Ecosense RadonEye RD200 Radon Detector

Nice units, seem accurate, included app is meh. Disappointed.

After running these for about a week, I feel like I can write a decent review on these. I bought a couple of these units because I just bought a house that has a large basement. Compared against each other, the units do seem to track well when placed close together. The unit is a decent size - not too overpowering sitting on the floor in the corner of my shop and office - the top facing screen is bright and legible, readings between my 2 units are never apart more than a couple hundredths of a picocuries per liter /2-3 Becquerels per cubic meter, but let's face it: the mobile phone application is simply horrid and basic. While realtime readings are obtained fairly quickly on the app's opening screen and the count/threshold/alarm color coding is very legible (see first screenshot), the "Data" page with its timestamp-less graphing and CSV downloads that are simply a list of values with zero information regarding the time that the data was collected (see second screenshot). It would be such a trivial matter to be able to add this capability into the firmware to synchronize with an NTP source. Heck, I have $20 "Ring" style security cameras/doorbells that automatically sync time via NTP once they are on WiFi; is it too much to ask that this $170 device have that capability as well? It essentially renders the data you collect useless for time series purposes unless you immediately import into Excel after a download, back-calculate the series and put your own timestamping in a column next to the values. I expected more than... THIS. Additionally, there is no way to turn off the silly "BEEP!" that accompanies every time the real-time value is read. Further, apart from the ability to have the unit alarm locally if the configurable threshold is exceeded, there is no ability to configure or have the unit push an alert to your phone, send an email. I would have added a star for each if: 1. the app had at least more configurability, OR 2. the unit had the ability to store timestamps, OR 3. the unit had the ability to remotely notify the user if the alarm limit was exceeded. Very disappointed. Limited value for money.

Works great! Clearly picked up an issue.

This thing actually works great. Connects right to my phone, even from 2 floors away. One day it started to spike and I did some investigating, found out my radon stack was only 2in and we had an extreme cold spell and it froze. I have since replace with a 4in stack. You can see from the photo of when I disconnected the 2in stack

Radon eye 200

Excellent product spot on accuracy now I really know my radon level in my bedroom thanks brian.

Struggled to get it to work with Bluetooth. Confusion on which App to download.

The box had been opened and was missing instructions. I found the quick start guide on line. Mine is the RadonEye RD100, not the later RD100+, nor the RD100 Plus 2 which was re-designed for easier connection to Bluetooth or Wifi. The unit's Bluetooth would not show up on my iphone initially. It would have been helpful, if you were told that an App must be used to enable the Bluetooth. To make it confusing, there are three different Apps (see photo). Once you get the correct App, the one NOT with the eye icon, it connects to the unit's local internal wifi and tells you your phone's Bluetooth is turned OFF. But that is not true. Mine was ON. A combination of turning OFF and ON the phone's Bluetooth, and clicking on the unit's name when it appears in the App (above the Bluetooth OFF warning), makes the Bluetooth connection finally happen.

Previous to all this, I went down the rabbit hole of using the App for the RD100 Plus to connect to the internal wifi. But the phone did not detect the local wifi network either. The unit has a label on the bottom of the box saying the local wifi network is IF03RE000260. So apparently one must manually type in the network name, which I did. But my phone wanted a password, and the unit mentions no password. So next I tied NONE as the security protocol, which requires no password. It is unclear if the I in "IF03" is the number 1 or the letter I. Also, Is the "0" after the F a zero, or the letter O? I tried all 4 combinations and gave up. A bad choice for a network name.

Fast, accurate and excellent quality!

This is an excellent instrument which I selected after extensive review especially that it is used by the pros. Most importantly, it provides measurements every 10-minutes so that I can pinpoint the radon hot spots in our basement and ensure the main house is safe. The app is easy to use and doesn’t require Wi-Fi or an on-line account. It loads measurements via Bluetooth and the range is very good enabling me to get measurements from the unit positioned in the basement from the comfort of the main house level.

I have had a radon detector for several years which I have used to great effect to measure radon in our houses and family houses after purchase. Last year I had it recalibrated and used it to check the accuracy of the new unit. The big disadvantage of my old radon instrument was the 2-day initial sample acquisition and daily updates making hot spot radon checks ineffective as radon varies.

