In the quest to finish the thermal barrier, I need to go under the house into the crawlspace and lay out a vinyl radon barrier on the ground and seal it to the walls. Working under the house usually means a heavy breathing mask and headaches, which I attribute to lack of air circulation and high levels of radon.
So installing a fan to convert the passive radon mitigation system to active was high on our list of tasks. Actually once the fan pipe is completely installed and the pipe caulked and taped, that area of the ceiling can be insulated and ready for the polyiso layer to complete part of the thermal barrier. Installing the fan kills two birds in a manner of speaking. So here is the install of the Fantech HP190 Radon Fan.
Radon Fan Install
The curved pipe keeps the rain out of the system but it is not recommended for this fan–the instructions say to let the pipe end without a cover of any kind. So eventually I may take this upper pipe out and install a rain diversion system on the fan. Otherwise the failure rate of these outdoor installations can be higher than one more protected in an attic install.
I lucked out when choosing the Fernco gaskets to connect to the 4″ pipe. There is a lot of discussion about the specialty gasket that is recommended for this and options for using something else. I gambled on this connector and it is perfect! It is the Fernco P1051-44 Flex Coupling. Amazon doesn’t describe it fuurther but I read elsewhere that it is meant to connect regular 4″ PVC DWV (Drain Waste Vent) pipe with Ductile Iron or Asbestos Cement pipe. It fits over the larger rim of the Fantech fan and over the 4″ pipe.
Radon Fan Closeup
The wiring is on the platform we made over the hall closet. This used to be enclosed without any access like a small attic, but we will have it mostly open to the back as extra storage. I read that many installers just put a cord on the fan instead of a switch so it can be easily disconnected for maintenance etc. So I installed this outlet and used part of a Christmas outdoor extension cord but I used a waterproof conduit connector to protect it where it enters the fan’s electrical box.
Wiring for Radon Fan
Next I will connect one of the slab radon mitigation pipes with this pipe. Routing the pipes through the new construction will be a bit tricky but I have some ideas about how to do it.