Magnet on balcony door

[luvlabs]

Can anyone tell me how a magnet on the door keeps the a/c on? Where exactly do you place it and does it have to be a certain kind? Thanks in advance :rolleyes:

[Ashland]

Can anyone tell me how a magnet on the door keeps the a/c on? Where exactly do you place it and does it have to be a certain kind? Thanks in advance :rolleyes:

Perhaps I missed this topic on CC...but why would you want the AC to stay on with the sliding door opened ?

[luvlabs]

Because sometimes it is hot/humid in the cabin and I like to leave the door slightly open to hear the sound of the ocean when I go to sleep :D

[luvlabs]

Someone on my cruise roll call mentioned it on their "don't leave home without list" but didn't elaborate. I have also seen it on other boards years ago but never got clarification.

[BruceMuzz]

All modern cruise ships are designed with many fire safety features to save your life in case there is a fire onboard.

One of those features is air pressure.

 

Cruise ship cabins are designed to have a slightly higher air pressure inside the cabin than outside the cabin. If there is as fire outside your cabin, the over-pressure inside will cause smoke and flames to move away from your cabin rather than move into it.

 

This system works great until you or your neighbors open the balcony door.

 

With the balcony door open, the air pressure drops in your cabin. The A/C system is designed to compensate for the lower air pressure by pulling air pressure from your neighbors' cabins into yours. This also pulls the cool air from their cabins into yours. And if your neighbors are smokers, it also pulls their smoke into your cabin.

 

The problem is that with your balcony door open, the A/C system never is able to compensate for the lower pressure. It keeps pulling more and more air from your neighbors, trying to compensate for your cabin. That's when all your neighbors start calling the front desk to complain that their A/C is not working properly.

 

A few cruise lines tried to counteract this problem by installing magnetic switches on the balcony doors. These magnetic switches automatically turned off ventilation to the cabins that left their doors open, making it safer and more comfortable for those smart enough to read and follow the signs on the door asking them to keep it closed.

 

Then some genius on Cruisecritic found a way to circumvent the system by placing a small magnet near the magnetic switch on the door, making his neighbors uncomfortable and less safe, but ensuring he could leave his balcony door open and have A/C at the same time.

 

The cruise lines gave up and removed the magnetic switches. Now you can leave your door open and ruin your neighbors' cruise without the help of the magnet.

[luvlabs]

BruceMuzz, thank you so much for the explanation. I had no idea, I am going to just shut the door as usual. I can listen to the ocean all day, don't need bedtime too

[cb at sea]

Your room will become more humid the longer the balcony door is opened!

[Krazy Kruizers]

BruceMuzz, thank you so much for the explanation. I had no idea, I am going to just shut the door as usual. I can listen to the ocean all day, don't need bedtime too

 

Thank you for being considerate of your neighbors.