Very happy with this unit which is going to save me a lot of wasted effort figuring out where and how I need to mitigate the radon levels in the basement.

Engineer Dude

October 5, 2024

Not Sure What to Believe

Purchased 2 units to measure different levels of the house at the same time. However, I figured I'd see how aligned they were by placing them in the same location (my basement) and literally 3 or 4 inches away from each other. The results were a bit disappointing. They both seemed to range between 0.5 - 4.0 but they certainly didn't agree at any point in time. Many times they were wildly apart (see pic)... Anyway, I gave 3 stars because they are amazingly easy to setup. However, jury still out on overall function.

Amazing unit. Been using for almost a year now and helped me find my Radon source.

If you want a professional-quality Radon detector, this is a good value. And if you're patient and methodical, you may be able to find the ingress location in your house if you find elevated levels.

By sampling in multiple locations upstairs and in our basement, I was able to pinpoint a very strong source - an exterior wall where the foundation is slightly separated from the basement slab (maybe 1/8 inch), with a planter outside that backs up to that wall (maybe the soil has high radium in it?). The closet in that area read 25 to 40 piC/L while the rest of the house was around 6 initially. With some careful mitigation in that downstairs room, I was able to lower the whole house to 2.6 piC/L (and even less in the summer).

Other observations - this radon stuff seems quite dependent on outdoor temps and of course how tight the house is. In winter I'm easily below 4 now and in the summer I've seen it as low as 0.8 on the main level with no windows open. Very happy to have a professional quality unit to work with and guide me to the source rather than taking a shotgun approach. But I have the time. It's a tradeoff...

Accurate!

Long story short I bought a home that was on the higher side for radon. When the inspector took the test it was teetering around 4, so when I closed I bought this to record the radon before I moved it. It showed similar results as the inspector (ranging from high 3's to mid 4's. I had a radon mitigation system installed about 36hrs before I moved in. I saw great results 24hrs after the system was put in, but i wanted to compare the results from the machine to the professional test. I did the test for 48hrs and recorded what the machine said before I capped the professional test. The machine read 0.81. When I got the results back from the radon company, the results read 0.90. I was so happy the machine was accurate!!!

P.S please see picture from the machine before and after the mitigation system. You can clearly see that it recorded accurately. I would recommend this device to ANYONE!!!! Safety first.

Rade Radosevich-Slay

February 3, 2024

We're not going to die. At least not soon....

Out of the box, set it down in our utility basement, plugged it in, and 10 minutes later, RESULTS!!!

Downloaded the Android app for my smartphone and am seeing the real-time statistics. The RADON detector is one floor down and three rooms over, and the signal is very strong where I am sitting upstairs.

The only CON I have is that I cannot seem to bond a second smart device to the monitor. If it can only bond one device at a time, I will be setting up a dedicated tablet in the kitchen for this monitor; this is too important to the health and safety of my family. For now, I have the app installed on numerous mobile devices and it swaps from one to the other without much drama.

When we bought the house 20 years ago, a 3-day RADON test averaged 1.8pC. We were fine with that as we spent a better part of the year with the windows open and a home ventilation fan running. After a series of upgrades and renovations, our home has been more or less sealed for the past year or so. This monitor is showing that our readings are peaking in the low 3pC's, averaging in the low 2's. Though generally in a "safe" zone, the readings are still higher than I would like to see. I've scheduled to have a RADON mitigation system installed in the house. Where we live is in a moderate zone for RADON.

Not accurate reading

I purchased this radon detector 13 months ago. We are building a new home now, and I wanted to test the radon levels in our gravel based large crawlspace. The numbers spiked from 30 to 15 down to one over the course of a few months. I was very concerned with these high numbers, and as the housebuilding progressed, I moved the detector upstairs to the first floor. The numbers were still quite elevated at 8 to 12 on a regular basis. Just as a test, I put the detector on our front porch for a day, and even with the wind blowing, the machine still registered between three and four. So I thought I would do a little test. I put the detector in a Ziploc bag, wrapped it in a towel, and put it at the bottom of a box, filled with sheets and heavy towels. No matter where I put it in the house, it still ranged between five and 13 points. I even put it on the second floor of the house, at least 25 feet away from the crawlspace floor, and I still got readings around 10 with the detector in the plastic bag wrapped in a towel and at the bottom of a closed Rubbermaid container. I just cannot believe that these are accurate readings. it is quite a bit distressing, realizing how much I was worried for so many months at these high levels. I do not know now how to find or to trust an honest reading.

