Magnetic vs. Plunger for a door

I have a utility room door, which opens outwards. Is there any particular advantage to using either a magnetic sensor or a plunger switch to sense the door? Since it's a utility area, appearance isn't a concern.

In practice, it probably doesn't matter. But, over a long period of time, the plunger will wear through the finish on the door leaving a line where it rubs.

I like the plungers personally. With a magnetic switch you have to drill into the frame for the switch and the door for the magnet, on the non hinge side or top, so it is more visible. With the plunger you drill one hole in the frame but it's on the hinge side, so I find them a little more unobtrusive. Mechanically I find the plunger lasts just as long as a magnet switch. I have talked to people who claim the magnetic switch will last longer but I have had plungers on my front door and the garage entry door for over 12 years with no problems.

My 15 year old plungers are starting to stick, and some need replacing.

Personally like the magnetic sensor.

I have no problems with a "few" of them installed now for about 5 years in one home and a "few" now installed for about 8 years.

A few have also been painted over and the ones that were not are the same color as the door frame and are unobstrusive. I would say I notice the least the ones mounted in the upper frame of the door, then the side and finally the bottom (notice these the most).

If it has moving parts... it will eventually fail.

BryanE said:

If it has moving parts... it will eventually fail.

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Most magnetic sensors have moving parts too.

russban said:

I like the plungers personally. With a magnetic switch you have to drill into the frame for the switch and the door for the magnet, on the non hinge side or top, so it is more visible. With the plunger you drill one hole in the frame but it's on the hinge side, so I find them a little more unobtrusive. Mechanically I find the plunger lasts just as long as a magnet switch. I have talked to people who claim the magnetic switch will last longer but I have had plungers on my front door and the garage entry door for over 12 years with no problems.

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I have all magnetic sensors, but I threw away all of the magnets since they are ridiculously large requiring a large hole. I bought 50 of these:

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=D801

for $15. For my doors I just put a dab of glue on them and stuck them to the top of the door. They are only a 1/32 thick so there was no problem with clearance. I used them for all of my window sensors as well.

They also sell ring magnets that are the same form factor but have a hole in the middle for a screw.

Don't think that these magnets are weaker than the GRI ones. K&J uses rare earth magnets rather than traditional ferrous magnets. The 1/2 dia by 1/32 thick is just about equivalent. These magnets made it possible to have my window sensors be 100% invisible .

Biggest problem I've seen with plungers is paint. Paint your doorframe, close the door, stuck! Another common problem is weather damage. Sometimes the door jam area is exposed to the elements(weatherstripping is on the other side of the frame), and mechanical switches can become damaged more easily. The reed switch in a magnetic contact is usually well sealed.

As a former security system installer I would opt for the plunger-ball method.

Use a magnetic plunger though like ones made by GRI. Install it on the hinge side of the door frame for a clean look and no wear marks on the door while also eliminating any possibility of play in the door messing you up. Avoid any installation of a plunger-ball at the top of the door or on the lockset side as you will be looking for trouble.

If you opt for the not so good looking surface mount magnetic reed switch then you will want to put it on the top of the door, or lower lockset side and avoid putting it anywhere near the hinge side or top of the door near the hinge side. Magnetic reed switches need to separate by an inch or more to provide reliable triggering. If your door has a gap at top or lockset side you need to get an extra strong magnet especially since temperature changes outdoors will change this gap. ADEMCO, now Honeywell, makes them in typical colors of White, Brown, or Gray.

I prefer to not see anything while obtaining trouble-free operation which is why I prefer the roller-ball on the hinge side.

I recently wired up my house and used the plunger roller ball for the first time on my front and garage entry doors. Ive used the magnetic and never had an issue.

The issue with the roller ball is the door shows closed when its still 3 open. Obviously the ball is made but BLE can these be adjusted other than recessing further in the wall?

Magnetic sensors on exterior doors/windows can be easily defeated.  I don't think it happens that often, but it is a fact that can't be ignored.

Anything can be defeated.  A plunger can be defeated as well.
 
All a security system or security devices do is either act as a deterrent or to slowdown the thief.  Most locks can be picked.  There is a lawyer on Youtube that picks locks.  I don't think I've ever seen a lock that couldn't be done in less than a minute on his channel; most are a few seconds.
 
He even bypassed an alarm by Simplisafe.  No need to get access to any sensors; he just used a transmitter bought off of Amazon to jam the signal.