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I bought a bunch of electronics in a purchase, so I wound up with lots of components I didn't expect. I could identify all of them except these 4. I have 4 little cylinders. Two are stamped "12" and two are stamped "13". Judging from the misalignment of numbers they have been hand stamped. The cylinder appears to be some sort of aluminum material. The device has six pins on the bottom.

They were in a bag labeled "Fuel Cells" "03015-005"

What are these things? Is the package type standardized?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm just curious if you ever opened one and found out. It looks like a gas sensor to me, and that cover is a permeable material that lets gas in and out (albeit only slowly via diffusion) without letting dust or particulates in smoke or water in. The gas sensors use a surface effect and are easily damaged by contaminants. electronics.stackexchange.com/q/302225/102305 \$\endgroup\$
    – uhoh
    Commented Sep 28, 2018 at 17:20

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Looks like electrochemical gas sensor to me. Most likely a combination of CO and flammable gas detectors, hence 6 pins. Or it could be standard pinout of methane sensor. You can try testing pins: if this is methane sensor a-a, b-b should be shorted inside, h-h should have some resistance. Oh, and that body should be porous enough to pass gas through. Looks that way to me, on photos.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Don't those sensors usually have an opening somewhere for the gas to enter? \$\endgroup\$
    – JimmyB
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 13:50
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    \$\begingroup\$ @JimmyB Yes, they usually do. Some have porous cover though, that works as hydrophobic filter. That is why I asked OP if the part is like that. If it is not permeable then it can be anything, for example a transformer as was suggested in other answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – Maple
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 16:55
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Since the bag label says "fuel cells", I am pretty sure those are transformers used in aviation instrumentation. We use a lot of those type of transformer where I work.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ +1 Looks like a transformer to me. Ive seen them on Boeing PCBs. \$\endgroup\$
    – MIL-SPEC
    Commented Jul 27, 2018 at 12:38

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