Thank goodness I had the RadonEye

We had our house tested when we moved in and found that we had exceptionally high radon levels. We had a radon remediation system installed, but never knew exactly how it was functioning. After about six or seven months, I began to become concerned wondering what the levels were, since the initial level was so high (92.8.) After getting the RadonEye, I discovered that we were getting severe spikes directly following rain storms, and when it got extremely cold. We searched around the basement level and discovered an area in the concrete that had been broken up for plumbing fixes. We contacted the company that installed the evacuation system, and they made recommendations to seal off the area, which we did, and we were very successful. Had I not had this device, one or more of my family could have ended up with lung cancer, because the levels were spiking so high and so often (20 to 30 pci daily, see a recent photo attached as the radon levels came back down). I feel it is very important to monitor radon levels in your home once you are aware there is an issue and if they are maintaining a safe level for your family.

Don’t buy unless you only want current reading (app is trash)

(Updated to add that this unit matched the professionals readings exactly. We had a mitigation system out in because our radon levels were over 4 abd now are down under 1. You can clearly see where our readings were vs after mitigation. Still returned this though to get the EcoQube model solely due to the graphing, this model tells you only what number the reading is since starting (reads once an hour), not the day/time abd id rather not have to do math to figure out when the spikes occur. )

Highly rated however if you want to keep the data and see what time our spikes are, this doesn’t do it. Only tells what number reading it is on the graph, you have to manually save the data. Sending this back for the EcoCuve that is actually cheaper and has the time listed on the graph and maintains the data over months. Check out the graphs for this product and their other one the cube. Totally different and it’s the same company! Also annoyingly beeps loudly on the unit whenever you open the app and connects via Bluetooth.

Buy this one if you want true readings

The graph attached to this review shows the results of a comparison of the RadonEye and the Airthings 2950 Wave Radon to a professional unit. The data run over several days clearly show that the RandonEye correlates VERY closely to the professional machine, whereas the Airthings unit just seems to be making up data. I also have a second Airthings unit (data not shown) that consistently reads from 2-5 times higher than the professional unit. I am now sad that I wasted money on the Airthings unit, and I will buying additional RadonEyes.

Accurate and helpful

I put this side by side with a carbon kit you can get at any big box store. Numbers came back and they matched the Radon Eye numbers almost exactly. But the number on the carbon unit (and Radon Eye) were about 2.7, not enough to worry about. After that the numbers started going above four on the Radon Eye consistently, as high as 8, and we didn't hesitate to get a mitigation system put in place a couple days ago. You can see the screenshot of the drop off almost immediately after the mitigation system was put in place. So my point is that with a 4 day test or even a one month test, you are only getting a snapshot in time. The Radon Eye made it easy to make the decision on moving forward with the mitigation system which is a big cost. So you want to make sure you are solid in your reasoning one way or another.

Big Giss

March 16, 2023

No Mitigation System Needed!

I'm glad I didn't do the knee-jerk thing and have the mitigation company come out and put in a $1,700 system.

They gave me a free 48 hour test, which reveled a 4.6 level, which is slightly high. They recommended I remediate immediately.

I decided to take a longer look. RadonEye has certainly reported high levels, which seem to be as a storm approaches and is here. My high in 30 days is nearly 7, with the low approaching 1. The average, during a stormy winter month in Salt Lake City is well below 4. I'm very interested to see what it shows during long stretches of bright sunny days.

Well worth the cost, even if I had to remediate. Even moreso where it shows I do not.

From hi of 13.8 to a lo of .27.

High radon readings let us know we needed to mitigate (see pics 2-4). Low readings let us know the Sub Slab Venting System is working. Everyone in radon areas needs this device.

