How to Hotrod a Radon Mitigation System at Home

We've been looking forward to showing off this system for a long time- the pipes for it were installed during foundation work at the start of construction, and now 2 years later it's finished, with the Fantech Rn4 EC fan (infinitely variable), multiple drainage systems, and a roof cap. Get the details on all the tweaks we had to use to make sure this system runs perfectly, which it's doing right now.

[timandedie]

I'd say the lack of handrails on that elevated sitting area will get him before the Radon will

[DaleKlein]

Managing condensate in the radon venting is good to think about. Thanks, I hadn't considered until seeing this.

[That_ac_dude]

Love the enthusiasm. Good information you're sharing. One thing I would double check If I was you is the 90⁰ fitting in your crawl space at the start of your system. I'm 12 year veteran of the hvac/pipe fitting industry and the horizontal connection does not appear to be seated properly and looks to be connected very poorly.

[MarkGla]

Thank you for the video. What kind of tube fitting did you use to tap into the 3" PVC pipe? How did you do it?

[adolfallesch]

Great system. I did it with a aluminum downspout "instead" of PVC on the vertical run. The goal was to makes the radon pipe look like a downspout! Caulk and paint and plumb it up and right "next to the gutter" and most folks would see it! The rest of your system is awesum.

[Johndada]

Lmao.... I'm over here sitting at the long term 4.6 thinking it's not that bad boy I guess I'm wrong

[HotelHero]

Only problem with "air tight" houses is the inability to have a fire or fire stove as it needs to draw air. We built a cabin very air tight and our fire place (glass surrounded in center of living room) would not stay alive. Turned out there wasn't enough air in the house to allow it to breath.

Additionally on top of radon there is also another uncontrollable invader into homes which is moisture from the ground which wicks through the footings and into the concrete walls into the house.

Having a fire place or wood burning heater etc allows for control of the moisture, making a bit of air even more important.

These are important for a "forever home" especially given the instability of today's economy where if (God forbid) there is some collapse of the grid and electric dehumidifiers are no longer useful... Including stoves etc... Fires become very important.

I'm also a dad building a forever home and thought I'd share.

Nice work, house looks good!
Stay safe!

[charliexu]

Great video, Corbett, What condensation basin do you use? I am looking for one that is air tight .

[DG-eehi]

3:37 can you explain where the condensation is coming from at this portion of your solution?

Is it bc of the diffy in air temp being pulled from under your slab interacting with the temp of condition air temp of pipe?

[superspeeder]

Curious Corbett, could you have inverted the fan so it was pointing down and run a U shape pipe (two 90 degree elbows) to curve the pipe back up? If so, that would keep all the water out of the fan and require only a small weep hole in the bottom of the U to add drainage since it would be on the high pressure side of the fan.

[Grossinspec]

Corbett it's the first time I have seen condensation drains. Here in Wisconsin I haven't seen that yet. Most systems are installed over the sump pit with plexiglass I am doing a system on my mother inlaws house soon.

[bullishbear]

That’s a nice mits unit - hopefully that lineset gets finished because it looks like ass.

Also the one check valve for your condensate drain is on the positive side of the fan, is it actually needed? Not a fan of the Wye fitting type of design on the downstream of your inline fan. It’s really not required at all.

Lastly, don’t think I didn’t see the over application of primer on those pipes and the 90 should’ve been rolled to accomodate your sloped pipe or add two 45’s to create an offset.

[mpolo]

I'm building a very air tight home, where every inch is a living space. Since my fan has to be outside, should the exhaust piping run up the outside of my house or can it be run up in the inside walls where pipe runs out to fan, then back into the house and up to the roof exhaust port?

I haven't seen anyone do it but I haven't found any codes or people not recommending doing it this way.

[mrzif]

How do you feel about a passive radon system?

[drl]

Great video; beautiful home. Do you find the PVC pipe brackets help keep the noise down inside. We just had a mitigation system installed at our home and there is quite an audible hum inside. The exhaust pipe is tight up against the siding, with metal brackets. I e tried to get the installer to come back. He did come back and put a “cushion” between where the main pipe exits the wall before the fan but that made zero difference unfortunately. What about the pipes with foam inside? Would that reduce the pipe resonance? Thanks

[romand]

How do you decide between going with a 4" system vs
a 3" system?

[DavidJamesQ]

What kind of PVC clamps did you use? To what degree do they (a) bear weight and (b) allow adjustability when working with the rubberized "no hub" gaskets?

[joseguadarrama]

Any recommendations for a company in the ATL area? Thanks in advance 😊

[jeepsaround]

I'm old enough to have grown up having never heard about radon mitigation until the last 15 years or so and have lived in the same home for about 30 years. Not one family member or pet has had lung cancer or known affects of Radon. The home with basement currently tests positive for Radon. I have only seen one or two homes (in my mostly 1960s built city) with a Radon System which led me to inquire about what it was and know it was a thing before it was commonly discussed.

[philporada]

My radon fan is located directly behind my head on the master bedroom wall for various reasons. I can hear it and feel the vibrations through the 6in wall. What can I do? I bought the same hangers that you showed in this video a few months ago in hopes that their rubber boots would dampen the vibration against the vinyl siding (no luck there). I have also tried the big enclosure case by pretending I was a radon mitigation company (because apparently those things are impossible to buy otherwise). It had no positive effect and seemed to reverberate more sound. I then stuffed it full of rockwool insulation, but that returned me to the normal loud state. The tube the company used is sched 10 4in. I am at my wits end. I've disassembled the fan and cleaned the blades, but that did not seem to have any effect. I've called the company that installed it, but they tell me that's normal. It can't possibly be normal. I can't freaking sleep!