of a neodymium magnet for an illegal purpose is a dying purpose. No longer do these products tend to be sold with such an intention, because put simply they are not capable of having the same impact as they once did. And even then, the risk simply outweighs the benefit for the majority of buyers.

While neodymium magnets are hugely popular, their common uses are far more ethical than being used to tamper with gas, electric, and water meters. The days of such trickery working for the majority of households are long gone – and thankfully so.

WHAT FACTOR STOP WATER METER?

With the help of neodymium magnets, it is possible to stop water meters, electric and even gas meters. Counters differ in the principle of operation, design and degree of protection against extraneous interference. Thus, water meters according to the principle of operation are divided into tachometric, which can be wet and dry, and ultrasonic. Of these, only dry ones can be stopped by a magnet. And for someone who decided to fight communal accounts in such an illegal way, we have bad news: the counters of this group – more than 90% of all water meters installed in the apartments. And there will not be a fast transition to another type.
Electric meters are induction and electronic. At the same time, electronic devices are made with both a mechanical counting mechanism and a liquid crystal display. In turn, counters with a liquid crystal display can be with or without a transformer coil. And only this last kind of neodymium magnets is beyond control. The rest can be stopped, only the power of the magnets and the location of their installation will be different. As digital electronic counters are becoming more popular, the applicability of neodymium magnets to steal electricity is decreasing, but the pace, says frankly, is not high.
As for gas meters, most neodymium magnets do not work for most of today’s models. But there are those that can still be stopped. To do this, use the most powerful neodymium magnets with a clutch force of more than 200 kg.j