Gives me the info I need

Moved to a new home in Northern Utah and decided I should get up to speed on Radon and wanted something that would give me real time data so I could see what actions affect my readings and the RadonEye has not disappointed. The only, and I mean ONLY critique I have is that there should be a way to silence the “beep” that reports when you connect to it via Bluetooth. My boys have their rooms in the basement and I’m monitoring levels mostly because of their exposure time being so great and I like to check in on it late at night before I go to bed but when they are already in bed and it can get their attention when a beep rings forth in the otherwise silence!

Randall Flagg

July 1, 2022

I was so impressed with this model, I bought a second one!

This is one of those very rare instances where I'm 100% satisfied with a purchase. I bought this on a whim after realizing that my neighbors on both sides had radon exhaust pipes poking out of their houses but I didn't. When I purchased this house the sellers assured me that it had been tested and radon levels were safe and I blindly accepted that and didn't really think about it any further until recently (in my defense, I moved here from a part of the country that doesn't have widespread radon issues). So after a bit of searching I bought one of these monitors, not even really knowing a whole lot about radon, and stuck it in my basement only to be shocked to find my levels spiking as high as 14 pCi/L during rainy weather! For reference, 4 pCi/L is considered "oh crap" levels. I immediately booked an appointment with a radon mitigation company and while I was waiting for them to come out, I bought a second one of these units to see how consistent the readings were side-by-side with the first one and also to eventually keep track of levels on the first floor of my house. The two units sitting side-by-side for a week showed almost exactly the same readings (variation was only about 0.2 pCi/L between the two). When the mitigation folks came out they sealed off my sump pit and installed a ventilation system in my basement. The whole process took them maybe three hours. That morning, prior to the system being installed, my readings were 5 pCi/L but when I checked again before going to bed, they were down to 0.4 pCi/L and they've remained below 1 pCi/L ever since (even after a morning of heavy rain, like today!). It's given me such peace of mind, especially since my toddler's play room is in the basement. I only wish I'd bought one of these monitors sooner!

About the unit itself:

These little guys just sit and silently collect radon level data 24/7. They're completely standalone, no Internet connection required. You can use the phone app, which is very basic and connects to the unit via Bluetooth, to see current levels as well as a nice graph of historical data but I prefer to glance at the built-in color display every day or two instead - something that no other radon detection unit I've seen so far has had! You can also export all the data into a CSV if that's your sort of thing. The fact that this baby can spit out accurate readings every 10 minutes instead of the usual 60 minute or more intervals of other units I've looked at is awesome! You can also configure these units to make an audible beep when radon levels get too high but other than that, they're pretty much set-it-and-forget-it.

Seems to work - great for peace of mind

I bought this unit because we were finishing our basement and my kids were going to be spending a lot of time down there. I wanted to see what the radon levels were. Set up was easy peasy and it seems to work great! It samples every 10 minutes and plots the values out on a chart. It also tracks peak value, 30-day average, and 1-day average.

It showed that the radon values in my basement weren't considered drastically "unsafe" per US standards (over 4.0 pcl), but it was higher than what I was comfortable with so I had a company come and install a radon mitigation system. After that, the unit immediately started reading much lower levels which was great for my peace of mind.

Overall, seems like a great product which I have recommended a few times to others. Way better than those one-time, set it out then mail it in tests that only show one reading. If you want to know exactly what your radon levels are at any given time, buy it!

MacPharmD

March 9, 2022

Why use old tech when this is available

I bought this because I wanted to know whether my radon mitigation fan is still doing anything after 10 years of continuous running. Installation is simple. Mine is 2 feet off floor on table. I ran the RadonEye for a baseline and then turned off my radon fan. I was shocked to see in 36 hours the radon levels spiking above then safe threshold. I turned the fan back on and voila the detector measured a return to safe levels. I am

Convinced this is an awesome detector! Feel confident in using. Stay well!

It seems to do the job.

Update: 3+ years later and it's still doing the job well. I can even see when we have power outages that my radon level rises slightly, because my radon mitigation system is powered off. When that happens I just open the basement door for a little while and gas leaves on its own. My basement is at ground level in the back of the house, with a downward slope as it leaves the property. Radon is heavier than air so it just "flows" out the door as if it were water.

