[HN Gopher] How to choose a radon fan (2018)
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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.
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