University of Saskatchewan grad invents magnetic block heater plug

SASKATOON – Many call it “the drive of shame” — taking off with the block heater cord still plugged into the vehicle.

University of Saskatchewan engineering graduate Arash Janfada said his car was badly damaged after he took a trip with his cord.

“I first set out to try to find the device that would alleviate that problem, but there was none, so I decided to create one,” he explained.

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Janfada invented the MagnoPlug. If someone drives off while it’s still plugged in, the magnets gently pull apart.

“You clip the two sides together, and that makes it work. It sits permanently on your car, zip-tied to your vehicle,” Janfada explained.

Janfada enlisted the help of electrical engineering student Will Topping, who designed the plug.

“It’s really interesting now, because a lot of people are coming back with these neat, new ways of using MagnoPlug, in places that we never even thought about it,” explained Topping.

The two young men are discussing the product with emergency personnel in Calgary and Winnipeg.

“{We’re} talking about putting this on emergency vehicles, like ambulances and fire trucks, because whenever they pull into the shop, they always have to plug themselves in and recharge, but then if there’s a big emergency, sometimes they forget to unplug it,” said Topping.

The two entrepreneurs are using the funding platform Kickstarter to raise money for their product’s launch.