I had radon remediation installed. The professional test that the radon remediation installer provided showed improvement, and so did this device. It's a bit expensive but looks like it does the job.

BTW, I see a lot of people questioning placement. I have mine on the basement floor. Radioactive elements tend to be heavy, and Radon is no exception. It's much heavier than air. In a perfectly still room, it will always settle to the bottom, but it is a gas, and it will scatter easily through any motion, human or otherwise. Also keep in mind that bricks, granite countertops and other stone based materials can have trace amounts of radium, which produces radon gas. It's good to get a reading in multiple areas and at multiple distances from the floors and walls and other stonework.

Family Man

December 6, 2021

This give you peace of mind and is easy to use

I did the mail-in kits a few times before getting this, but wanted faster and easier to manage results. While this is obviously more expensive than the kits, it's well worth it. It gives you live results and keeps track of results over time and show you spikes and normal usage. The app works great and the LCD on the unit is easy to read. Would recommend to anyone concerned about Radon.

Yilmaz Ak

July 25, 2021

Accurate results, does the job, nice app.

Works as advertised. I had a professional radon test before purchasing my new home, it came high at an average above 8. Wanted to do my own mitigation so I purchased this to see my radon levels before and after. RadonEye showed similar averages to the professional test before I installed the fan. The pictures show radon levels lower after fan installation. RadonEye works as intended. The app also works well and you can see the results on your phone.

The best one on the market!

This radon tester is a real value for the money! I bought a few different ones but this one stands out as my absolute favorite! It’s only down side if you consider it one is that it has to stay plugged in. But the trade off is it gets a reading in only 10 mins! Lightening fast compared to days or 12 hrs with the handheld battery powered models. I use a extension cord and move it around to different locations of my house to find the highest radon levels coming in. This device is exactly what you want for locating trouble areas as well as constant monitoring. It has a screen plus works flawlessly through a app on my iPad and iPhone. My radon guy even states that he uses the same model as a diagnostic tool on the job! I can see why. It works great! I have loaned it out to family members to test their houses for radon and everyone loves it and has bought their own now!

Third times a charm

I've had my unit for two days now. This is the third device I've purchased over the years to monitor the Radon in my basement level. I've always been frustrated at not knowing what's really going on with Radon levels due to the delay of the devices I've used. The oldest give averages that are at least two days old. The second device provides somewhat better numbers averaged over 1-2 days. With that device I can see changes late in the day that may have been the result of me leaving doors to the outside open early in the day. They are still averages over many hours. This device improves on that showing me changes almost in real time. Also I actually get data at one hour intervals for the first time. I was always aware for example that on cloudy days it appeared my Radon levels were higher. With the RD200 I can actually see the Radon levels tracking the barometric pressure (inverse relationship-as baro drops Radon levels rise). FYI I'm writing this review about 7:30 AM and photos taken at same time. I can export the data to my PC but it would be nice if the RD200 data points were time tagged. This may give me a way to experiment with mitigation measures. In short the best device I've seen so far for Radon insight.

reader

November 27, 2020

Excellent product for immediate detection

I purchased both Airthings Wave and this. The UI is clunky but the speed of detection and accuracy is great. I’m keeping this to lend to neighbors and friends. I’m keeping the Wave for long term date graphing. The attached pictures show some of my and neighbor measurements. I went from 27 to .6 after installing a fan and a pipe. Thank you!

Easy to set up, but they should invest a little more into the mobile app

Set up of the unit itself was super easy, you just have to plug it in and it just work! I think it took 15 mins instead of 10 for my first reading to come in. Mobile app was relatively easy to use, in fact too easy that it doesn’t even ask you for a password to pair up with the device. I’m guessing password is hard coded and can’t be changed which introduce security issue on your mobile device, that means it’s not hard to pretend to be your radon sensor and connect to you so please disable your bluetooth when you are not using. Also the logs don’t show up until 30 mins later but they will eventually show up.

Placeholder

November 5, 2018

Works as expected with very fast reading within 10 minutes instead hour interval.

