How Should I Store Neodymium Magnets?
Keep them dry, at room temperature, in their original packaging or with spacers between stacks, and well away from children, cards, electronics and medical implants. Neodymium magnets don’t need a keeper and don’t weaken in storage. The real risks are corrosion, chipping when magnets snap together, and harm to people or devices nearby.
Storage Checklist
- Keep them dry. Store magnets in a closed container, ideally with a silica gel packet. Humidity attacks any spot where the plating is chipped. See will neodymium magnets rust?
- Keep them cool. Room temperature is ideal. Avoid hot cars, attics and spots near heaters or ovens; standard grades lose strength for good above 80 °C (176 °F).
- Use spacers. Keep the original tray, or put card stock, plastic or thin wood between stacks. Spacers make magnets easy to separate and stop them chipping each other.
- Separate large magnets. Store magnets over about 25 lb one at a time, at least 12 in apart, or parked on a thick steel plate so they can’t jump.
- Lock them away from children and pets. Swallowed magnets can cause serious internal injuries. Read our safety information.
- Mind the neighbors. Keep stored magnets away from cards, phones, watches, compasses and anyone with a pacemaker. See magnets and electronics.
- Label polarity. If your project depends on which face is north, mark the stack with a marker before storing. See how to identify poles.
Do Neodymium Magnets Need a Keeper?
No. Keepers (a steel bar across the poles) protect older magnets like alnico horseshoes from losing strength. Neodymium resists demagnetization so well that it holds its strength on its own. Parking big magnets on steel is only about safety: it keeps them still and calms their field.
Do They Lose Strength in Storage?
Barely. Kept dry and below their rated temperature, neodymium magnets lose only a tiny fraction of their strength over decades. See will neodymium magnets lose their strength over time?
Mailing Magnets Yourself?
Pack them in the center of the box with spacers and padding so they can’t grab other metal. Air shipments have limits on the magnetic field outside a package; ground service is simpler for strong magnets.