[HN Gopher] How to choose a radon fan (2018) ___________________________________________________________________ How to choose a radon fan (2018) Author : walterbell Score : 17 points Date : 2022-10-02 06:22 UTC (3 days ago) (HTM) web link (americanradonmitigation.com) (TXT) w3m dump (americanradonmitigation.com) | voisin wrote: | Are there any systems that a homeowner can install themselves or | do they all involve breaking the slab, excavating dirt, | installing vents to the exterior, and wiring up a fan? | myself248 wrote: | Active sub-slab depressurization is only indicated if all the | passive measures have failed. First, caulk the slab-to-wall | joints, seal the sump pump cover to the slab, caulk any cracks | in the slab, etc. Then test again. | | What's the level you're trying to mitigate? | | https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-02/documents/20... | voisin wrote: | It was up around 250 Bq/m^3 at its peak, and then I cracked | open the two basement windows and it has since dropped to | around 110 Bq/m^3. In Canada the recommendations are to deal | with it ASAP if over 200, and to deal with it within the next | 2 years if it is 100-200. | | I've looked and don't see any cracks in the slab, but | admittedly 1/2 of the basement is carpeted and drywalled and | so I don't have a good view of it. | | I use the AirThings View Plus, and note that it has been | running for 2.5 months, and I want to see what it settles at | as a longer term average. | nope96 wrote: | I rent a house. Both houses on either side of me have radon | vents, mine does not. But I can see they've got basements, mine | is on slab (no basement or crawlspace). I asked the landlord if | this house was ever tested, he said not to worry since there is | no basement. Is there an easy, reliable way for me to test for | radon, or am I worrying too much? | myself248 wrote: | Yes, if tampering isn't a concern, the at-home test kits are | cheap and reliable. (Edit: In a real-estate transaction, | there's plenty of incentive to cheat, so the continuous- | monitors used in those situations include all sorts of other | sensors -- accelerometers, temperature and humidity, barometric | pressure, etc -- to tell if someone just opens all the windows, | or carries it outside, etc. My dad used to do this work and I | saw some wacky printouts indeed, from where unscrupulous agents | had gone to any length to make sure the test produced a low | reading.) | | Charcoal canisters are cheaper but only do a short-term | snapshot. Get an alpha-track and do a long-term test, which | gives you a much more reliable picture of your exposure. You | can absolutely do both. There are also continuous monitors | which are more expensive still, but some folks just love live | data. | | If you hadn't mentioned neighbors on both sides, I'd say as a | slab-dweller, you might be worrying too much. But that | definitely points to uranium in the local soil, and while slabs | are generally at significantly lower risk than basements, your | situation is one where it's definitely worth testing! | bcrosby95 wrote: | Note that a basement doesn't necessarily matter. We have slab- | on-grade and our radon levels are borderline "do something | about it" - our yearly average seems to be around 2.0. | | We went with https://www.homedepot.com/p/Airthings-Corentium- | Home-Battery... which the other commenter suggested as a more | expensive solution. | | Note that radon levels varied greatly in our house by both | weather and time of year. | clairity wrote: | you can get an airthings device like the view plus[0] (i | actually have the older wave plus) for continuous sampling of | your radon levels. | | [0]: https://www.airthings.com/view-plus | yurymik wrote: | There are cheap low-tech solutions [1] and more expensive high- | tech [2] | | 1: https://www.homedepot.com/p/LABTECH-Radon-Detection-Test- | Kit... 2: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Airthings-Corentium-Home- | Battery... | PaulDavisThe1st wrote: | I never cease to be amazed that the radon fan my wife had | installed on the house she purchased in 1996 has run 24/7, 365 | days a year, ever since, with zero maintainance. I don't know how | this is even possible for an exterior electro-mechanical device. | myself248 wrote: | Heh. If it's 1996 I might've installed it. I'm guessing back | then it was a Fantech FR100? There seem to be numerous | offerings in the field now, but back then it was pretty slim | pickings. | walterbell wrote: | Fantech is now at the high end of pricing, with (most? all?) | motors made in Germany and fans assembled in USA. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2022-10-05 23:00 UTC)