I bought two Radon Pro3 detectors before this one several years ago. They both work very well and show an almost identical Radon level. We tried another brand (batteries powered) before, and somehow its readings were always too low to believe. Radon Eye doesn't have this kind of problem. Radon Eye RD200 is very convenient and accurate readings as the same as the other two. The Bluetooth connection is very reliable to our iPhones and fast because it is running on a power cord. the only drawback it can't hang on the wall.

John Larrison

October 15, 2018

Interesting things to know

After much consideration, I decided on this unit over the other options that are available. I'm glad I did. This is truly a precision instrument that can give quick, accurate results as well as charting long term trends. We had a radon system installed in our house before we bought it earlier this year and I always wondered how well it was doing and if I really need to pay to have the fan running all the time. We're also trying to sell a house up in the mountains and was wanting to be proactive about the radon (so it wouldn't be a flag on the inspection). That's one of the reasons I liked this unit as it can give a reading within an hour. Since we are only up there to mow and maintain I wanted to get a reading while I was there. It immediately indicated a high reading...

My next trip up there was about 8 days later. My first time to try the bluetooth download of the acquired data. Wow - was I shocked to see a peak reading above 40! Glad I wasn't puttering in the basement there that day (although we lived there for 4 years never thinking much about radon). Since the chart in the phone only shows hours I downloaded it to Excel and figured out how to convert it to dates using a formula. If you're interested, it's pretty easy to do. The data number is how may hours and the date on the file would be the last hour. Copy the data into a spreadsheet, remove the header rows and replace column 1 with this formula: =DATE(2018,10,3)-((497-ROW())/24) {where the date is the file save date and the 497 is whatever your data number is}. Make a line chart and you'll have what I pictured. Anyway, this told me that the peak I observed happened on Sept 16 - the date that hurricane Florence passed over our area. Well, there you go!

I've since observed the ebb and flow of radon overnight in our house here. There are times even with the radon system installed that the level rises above the 4 threshold so I've experienced the warning beeps. Well done, it certainly lets you know but it only alerts for about 1 min every hour or so (don't know the exact timing). I'm also surprised how even opening a window just a little bit lowers the radon level extremely fast.

Last comment about radon. I looked at the professional report from the remediator (we had a system installed in the mountain house) and it showed a period where the radon was 7 or 8 but only for a few hours. That is still considered passing since the average over 2 days was below the threshold. So this little instrument is still a good thing to have even if you have a remediation system installed as there will be times you should open a window if you are going to be in the basement.

If you're a gadget nerd and have a basement...buy this now!

Just bought a 'new' 82 year old house with a basement and was concerned with how much radon is actually present. I wasn't really too encouraged that modern practices are still using an absorber test kit that needs to be sent away. Why can't I know immediately? Now you can.

You just plug this in and leave it. It's got a very nice vacuum florescent display on top that very clearly states what the value of radon is AND it records all of the readings on an hourly basis. I can see the fluctuations over time. The seller allowed me to put this device in during the month we closed so now I have 30 days worth of recorded data of an undisturbed and vacant house, 10 days worth of data when we moved in with normal living, and now how much radon is present after I installed a radon mitigator. All that without spending $130+ per 2-3 day radon test.

The logs are saved in the device and you can download it anytime you log into it. The phone app is very straight forward and you log into it via bluetooth. If you need to remotely monitor then you'd have to drum up a solution to capture bluetooth data and pipe it out. That's not my case so this device is perfect for me and my home.

I've got a couple of other air sensors which require access to the interweb and when it drops out it stops recording. Not the RD200. It doesn't care if you look at it or not...it just keeps logging. When you download the log, it saves as a parenthesis deliminated .txt file. You could easily pull it into excel but I haven't tried yet.

Accuracy?: The measurement made by the home inspection averaged 3.5 pCi/l (the acceptable maximum is 4.0 pCi/l). The RD200 shows around 3.3 before we moved in, fluctuated between 1.0-4.5 as I started bricking up a hidden window, to a stead average of 1.1 post mitigator. I haven't compared the measurements saved in the log file with the exact dates of the professional radon test but it appears to be within reason. They're two different test types. What I get is trend data. You can see the three main periods in the attached image (pre-move in, post move-in, post radon mitigator).

There was a sale on this device which was about 20% off after I bought it. This is probably the most important sensor in the house so I don't necessarily mind.

Buy it!